ABSTRACT
Food security means ensuring that all members of a country have access to enough food throughout the year to lead an active, healthy life. The ability of people on the African continent to feed themselves has declined dramatically in recent years. Even parts of Africa traditionally regarded as productive showed a decline. These lower yields are probably related to civil war and to environmental factors such as deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought, and generally inappropriate land use. With a steadily increasing population in Africa, the need for sustainable development has become especially acute. In a continent of extreme diversity, Africans have developed different cultures in adjusting to their environment. African livestock is genetically diverse, tolerant to tropical pests, and produces milk and meat under poor range conditions. Many livestock development schemes in Africa have been based on range management initiatives with the introduction of ranching systems or the provision of new watering points designed to regulate grazing.
