Elanco Animal Health Works to Increase Food Security in East Africa
October 16 2018 - 5:45AM
Business Wire
Through the East Africa Growth Accelerator
project, Elanco supports World Food Day by drawing attention to
achieving a #zerohunger world by 2030
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) is progressing a
groundbreaking project to provide sustainable development solutions
to address food insecurity in East African countries – Tanzania,
Kenya and Uganda. The East Africa Growth Accelerator (EAGA) is
Elanco’s first pure ‘Shared Value’ project, which is made possible
through a $3.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates
foundation. The grant enables the registration, manufacturing and
distribution of affordable high-quality veterinary products, along
with intensive training initiatives for smallholder farmers and
channel partners.
“At the intersection of business value and societal value we
find ‘Shared Value’: the EAGA project is focused on assisting
smallholder farming families in East Africa increase livestock
production by providing them with access to high-quality, reliable
veterinary medicines and knowledge to combat livestock disease,”
explains Maria Zampaglione, Elanco One Health and Shared Value
advisor. “As the project leader, I realize how much supporting
these farmers reduces hunger and poverty in a sustainable way,
improves their income and livelihoods while opening new market
segments for Elanco,” she adds.
Through EAGA, Elanco intends to support World Food Day on
October 16, which draws attention to achieving a #zerohunger world
by 2030
Dr. Moses Gitonga, DVM, a dairy farmer and director of the
retailer Jesmo Agrovet Ltd in Kenya, which deals with veterinary
and agrochemical products explains: “The EAGA project staff
recently visited our dairy farm and business, assisting with
training of staff and farmers on the elimination of flies and
ectoparasites - a menace in the semi-arid Kajiado County. The
intervention has seen a radical decrease in the fly population and
our dairy cows are now at peace during feeding and milking time.
Tick-borne diseases are now also very rare and the fly menace
affecting households and livestock is effectively controlled. These
measures have translated into improved hygiene and livestock
production in terms of meat and milk output, significantly
impacting the sustainability of our dairy farm and livestock.”
Livestock disease remains a significant threat to achieving food
security in East Africa where currently 25 percent of protein from
farm animals is lost due to animal illness 1, reducing the supply
of high-quality milk, meat and eggs and creating significant
economic losses for farmers. According to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), 34 percent of the
people in East Africa are undernourished². .
“We have just 12 short years to achieve the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) 2 – which is about ending hunger by 2030,”
said Julie Lawless, senior director of Corporate Affairs at Elanco.
“With global hunger trending up in recent years after a decade of
decline, we must increase capability and capacity in developing
regions to meet this goal. Supporting smallholder farmers in East
Africa is Elanco’s concrete contribution to reduce hunger and
poverty in a sustainable way, while opening new business growth
markets”
The company’s goal is to enable more than 240,000 dairy and
poultry smallholder farmers to access small sized quality products
by 2020. The grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
further helps achieve this goal of improving the lives of
smallholder farmers through sustainable livestock production.
Learn more about Elanco's commitment to “Making a Difference”
and the EAGA Shared Value project at Elanco.com.
About Elanco Animal HealthElanco (NYSE: ELAN) is a global animal
health company that develops products and knowledge services to
prevent and treat disease in food animals and pets in more than 90
countries. With a 64-year heritage, we rigorously innovate to
improve the health of animals and benefit our customers, while
fostering an inclusive, cause-driven culture for more than 5,800
employees. At Elanco, we’re driven by our vision of food and
companionship enriching life – all to advance the health of
animals, people and the planet. Learn more at www.elanco.com.
References:1 - African Union Inter-African Bureau for
Animal resources (AU-IBAR). Impact of livestock diseases in Africa.
Published on 25 January 2013. Accessed on 1st June 2018 on
http://www.au-ibar.org/vacnada-livestock-diseases?showall=1&limitstart=
2 - FAO. 2017. Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition
in Africa 2017. The food security and nutrition–conflict nexus:
building resilience for food security, nutrition and peace. Accra.
Accessed on 9th October 2018 on
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7967e.pdf.
GCAAFFNON00395
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181016005517/en/
For Elanco Animal HealthMedia:Karin Gerbens+ 32 476 97
8467gerbens_karin@elanco.com
Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024