# **1 . I n t r o d u c t i o n**

Livestock is the most important non-petroleum sector of the Chadian economy and the major sub-set and income source in the agriculture sector. According to the 2015 General Livestock Census, the number of livestock animals increased at an annual rate of 6 percent over the past decade, with livestock production estimated at more than 120 million animals in 2019. Goats account for the largest part of the production, with 32 percent. Sheep and cattle account, respectively, for 29 and 26 percent of the total. The other species (camels, donkeys, horses, and pigs) share the remaining 13 percent.

Although the growth rate seems sizable, the breeding sector's production level remains below potential compared to the rising market demand, particularly in Nigeria and the Central Africa region. The sector is characterized by low productivity that constrains it from creating quality jobs and generating enough income for the stakeholders. Weak infrastructure, technological capacities, and customs bottlenecks have long prevented the country from producing and exporting livestock and breeding products at its potential. The exports continue to fall short of the growing demand from its current market (Central African countries and Nigeria). It also falls short of its potential in new markets such as in Eastern and North Africa.

Global and regional trade disruptions by COVID-19 have had considerable adverse effects on perishable and agricultural products. Although it is too early to take stock of the pandemic’s impacts, the crisis is expected to cause policy reversals by plunging many into poverty, especially the large vulnerable segment of the population that depends on agriculture for income. The pandemic's economic effects suggest that ensuring the post-crisis economic recovery and resilience while scaling up non-petroleum exports in Chad would require appropriate and rapid responses to eliminate the lingering constraints and effectively unlock the potential of the livestock sector. Globally and regionally, there have been efforts to mitigate the effect of such a severe shock.

There is a need to ensure that international trade continues to flow (World Bank, 2020) through a comprehensive set of actions that protect the supply chains. For Chad in general and the livestock sector, this implies reforms that enhance the value chain from production sites to border crossing and along the corridors up to destination markets. Some of these actions are health-related and pertain to sanitary procedures and social distancing. Other actions shall protect the production and trade processes. In particular, the pandemic has brought to the forefront the fragility of trade facilitation systems in Chad and other low-income African countries. These call for bold reforms of trade and transport logistics facilitation regimes, which may take time and resources to design and implement. However, there is a need for a medium-term plan, combined with short-term measures that can help mitigate the immediate risks.

FAO (2020) has provided guidance and measures applicable to the transport and delivery of food ingredients and food products; these can inform livestock's cross-border trade processing. These include measures related to behavior during border crossing and transactions along the trade corridors, such as a program along with the above guidance for livestock and meat value chains, including the following:

- Regulating the numbers of persons and animals at border crossing stations to avoid overcrowding

- Shortening queues through adequate physical distancing measures

- Using markings and making regular announcements to facilitate compliance with the physical

- distancing

- Encouraging the use of contactless approaches to comply with border crossing procedures

- Animal health measures to protect the livestock value-chain.

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