percent. Livestock production is more concentrated in the country's central part, a Sahelian area, favorable to breeding. The Batha region is home to 12.6 percent of the total production and is followed by Wadi Fira (8.8 percent), Ouaddaï (8.7 percent) and Lac (6.5 percent), see Figure 1.

The demand for livestock products rises in line with population growth and urbanization in Nigeria and the ECCAS region. In Central and West Africa, the demand is highest in coastal countries, with Sahelian countries net-exporters. Chad is a major supplier of live animal trade to Nigeria and Cameroon. There is market potential in the ECCAS region; Chad's challenge is to dismantle the numerous impediments to cross-border trade and nurture sufficient supply response, see Figure 2.

There is a high correlation between the degree of openness of the economy and regional trade (Kamuanga et al. (2008)). Although Chad’s levels of live animal products traded are steadily increasing, intra-regional trade could be intensified given the potential if more favorable policies to support the development of animal product processing are implemented. Chad and other Sahelian countries have traditionally been the major source of regional meat trade to relatively better-endowed consumers in Nigeria and other ECCAS countries, such as Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Southern part of Cameroon (Figure 2). The cross-border movement of traded livestock has persisted despite armed conflicts, regional insecurity, and border closures.

Sustained cross-border livestock trade will be crucial for protecting the herder's and communities' lifeline in border regions during the pandemic outbreak and the recovery period. Enhanced cross-border trade provides revenues for purchasing other basic commodity imports. The cross-border livestock trading operation is an integral part of a system through which export proceeds are used to import other manufactured goods from the Nigerian and Cameroonian markets. Increased revenue from livestock activities enables the herder to purchase other agricultural goods in the local market. Boosting livestock trade stimulates non-pastoral activities, job creation and increases productivity. This, in turn, has indirect multiplier effects on other income-generating activities in agricultural sectors. More importantly, it creates the conditions for initiating agro-industrialization. Accordingly, cross-border trade is the enabler of economic diversification. Overall, the spillover effect of cross-border trade could nurture economic growth and poverty reduction.

# **2.1. Market Potential in Central Africa**

Chad remains a key supplier of livestock to the sub-region, particularly Nigeria and Central Africa. FAO estimates show that Chad has a strong presence in the livestock market (Figure 3). The most-traded animal is beef, with sales of nearly US$ 45 million in 2009. Over the past two decades, beef sales have been broadly stable and remain above US$ 30 million. Moreover, according to FAO estimates, goat ranks second in Chad's <mark>livestock</mark> exports, which has stabilized at around US$ 8 million since the 2000s, with a peak observed in 2010. In addition, sheep exports are less significant, with sales not exceeding US$ 2.5 million between 2000 and 2013. However, most of the livestock exports take place in the informal sector; hence the export potential is even larger.

Figure 3: Trend of livestock export of Chad (in Figure 4: Trend of livestock import of ECCAS region (in thousands of dollars) thousands of dollars) 5