[Successful privatisation of para-professional services in traditional livestock farming systems: the case of Senegal]

Abstract

In Senegal, after nearly a decade of experimenting with various privatisation projects, the process of privatising veterinary service provision and empowering producers has become more stable and is now considered irreversible. The means used to satisfy animal health service needs and to develop animal production have become a key factor in poverty reduction strategies. Legislation concerning the veterinary profession has encouraged inexorable growth in the establishment of private veterinarians and para-professionals, thanks to the financing mechanisms that international institutions have promoted and funded. The new legal framework has led to a general liberalisation of veterinary medicine and of the importation and distribution of veterinary products.