Meat and markets: Can a global trade in livestock deliver southern Africa out of poverty?

Trading livestock domestically and regionally, rather than globally, offers the best route out of poverty for southern Africa, according to recent research from the STEPS Centre based at IDS.

The work, funded by the Wellcome Trust’s Livestock for Life programme, looked at the beef industry in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and questioned whether Africa can trade its way out of poverty – a question being posed by many in top policy circles.