ity of flour by eliminating fermentation, contamination and coloration.

The influence of AKST in value addition and the utilization
of crops is increasing, particularly in the field of biotechnology. For example, AKST has contributed to the improved production of alcohol from cassava. There is still a great need for more innovation in the area of starter cultures for fermented foods, namely, their development, storage and production sustainability. Genetically engineered (GE) microorganisms could also help improve African fermented foods.

Crops widely processed across SSA include cassava, maize, soybean, coffee and groundnuts. Processing of oil palm, coconut palm, cocoa is dominant in West Africa. Processing of sorghum and millet is across SSA but mainly by traditional methods and almost entirely for human consumption. Industrially, but at a small scale, sorghum is processed to malt and opaque beer in South Africa (Asiedu, 1989). In Uganda, a sorghum variety purposively bred for beer production has contributed to the improvement of small-scale farmer livelihoods.

2.2 Livestock and Wildlife Systems in SSA
Livestock are an integral component of strategies for food security and poverty alleviation in SSA through the provision of food (meat, milk, eggs), services (investment for cash in times of need, security against crop failure, manure for soil amendment, draft for tillage and transport, skins and feathers for fiber and religio-cultural functions). Sub- Saharan African livestock comprises 212 million cattle, 163 million sheep, 200 million goats and 21 million pigs (FAOSTAT, 2005). Livestock production is responsible for 20-30% of the agricultural GDP in SSA (Heap, 1994; Abassa, 1995; Lebbie, 1996; ILRI, 2001). Animal products provide high quality protein in human diets as they provide micronutrients, essential amino and fatty acids (Gryseels, 1988; Bender, 1992; Shapiro, 1994; Wilson et al., 2005). Livestock produce manure and urine that contributes to nutrient cycling and maintenance of soil fertility and structure (Murwira et al., 1995; De Haan et al., 1997; Staal et al., 2001; Ndlovu and Mugabe, 2002). Their overall role in environmental sustainability is contested with some researchers maintaining that livestock are detrimental to the environment (Breman, 1995; Dube and Pickup, 2001; Fuhlendorf et al., 2001; Hein, 2006).

2.2.1. Animal genetic resources
Studies in sub-Saharan countries show that livestock performance in terms of meat, milk and egg production has been limited by poor genetic potential and management practices. Efforts to improve livestock productivity, such as importing exotic livestock, crossbreeding and selection, have resulted in limited increases in production. These efforts have had slow momentum since the pre-colonial times to the present era due to a lack of breeding strategies, poor management and inappropriate disease control measures. However, the most important setback was lack of involvement of community stakeholders in breeding schemes, which resulted in poor adoption.

During the pre-colonial and colonial period in sub-Saharan Africa, livestock was kept in various microenvironments

characterized by different ecological, social and economic conditions. Traditional management of livestock prevailed, which was mainly pastoralism. In the pre-colonial era, livestock was mainly used for food and cultural practices, such as dowry. Other social activities included feasts, funerals and paying fines. This led to little improvement in livestock productivity, as indigenous livestock were not selected for meat and milk production, but for multiple purposes such
as big horns, color and size, to attain desired cultural and social standards. The pre-colonial era included incidences of killer livestock diseases, such as tick borne, trypanosomiasis and Rinderpest, that had little or no treatment and hence ravaged large numbers of livestock. Thus, the presence of large herds and flocks was important as security against diseases but also added to the prestige and status in rural society (Msechu et al., 1987).

During colonial times, when food and cash crops where introduced, agropastoralism started as some of the livestock keepers settled permanently in specific areas. In this era, vaccines and drugs against major livestock diseases were also introduced, thus prompting pastoralists to keep larger herds (Coppock, 1994). The increase in agropastoralism was due to commercialization of both food and cash crops that increased the economic status of most farmers who had solely depended on livestock keeping. In areas where agriculture had not been fully practiced, pastoralism and the nomadic system continued due in part, to the availability of unlimited grazing lands.

During the colonial period, technical efforts were made to improve the genetic potential of indigenous livestock. Some of these attempts included the importation of exotic breeds for crossbreeding and upgrading of indigenous livestock. Attempts were made to select potential indigenous livestock, such as the Sanga cattle in Southern Africa for meat purposes. This was coupled with the introduction of improved managerial practices for exotic and crossbred livestock through improved nutrition and husbandry practices and disease control measures. Much of the work in developing livestock breeds for higher productivity for commercial purposes was undertaken in southern African countries, such as Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nambia and Swaziland (Drucker, 2001).

In East, Central and West African countries, the introduction of exotic cattle such as Friesian, Ayrshire and Jersey led to the first dairy programs in these countries and later to cooperatives. In Kenya, improvement of dairy production was pursued through the importation and pure-breeding of Sahiwal cattle from India and Pakistan. The selected Indozebu breeds of cattle were used in areas where the environment was not suitable for the Bos taurus cattle (Das and Mkonyi, 2003). European breeds of wool sheep and dairy goats were also introduced in most of the SSA countries. Much of the livestock development activities in these countries was concentrated on government multiplication and research farms among missionaries and by a few colonial settlers. The impetus for livestock development, though initiated during the colonial era, did not gain much momentum among rural communities in various African countries due to the lack of adequate breeding strategies and the concentration of breeding animals in a few areas such as government farms, the high costs of keeping exotic and crossbred