Burundi Beef

Facts about beef in Burundi

• Burundi Beef Council president Ketumile Nkewale- kicking off an ambitious $800 campaign promoting the consumption and donation of beef- begging for others to send beef to his people.
• Though the demand for beef has skyrocketed in Burundi in recent years- actual consumption has dwindled to zero pounds for the first half of the year 2000.
• “Many factors have contributed to the decreased consumption of beef in Burundi- from health concerns to the total absence of any beef anywhere in our land-” said Iringa Lubunda- the Burundi Beef Council’s director of public relations.
• In 2012- Burundi was ranked 174th among 177 countries with beef consumption amounting to only 5.1 MC.
• Meat consumption is estimated at only 48 calories per person per day- only one-tenth of the world’s average. Production of meat in 2004 was 23-400 tons. The herds retard economic development by cutting down the amount of land available for food growing- and they destroy pastureland by overgrazing. Through various technical assistance programs- the government is seeking to eliminate excess cattle- improve the remaining livestock- and introduce modern stock-raising methods.