Thanks for writing this Aurelia. I think we as advocates in Africa should try and shape the trajectory of emerging systems before harmful practices become entrenched looking at the projections and as argued in the recent post by @Jacob Ayang  and @Cheslyn Ceaser, Africa has an opportunity to avoid repeating the slow welfare evolution seen elsewhere by embedding welfare considerations into institutions, policy, and industry development much earlier.

To achieve this, it would be amazing to see greater investment in identifying and supporting locally led talents and organizations across the region.

I am attending  my EAG and volunteering as well. Hoping to learn and build meaningful networks.

Impressive! Really encouraging to see this level of progress.

That’s such an amazing work by you two. I am happy you are working on aquatic animal welfare in Ghana 

Thanks for breaking down the two strategies, Squeezy! I think that framing is very useful.

I agree that animal advocates alone might not have the political leverage, but I see real potential in aligning with adjacent movements and political decision makers. Also, student networks often share overlapping concerns and could become strong allies.

Thank you, Squeezy! I think you raised a really important question about where decision-making power lies and whether movements can mobilize around factory farming in its infancy.

I’m glad to say that, there has already been structural work on this, my colleagues,  Daniel Ayinde and Fasipe Isaac, with support from the @AnimalAdvocacyAfrica training program, are developing a project called Sanuvia, focused on advocating for stronger animal welfare regulations in response to the JBS expansion in Nigeria. Sanuvia reflects exactly the kind of early, coordinated action you described.

This makes me confident that with the right support, Africa could build momentum before factory farming becomes deeply entrenched.

Thank you for explaining clearly Moritz, especially the capacity to absorb funding.

From what i have noticed, there are students who have shown interest in animal welfare in some African countries. What’s often missing out is not willingness or talent, but structured support and coordination to help these groups scale effectively

Kudos to Animal Advocacy Africa for already providing this type of foundation and training . I think with time, Africa will get the capacity to absorb more resources 

I’m glad to see this debate happening. I believe there’s a uniquely high-leverage window to act now before industrial animal agriculture fully entrenches itself in Africa. One major example: the $2.5 billion expansion of JBS into Nigeria, which is projected to slaughter 150–200 million chickens, cattle, and pigs annually. Moves like this could rapidly transform local food systems toward intensive industrial models, making future reforms much harder and more expensive. I also see other African countries in the early stages of industrial growth.
Compared to Asia/Latin America, Africa has far fewer advocacy organizations as well as advocates and minimal corporate lobbying power from animal welfare groups. That means our potential interventions now could help set higher standards for farmed animals or even slow harmful industry practices before they become the norm.

I’m curious: Are there cost-effectiveness studies comparing prevention in Africa with reform in other (entrenched) regions? I think this could help funders make more informed strategic decisions.

enjoyed reading this piece. one day I can also share my journey.