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LIVESTOCK
The bulk of the food, both of plant and animal origin, consumed in developing countries is supplied by small-scale, semi-subsistence, producer households. The majority are small-holder mixed farmers, producing both crops and livestock, while in some parts of the world specialist livestock producers maintain a pastoral life style. In these small-holder systems, livestock make a substantial contribution to household food security and risk management by providing income, quality food products and a form of asset accumulation.
Agricultural expansion is an essential component of the development process, not only to feed the growing population but also because the majority of the people in developing countries still make their living from the land and, despite the high rates of rural-urban migration and urban population growth, the number of people engaged in agriculture is still rising. The growing agricultural labour force is dependent on limited supplies of land and water, and the area of agricultural land per head of population in the developing countries is declining. As a result, the intensity of agricultural production must be increased simply to maintain average per caput incomes of a growing agricultural population., Livestock production, in all but the grassland-based systems, offers the prospect of increasing intensity of land-use by adding value to crops by feeding them to livestock, thereby raising the value of output per hectare.
In the past, the majority of the increases in livestock production in developing countries have been achieved by expanding livestock populations (mainly cattle and small ruminants) rather than by productivity increases within production systems. Currently however, monogastric animals, i.e. pigs and in particular poultry, are the most important source of growth with increasing adoption of industrial forms of production. These trends raise serious concerns over their environmental, social and public health consequences.
Given the strategic importance of food supplies, the economic importance of the agricultural sector in developing countries, and the foreign exchange costs of imports, a considerable degree of self sufficiency is generally a significant policy goal. Hence, in most developing countries there is a strong case for assessing the prospects for expanding and increasing the efficiency of domestic livestock production.
For references to specific Normative Frameworks and "best
practice" project examples, see: