Deep Roots

[

] 123

unit of product as modern formal markets while paying the

same or higher wages.

For all these reasons, livestock production usually generates

more rural economic multiplier effects than other subsectors.

Rural income multipliers were found to be higher from primary

livestock production than from nearly all other agricultural

subsectors across several continents, multiplying rural incomes,

for example, by nearly five times in Africa and in some cases

higher even than non-agricultural activities.

Challenges and opportunities

In spite of the opportunities that livestock markets present

and the ability of smallholders to compete, there remain

significant challenges to small livestock producers. The levels

of basic animal productivity on most farms are typically well

below those on commercial farms. In some cases, beef produc-

tivity gaps between small-scale and commercial farms are

130 per cent and as high as 430 per cent in the case of milk

production.

These gaps are caused by many factors, includ-

ing inadequate or low-quality feeds, poor disease control and

use of low potential animal breeds. Small farm access to reli-

able extension, animal health and breeding services is often

poor. On the market side, buyers of livestock products are

increasingly demanding higher and more consistent quality

products that must also adhere to more stringent safety stand-

ards, which small farmers may struggle to achieve. Public

policy and investment is generally shaped by those with the

most prominent voices, which tend to be large commercial

players. Small family farms may not benefit and in some cases

may be specifically disadvantaged by policy measures aiming

to industrialize livestock systems.

Fortunately, ongoing, rapid and dramatic advances in

genomic technologies are creating new opportunities likely

to produce breakthroughs in development of new vaccines

and higher yielding animals adapted to developing-country

environments. New business models and information and

communication technology tools are being developed to provide

family farms with better access to knowledge and markets and

with platforms that facilitate local innovation. Finally, renewed

attention to agriculture following the food price crises of 2007-

2008 and 2011 has shifted public and philanthropic investment

back to agriculture, including livestock.

While some experts advise against further investments in

small livestock family farming because they see its role as

declining, and some view industrial livestock production as

more resource-efficient and potentially more ‘climate smart’

than small-scale production, a wealth of evidence indicates

that family farms remain a critical and competitive part of the

global livestock product supply. Family farm enterprises are

essential not only to meeting the growing demand for animal-

source foods but also to generating rural employment and

economic growth.

The developmental aim should be to support livestock family

farms through the transitional process being faced by all agri-

culture as markets, technologies and economic factors change,

to either scale up and specialize towards fully commercial and

durable enterprises, or to generationally and positively transi-

tion out of agriculture through education to more remunerative

livelihoods, using strong family farm revenues and assets to

facilitate that process. Both of those pathway require continued

and increased investment in research and development specifi-

cally for livestock family farms.

Animal-source foods and balanced diets

Even though overconsumption of meat, milk and eggs is a

potential health threat in well-off nations and communities, for the

undernourished poor the benefits of consuming these foods are large

and undisputed. Livestock products have an important role in the diets

of the poor: they provide on average 11 per cent of energy and 26 per

cent of protein

and are a key source of micronutrients. For some

vulnerable groups, such as the world’s 180 million pastoralists, the

contribution of livestock products to diet is much higher. International

Livestock Research Institute research shows substantial amounts of

dairy products are consumed on the farms that produce them.

Livestock products are excellent sources of bioavailable

micronutrients that are difficult to obtain in sufficient quantities

from plant foods alone and are often low in the mainly vegetarian

diets of rural children. Animal proteins are also more ‘biologically

complete’ than plant proteins, meaning they contain all the essential

amino acids needed by the body and do not contain the anti-

nutrient factors common in plant foods. Because livestock products

are nutrient dense, palatable and often highly preferred, they are

excellent foods for those who can’t ingest large amounts of food:

infants, children, older people and those suffering from illness.

Studies in different parts of the world showed that animal-source

foods with their high energy density and constituent micronutrients

of heme iron, zinc, B12 and high-quality protein, all in bioavailable

form, contribute positively to physical growth, physical activity and

cognitive function essential to learning.

Even small amounts

of milk, meat or eggs, consumed regularly by children under five

years old, reduce stunting and improve cognitive development, with

benefits that last a lifetime.

Demand for livestock products is expected to double by 2050 from 2000

levels and nearly all of that growth is occurring in developing countries

Image: ILRI

eep

oots