The roles of livestock in developing countries
TL;DR: To achieve this, it is necessary that production systems become market-orientated, better regulated in cases, and socially acceptable so that the right mix of incentives exists for the systems to intensify.
Abstract: Livestock play a significant role in rural livelihoods and the economies of developing countries. They are providers of income and employment for producers and others working in, sometimes complex, value chains. They are a crucial asset and safety net for the poor, especially for women and pastoralist groups, and they provide an important source of nourishment for billions of rural and urban households. These socio-economic roles and others are increasing in importance as the sector grows because of increasing human populations, incomes and urbanisation rates. To provide these benefits, the sector uses a significant amount of land, water, biomass and other resources and emits a considerable quantity of greenhouse gases. There is concern on how to manage the sector's growth, so that these benefits can be attained at a lower environmental cost. Livestock and environment interactions in developing countries can be both positive and negative. On the one hand, manures from ruminant systems can be a valuable source of nutrients for smallholder crops, whereas in more industrial systems, or where there are large concentrations of animals, they can pollute water sources. On the other hand, ruminant systems in developing countries can be considered relatively resource-use inefficient. Because of the high yield gaps in most of these production systems, increasing the efficiency of the livestock sector through sustainable intensification practices presents a real opportunity where research and development can contribute to provide more sustainable solutions. In order to achieve this, it is necessary that production systems become market-orientated, better regulated in cases, and socially acceptable so that the right mix of incentives exists for the systems to intensify. Managing the required intensification and the shifts to new value chains is also essential to avoid a potential increase in zoonotic, food-borne and other diseases. New diversification options and improved safety nets will also be essential when intensification is not the primary avenue for developing the livestock sector. These processes will need to be supported by agile and effective public and private institutions.
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TL;DR: This report presents a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 4 animal species, and 3 livestock products.
Abstract: We present a unique, biologically consistent, spatially disaggregated global livestock dataset containing information on biomass use, production, feed efficiency, excretion, and greenhouse gas emissions for 28 regions, 8 livestock production systems, 4 animal species (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, and poultry), and 3 livestock products (milk, meat, and eggs). The dataset contains over 50 new global maps containing high-resolution information for understanding the multiple roles (biophysical, economic, social) that livestock can play in different parts of the world. The dataset highlights: (i) feed efficiency as a key driver of productivity, resource use, and greenhouse gas emission intensities, with vast differences between production systems and animal products; (ii) the importance of grasslands as a global resource, supplying almost 50% of biomass for animals while continuing to be at the epicentre of land conversion processes; and (iii) the importance of mixed crop–livestock systems, producing the greater part of animal production (over 60%) in both the developed and the developing world. These data provide critical information for developing targeted, sustainable solutions for the livestock sector and its widely ranging contribution to the global food system.
859 citations
Cites background from "The roles of livestock in developin..."
...At the same time, grasslands are sometimes considered either underused or seen as an ecosystem warranting judicious management because of their importance for protecting key regulating ecosystems services (carbon, biodiversity, water) (1, 5, 29)....
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TL;DR: The Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy as discussed by the authors is a new welfare policy for the United States, which is based on the concept of assets and the poor, as discussed in this paper.
Abstract: (1992). Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 941-945.
370 citations
TL;DR: Evidence on foodborne disease in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is still limited, but important studies in recent years have broadened understanding and suggest that developing country consumers are concerned about FBD and that most FBD is the result of consumption of fresh, perishable foods sold in informal markets.
Abstract: Evidence on foodborne disease (FBD) in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is still limited, but important studies in recent years have broadened our understanding. These suggest that developing country consumers are concerned about FBD; that most of the known burden of FBD disease comes from biological hazards; and, that most FBD is the result of consumption of fresh, perishable foods sold in informal markets. FBD is likely to increase in LMICs as the result of massive increases in the consumption of risky foods (livestock and fish products and produce) and lengthening and broadening value chains. Although intensification of agricultural production is a strong trend, so far agro-industrial production and modern retail have not demonstrated clear advantages in food safety and disease control. There is limited evidence on effective, sustainable and scalable interventions to improve food safety in domestic markets. Training farmers on input use and good practices often benefits those farmers trained, but has not been scalable or sustainable, except where good practices are linked to eligibility for export. Training informal value chain actors who receive business benefits from being trained has been more successful. New technologies, growing public concern and increased emphasis on food system governance can also improve food safety.
241 citations
Cites background from "The roles of livestock in developin..."
...In many LMICs, most animal source foods and produce are produced by smallholders and sold in informal markets [19,20]....
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237 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of a subset of these options, which have proven to be effective, are discussed, and a unique feature of this review is the high level of attention given to interactions between mitigation options and productivity.
Abstract: Although livestock production accounts for a sizeable share of global greenhouse gas emissions, numerous technical options have been identified to mitigate these emissions. In this review, a subset of these options, which have proven to be effective, are discussed. These include measures to reduce CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation by ruminants, the largest single emission source from the global livestock sector, and for reducing CH4 and N2O emissions from manure. A unique feature of this review is the high level of attention given to interactions between mitigation options and productivity. Among the feed supplement options for lowering enteric emissions, dietary lipids, nitrates and ionophores are identified as the most effective. Forage quality, feed processing and precision feeding have the best prospects among the various available feed and feed management measures. With regard to manure, dietary measures that reduce the amount of N excreted (e.g. better matching of dietary protein to animal needs), shift N excretion from urine to faeces (e.g. tannin inclusion at low levels) and reduce the amount of fermentable organic matter excreted are recommended. Among the many 'end-of-pipe' measures available for manure management, approaches that capture and/or process CH4 emissions during storage (e.g. anaerobic digestion, biofiltration, composting), as well as subsurface injection of manure, are among the most encouraging options flagged in this section of the review. The importance of a multiple gas perspective is critical when assessing mitigation potentials, because most of the options reviewed show strong interactions among sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The paper reviews current knowledge on potential pollution swapping, whereby the reduction of one GHG or emission source leads to unintended increases in another.
209 citations
References
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TL;DR: It is concluded that global resources to counter disease emergence are poorly allocated, with the majority of the scientific and surveillance effort focused on countries from where the next important EID is least likely to originate.
Abstract: Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a significant burden on global economies and public health. Their emergence is thought to be driven largely by socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors, but no comparative study has explicitly analysed these linkages to understand global temporal and spatial patterns of EIDs. Here we analyse a database of 335 EID 'events' (origins of EIDs) between 1940 and 2004, and demonstrate non-random global patterns. EID events have risen significantly over time after controlling for reporting bias, with their peak incidence (in the 1980s) concomitant with the HIV pandemic. EID events are dominated by zoonoses (60.3% of EIDs): the majority of these (71.8%) originate in wildlife (for example, severe acute respiratory virus, Ebola virus), and are increasing significantly over time. We find that 54.3% of EID events are caused by bacteria or rickettsia, reflecting a large number of drug-resistant microbes in our database. Our results confirm that EID origins are significantly correlated with socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors, and provide a basis for identifying regions where new EIDs are most likely to originate (emerging disease 'hotspots'). They also reveal a substantial risk of wildlife zoonotic and vector-borne EIDs originating at lower latitudes where reporting effort is low. We conclude that global resources to counter disease emergence are poorly allocated, with the majority of the scientific and surveillance effort focused on countries from where the next important EID is least likely to originate.
5,992 citations
"The roles of livestock in developin..." refers background in this paper
...Currently, one new disease is emerging every four months, and 75% of these originate in animals (Jones et al., 2008)....
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TL;DR: The high mortality and disease burden resulting from these nutrition-related factors make a compelling case for the urgent implementation of interventions to reduce their occurrence or ameliorate their consequences.
5,634 citations
"The roles of livestock in developin..." refers background in this paper
...Undernutrition is widespread among this population and is implicated in the deaths of a third of all children under five (Black et al., 2008); an estimated 195 million children are too short for their age (stunted) and 129 million children are underweight....
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...population and is implicated in the deaths of a third of all children under five (Black et al., 2008); an estimated 195 million children are too short for their age (stunted) and 129 million children are underweight....
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Book•
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation, and suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
Abstract: Presentation de l'editeur : This report aims to assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation. The assessment takes into account direct impacts, along with the impacts of feed crop agriculture required for livestock production. The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Livestock's contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major reductions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost
3,911 citations
"The roles of livestock in developin..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Most meat and milk in the developing world comes from mixed systems (Seré and Steinfeld, 1996; Steinfeld et al., 2006; Herrero et al., 2009)....
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...According to Steinfeld et al. (2006), methane from enteric fermentation, nitrous oxide from manure management and carbon dioxide from land use contribute 25%, 31% and 36% to the emissions of the livestock sector, respectively (Table 3)....
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...However, the highest rates of increase in animal production observed in the last decades, and forecasted into the future, are in the intensive pig and poultry sectors of the developing world (Delgado et al., 1999; Bruinsma, 2003; Steinfeld et al., 2006)....
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...Steinfeld et al. (2006) estimated that livestock utilise 3.4 billion ha for grazing and 0.5 million ha of cropland for the production of feeds (33% of arable land), globally....
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...Benefits from participation in carbon PES schemes might also be associated with increases in production creating a double benefit (Steinfeld et al., 2006)....
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TL;DR: New estimates for 2008 of the major causes of death in children younger than 5 years in 193 countries are reported to help to focus national programmes and donor assistance.
2,898 citations
"The roles of livestock in developin..." refers background in this paper
...Diarrhoea is one of the top three infectious diseases in most developing countries, killing an estimated 1.4 million children a year (Black et al., 2010)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: The State of Food and Agriculture 2005 examines the many ways in which trade and trade liberalization affect the poor and food-insecure as discussed by the authors, and recommends a twin-track approach: investing in human capital, institutions and infrastructure to enable the poor to take advantage of trade-related opportunities, while establishing safety nets to protect vulnerable members of society.
Abstract: • What are the economic linkages among agriculture, trade and poverty? • How do poor households adapt to trade reform? • How does agricultural trade reform affect countries at different levels of development? • How does trade affect food security? • What is the unfi nished agenda for agricultural trade policy reform? • How can trade work for the poor? 2005 Can trade work for the poor? The State of Food and Agriculture 2005 examines the many ways in which trade and trade liberalization affect the poor and food-insecure. It is found that trade can be a catalyst for change, promoting conditions that enable the poor to raise their incomes and live longer, healthier and more productive lives. But because the poor often survive on a narrow margin, they are particularly vulnerable in any reform process, especially in the short run as productive sectors and labour markets adjust. Opening national agricultural markets to international competition – especially from subsidized competitors – before basic market institutions and infrastructure are in place can undermine the agriculture sector with long-term negative consequences for poverty and food security. Among the many important lessons from this analysis is the need for policy-makers to consider carefully how trade and complementary policies can be used to promote pro-poor growth. The report recommends a twin-track approach: investing in human capital, institutions and infrastructure to enable the poor to take advantage of trade-related opportunities, while establishing safety nets to protect vulnerable members of society. TH E TA TE O F FO O D A N D A G R IC U TU R E F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N
2,850 citations