Animal Production

In the past, the growth in meat and milk production was primarily a function of increasing livestock numbers rather than any significant improvement of animal productivity per se. This situation is expected to continue only in those regions and countries where feed resources are not a limitation, although many parts of the world have the limitation. Except perhaps in Latin America and parts of Africa, in most developing countries and developing regions, there is only limited land available to expand herd and flock sizes. As a result, there has been an overall trend towards greater intensification, specialization and a shift away from ruminants to monogastic production systems. These trends are expected to continue with increased output of pork, poultry meat, eggs and milk and, to a lesser extent, beef would come from further intensification of animal production systems with commercial feed supplements, extension and veterinary services, and market supply systems. This will mean more efficient integration and specialization of plant and animal production and input-output markets.

For the vast majority of the rural poor in developing and transition countries, livestock remains one of few means of income-generation and asset accumulation and, as such, make an important contribution to improving sustainable livelihoods. Movements away from traditional low risk, low input systems and low output toward more intensive methods tend to be slow and will be largely driven by the level of economic growth in the country. Mixed crop-livestock farming systems are also likely to remain responsible to meeting the majority of the growing demand for livestock products. Modern high-input, high-output industrial production systems similar to those in the developed countries will continue to emerge especially in peri-urban areas to capture the market opportunities in the ever-growing major cities. If these systems were to bear the real environmental, public health and/or animal welfare costs they incur, then in the future a larger share of the supply of animal products will need to come from intensive and integrated crop-livestock systems in the rural areas.

Traditional concepts in rangeland ecology, based on a relationship between range vegetation and grazing animals lead to the perceived need to determine 'correct' stocking capacities, usually based on range productivity in the driest years. These concepts are still relevant in the wetter rangelands. In the more arid areas however, it is now recognized that there are external shocks (drought, conflict, disease) rather than relationships between animal nutrition and herd fertility, that determine livestock populations and range condition. This has led to the acceptance that opportunistic traditional pastoral systems that track feed surpluses, usually determined by rainfall, remain the most efficient means of matching supply and demand. This new ecological paradigm has management implications in terms of water development strategies, animal health, market access, encouraging mobility and strengthening traditional coping strategies.

Upon request, FAO provides decision support and technical assistance to Member Countries in fields including: intensified livestock resource planning and management, integration of production and processing, technology transfer, business and service management, and capacity building in public and private livestock production and health service.

SEE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK: SEE PROJECT EXAMPLES: USEFUL FAO LINKS: