A practical, profitable route out of poverty?
What impact will the current trends in livestock production have upon the rural poor? Livestock ownership currently supports or sustains the livelihoods of an estimated 700 million rural poor. In marginal areas, ownership of livestock is frequently the only thing that keeps poor families from sliding even further into poverty. Livestock can provide a steady stream of food and income, help to raise whole farm productivity and, for millions of landless people, is the only livelihood option available, allowing the exploitation of common-property resources for private gain. For smallholder farmers, livestock are often the only way of increasing assets and diversifying risk. Recent statistics reveal that an estimated 70% of the poor are women for whom livestock play an important role not only by providing a source of income but also by conferring status. Livestock production creates employment opportunities beyond the immediate household.
Where policies and poverty meet
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| credit: FAO |
Development interventions in the livestock sector in the past have not always produced lasting benefits. This lack of success has in part stemmed from inappropriate technology choices and a failure to secure access for poor farmers to essential livestock services. Even in cases where the technologies were appropriately targeted and the focus distinctly pro-poor, technical projects have in many cases failed to deliver significant sustainable improvement in the livelihoods of the poor. Furthermore, in many countries, the livestock sector is heavily distorted in favour of large-scale producers. It is clear that political and institutional reform will be essential if agricultural intensification strategies are to have the right impact at the desired social levels.
This is much easier said than done. According to the FAO, international livestock policy-making currently suffers from three major weaknesses. The first is that although everyone in the sector, and beyond, is affected by policy decisions, national and international policies are frequently made with little or no consideration of their impact on the poor. Secondly, the incentives for countries to co-operate in the improvement of global public goods such as the environment may be limited where benefits are not immediate. Thirdly, many people are ill-informed about the detrimental impact that present livestock policies have on public goods and are not always aware of the views and needs of other affected parties.
To help overcome these weaknesses, FAO, with funding from DFID, is setting up a Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility within its Animal Production and Health Division. The idea is to reduce poverty by supporting the formulation and promotion of international and national livestock policies for equitable, safe and clean livestock farming. The Initiative will encourage policy reforms that break down the financial, technical, social and cultural barriers that restrict the access of poorer people to the development potential offered by the livestock sector.
Although livestock production is undoubtedly changing from a local, multi-purpose activity to an increasingly market-oriented and vertically-integrated business, the projected growth in livestock production nevertheless offers a unique opportunity: a rapidly growing market of which many rural people already have experience and which they can enter without the need for substantial resources or training. Livestock production may not offer a universal solution to rural poverty but, for many, it represents a realistic way to build assets and financial security.
