UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Government

Name of Ministry/Agency:	Department of State

Country:	United States of America

Name of Focal Point:	Hiram Larew

Initiative Title:	Changing Importance of Livestock in Agricultural Economies and Global Trends

Internet links:	http://glcrsp.ucdavis.edu/

Scope:	Global

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	U.S. Agency for International Development

Stakeholders/Partners:	Livestock farmers worldwide and U.S. Land-Grant Universities

Relevent issues:	- Food security and sustainable agriculture - Enhancing agricultural productivity through adequate and sustainable inputs - Community-based and indigenous approaches to food production - Diversifying agricultural production systems - Integrating rural development strategies into broader development strategies - Empowerment of local rural communities - Natural resources management

Objectives/Challenges:

Of the one billion rural poor, two-thirds or 660 million people depend on livestock. Livestock production is the largest single agricultural sector in most developing countries and accounts for up to 50 percent of agricultural GDP. Livestock provide high return on investment - often more than 10 percent. Livestock reinforce household nutritional security.
With more than five decades of livestock and range development experience in developing countries, USAID’s current livestock portfolio addresses livestock production, processing, marketing/trade, natural resource and risk management, and human and animal health. Major foci include: dairy development (production, processing, and market access); sustainable natural resource management; pastoral risk management and community health; animal source foods and children’s nutrition; a nd livestock early warning and market information knowledge management systems.

Lessons Learned:

An integrated approach is required to incorporate policies, technologies and institutional capabilities. Animal agriculture cannot be separated from a farming system without severing the vital link to household and national economic development and nutritional security. Additionally, long-term donor support is needed to ensure continuity from research activities to ultimate uses of knowledge and information.

Policy Options:

The impact of climate change on livestock production requires further action. In addition, integration of public-private sector partnerships, NGOs and institutions of higher learning is required to institutionalize standards (e.g., sanitary-phytosanitary; hazard analysis and critical control point) that increase the value of meat and milk in domestic, regional and export markets, and reduce the vulnerability of GNP losses resulting from epidemics, including zoonotic diseases.

Summary:

Key Results -

The goal of this work is to increase food security and improve the quality of life of people in developing countries while bringing an international focus to the research, teaching and extension efforts of U.S. institutions. This is achieved through collaboration between U.S. land-grant institutions and national and regional institutions abroad that are active in livestock research and development. Highlighted below are examples of recent accomplishments:

• To addresses the global avian influenza emergency, an international “train-the trainer” course was developed that covers the essential skills for prevention, detection and response.

• A livestock marketing information system, which uses remote-sensing and on-the-ground information technologies, is now in place to support national systems in various countries.

• Mongolia produced the first maps of forage availability, forage deviation and forage forecasts for the entire six communities in the Gobi Study area. Similar technology is in place in East Africa and has also started in Mali, West Africa.