Food Production and Sustainable Agriculture Policies:
Reminding the role of Livestock
Purvi Mehta
UN’s Economic and social commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP)
High Level Policy Conference on Agriculture, 13 August 2013

Four out of the five highest value global
commodities are livestock
2
Source: FAOSTAT, 2010 data

Micronutrients
Provided by ASF
Vitamin A
Iron
Zinc
Calcium
Riboflavin
Vitamin B12
• Livelihood
to 1.3
Billion
• Important
asset for
women
• Risk
mitigation
Health
• Provide 58
million
tonnes of
protein
annually
• 17% of the
global
kilocalories
Poverty Alleviation
Nutrition
Livestock’s Many Virtues
•
•
•
•
•
Zoonosis
Malnutrition
Obesity
Soil health:
14% N, 9% P
and 40% K
inputs to
global crop
production

Livestock in South Asia
 livestock population- 600 million
 Employment/livelihood to over 150
million people
 Small holder led production system
 Demand driven
 Growing contribution to Ag. GDP

Livestock contribution to AgGDP
Livestock
GDP
5.6%
4.0%
3.8%
4.3%
2.4%
2.4%
2.9%
2.8%
2.8%
(Figures in bars are annual growth rates)
5
FAO, 2012

% growth in demand for livestock products
2000 - 2030
6
FAO, 2012

Leading Milk Producing Countries (1961-2009)
Source: FAO stat

Animal source foods and global diets
% calories from ASF/Day
25
20
15
10
5
0
SEA
China
SA
SSA
High Income
Countries
FAO 2012

Yet, it is not just about
livestock
ILRI Spearheading a
New Way Forward

Crop-Livestock Interactions
Mixed Farming Systems




50% of the world’s cereals
41% of maize
86% of Rice
66% of sorghum
74% of millet
 79% of the milk
 60% of the meat

Where does the
world’s food come from?
Milk
Cereals
4%
7%
14%
13%
45%
17%
59%
35%
4%
2%
Beef
Lamb
agro-pastoral
mixed extensive
9%
15%
28%
28%
mixed intensive
other
50%
19%
7%
5%
developed countries
18%
21%
Herrero et al. 2009

Crop-Livestock Interaction
Resource Sharing Land- LS use 30% of ice free land
 Labour- Competition for labour but also LS’s contribution to labour
 Water- LS use 30% fresh water
Complementarity in Providing Nutrition LS, an Important food source for at least 830 million food insecure
people.
 Contribute 17 % to total kilocalorie consumption and 33 % to protein
 ‘Biofortified’
Risk Mitigation
 Crop-LS mixed farming, an important risk mitigation/reduction strategy
for farmers
Nutrition Dependence Soil Fertility: LS provides 14% N, 9% P and 40% K inputs to global crop
production
 Feed

ICRISAT-ILRI Collaboration on ICGV91114 Variety: Dual Purpose Crop
Food
Feed
• Early maturing, high yielding variety • 17% higher Haulm
• 15% higher pod yield
• 11% increase in milk yield
48,000 INR increased income/season/hectare

One Health
• 60% of human diseases are shared with animals
• 75% of emerging diseases are zoonotic
• The top 13 zoonosis are responsible for 2.5 billion
illnesses and 2.2 million human deaths each year
• Agriculture trade implication

Livestock Sector in South Asia
Unique Features for Policy Considerations







Coexistence of a range of production systems
80-90% production from smallholders
Mixed farming system
Serge in export and domestic demand
Vulnerability to diseases
Feed Issues
Nutrition, health and economic contributions

Key Policy Needs
 Livestock on agriculture policy agenda
 Systems approach : Need for cross sectorial
collaboration:
Health, Agriculture, Environment, Trade, Education
 Regional cooperation
 Focus on productivity led growth rather than number led
growth
 Leverage on existing models, such as the cooperative
model

Thank You