Livestock, livelihoods and the
future of India’s smallholder farmers
12th Agricultural Science Congress
Sustainable Livelihood Security of Smallholder Farmers
National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India, 3–6 February 2015
Jimmy Smith  Director General  ILRI

Why livestock matter globally for livelihoods
 Smallholder agriculture
• 1.5 billion people live
on smallholder farms
• India has 130m small-
holder farms (<4ha)
• Smallholders produce
80% or more of the food
in Asia & SS Africa
• 43% or more of small-
holders are women
Smallholder livestock
Up to 1 billion people
depend on livestock for:
• livelihoods
• food security
• income
• cropping nutrients
and traction
• insurance
• managing risk

Why this is a livestock
‘moment’ for smallholders
Dramatic on-going
changes open new
opportunities for
a more sustainable
and equitable
future for small
food producers,
processors, traders
With the right support, small-scale
livestock production systems can play
a major part in creating a sustainable,
healthy and equitable future for all

BIG livestock opportunity #1
Fast-rising global demand for livestock products

4 of 5 highest valueglobal commodities arelivestock
FAOSTAT 2014
(values for 2012)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Production(MT)millions
Netproductionvalue(Int$)billion
net production value (Int $) billion production (MT)
Cow milk has
overtaken rice
Eggs have
displaced
maize

Production value: India and South Asia
FAOSTAT 2014
(values for 2012)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Netproductionvalue(Int$)billion
net production value India (Int $) billion net production value other S.Asia (int $) billion

Huge increases over 2005/7 amounts
of cereals, dairy and meat will be needed by
2050From 2bn−3bn
tonnes cereals each year
From 664m−1bn
tonnes dairy each year
From 258m−460m
tonnes meat each year

Rising demand for meat,
milk and eggs is a global
phenomenon . . .
. . . but demand is
greatest in South Asia
and Sub-Saharan Africa

Gains in meat consumption in developing
countries are outpacing those of developed
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1980 1990 2002 2015 2030 2050
Millionmetrictonnes
developing
developed
FAO 2006

Gains in meat consumption in developing
countries are outpacing those of developed
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1980 1990 2002 2015 2030 2050
Millionmetrictonnes
developing
developed
developing at same
per cap. as
developed
(hypothetical)

Developing- vs developed-country
annual production to 2050
MILK:
expected
to grow by
1.8%
(2% in S Asia)
vs.
0.3%
in developed
countries
MEAT:
expected
to grow by
> 3%
vs.
0.4%
in developed
countries

FAO, 2012Based on anticipated change in absolute tonnes of product comparing 2000 and 2030
Percentage growth in demand
for livestock products: 2000−2030

FAO, 2012Based on anticipated change in absolute tonnes of product comparing 2000 and 2030
Percentage growth in demand
for livestock products: 2000−2030

BIG livestock opportunity #2
Livestock and
cereal products
are produced
largely on
smallholder
mixed crop-and-
livestock farms

Smallholders still dominate
livestock production in many countries

Much of the world’s livestock food comes from
small mixed farms in developing countries
Herrero et al. 2009
Developing-country
mixed crop-livestock
systems, most of them
smallholders, supply
much of the world’s
livestock products

What’s special about animal/smallholder food?
• 90% of animal products are
produced and consumed
in the same country or region
• Most are produced
by smallholders
• More than 70% of livestock
products are sold ‘informally’
• 500m smallholders produce
80% of developing-world food
• 43% of the agricultural
workforce is female

BMGF, FAO, ILRI
Smallholders still dominate
livestock production in many countries
Region
(definition of
‘smallholder’)
% production by smallholder livestock farms
Beef Chicken
meat
Sheep/goat
meat
Milk Pork Eggs
East Africa
(≤ 6 milking
animals)
60-90
Bangladesh
(< 3ha land)
65 77 78 65 77
India
(< 2ha land)
75 92 92 69 71
Vietnam
(small scale)
80
Philippines
(backyard)
50 35

BMGF, FAO, ILRI
Smallholders still dominate
livestock production in many countries
Region
(definition of
‘smallholder’)
% production by smallholder livestock farms
Beef Chicken
meat
Sheep/goat
meat
Milk Pork Eggs
East Africa
(≤ 6 milking
animals)
60-90
Bangladesh
(< 3ha land)
65 77 78 65 77
India
(< 2ha land)
75 92 92 69 71
Vietnam
(small scale)
80
Philippines
(backyard)
50 35

Farm size and number of holdings: India
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Averagesize(ha)
No.ofholdingsinmillions
no.holdings (million)
av size (ha)

Increasing farm size: USA
(2.2 million holdings in 2007)
21

BIG livestock opportunity #3
In 2011 Indian livestock contributed:
26% of agricultural GDP  4% of total GDP
valued at INR4,59,051 crore (US$74 billion today)

BIG livestock opportunity #4
This rising demand for
animal-source foods
will be met − one way
or another
We can meet that
demand in sustainable,
equitable and healthy
ways that also reduce
poverty and hunger
This requires
proactive action

Demand for livestock commodities will be met –
the only question is how
Scenario #1
India meets livestock demand by
importing livestock products
Scenario #2
India meets livestock demand by
importing livestock industrial production know-how
Scenario #3
India meets livestock demand by
transforming smallholder livestock systems

Scenario #1: Bad news for India’s
economy, employment and livelihoods
Downsides of importations
• A huge import bill
straining foreign exchange
• Little growth of
indigenous livestock
enterprises
• Industrial-scale pollution
in developed countries
• Mass emigration of youth
(and labour) from
developing countries

Downsides of industrial production
• Know-how restricted
to few enterprises
• Employment opportunities,
esp. for women and youth, lost
• Increased demand for feed
and water degrades
natural resources
• Environment polluted
and large financial costs
• Synergies of mixed systems lost
Scenario #2: Bad news for India’s
equity, environment and economy

Scenario #3: Good news for India’s
rural economic transformation
Upsides of smallholder transformation
• The coming livestock transitions
and consolidations can help
millions improve their food
production as well as health,
livelihoods and environments
• Of the world’s 1 billion smallholder
livestock producers, some:
﹣1/3 will find alternate livelihoods
﹣1/3 will succeed in the market
﹣1/3 could go either way

India has shown it can be done
India
moves
from
dairy
importer
to the
world’s
top milk
producer

12th ASC technical sessions: Action to transform
smallholder livestock agriculture
1 Livelihood security for smallholder farmers
2 Attracting and retaining youth in agriculture
3 Skill and human resource development for
diversification in employment
4 Linking smallholder farmers with the market
5 Intensification of livestock production for smallholder
and landless farmers

12th ASC technical sessions: Action to transform
smallholder livestock agriculture (cont.)
6 Group dynamics of smallholder farmers, SHG, producer
companies
7 Mechanization and post-harvest technologies for small
farmers
8 Natural resource management and climate change:
international perspective
9 Policy issues for the protection of smallholder farmers
10 Empowerment of women in agriculture
11 Credit flow and insurance support to smallholder
farmers

Image credits
Slide #3: (left) Kolkata Trams, 2000s, by Bengali artist Rupban Chitrakar
(via Kalarte) and (right) Cow Boy (IV) by Sekhar Roy (via US-India Art and
Culture Exchange Center)
Slide #4: Cow and calf, by Jamini Roy (via MyArtTracker)
Slide #17: Sacred cows, by Vidushini (via Novica)
Slide #23: Untitled, by Kalam Patua (via Asia Art Archive)
Slide #25: Handcarved wood print block stamp of goat from India (via Etsy)
Slide #26: McDonalds ad for ‘chicken hamburgers’ in India
Slide #27: Kalighat painting (via Pinterest)
Slide #32: Gond painting, 2012, by Kaushal Prasad Tekam (via Pinterest)

The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is
given to ILRI.
better lives through livestock
ilri.org
Thank you!

The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is
given to ILRI.
better lives through livestock
ilri.org