Why invest in livestock-based options
for livelihoods, healthy lives and a
sustainable environment ?
Modibo Tiemoko TRAORE (FAO)
Keynote Address at the ILRI@40 Conference on
livestock-based options for sustainable food and
nutritional security, economic well-being and
healthy lives, Nairobi, Kenya, 1 October 2014

OUTLINE
• LIVESTOCK CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
• LIVESTOCK SECTOR IN THE ECONOMY OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES
• INVESTING TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FOR AN ENHANCED
CONTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK SUB SECTOR TO FOOD SECURITY
PROGRAMS AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE
REGION
• ROLE OF LIVESTOCK RESEARCH IN PROMOTING INVESTMENTS

Prevalence of undernourishment
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
world developed
regions
developing
regions
Africa Asia Latin
America
1990-92
2005-07
2012-14
From: FAO 2014. The state of food insecurity in the World

Hunger distribution 2012/2014
• Developed regions 01.8%
• Southern Asia 34.3%
• SSA (214M) 26.6%
• LAC 04.6%
• SE Asia 07.9%
• Western Asia 02.3%
From: FAO 2014. The state of food insecurity in the World

CONTRIBUTION OF LIVESTOCK SECTOR
Development
stage
%agric in
GDP
%livestock in
agric GDP
Demand for
livestock products
Smallholder roles
Agricultural 30-50 15-45 Rural and urban
poor – small
quantities
Smallholders
competitive;
informal markets
Transforming 15-25 18-50 Increased quantity
demanded
Urbanized 6-9 30-50 Quantity but
especially quality
demands
Complex value
chains; vertical
coordination;
smallholders not
competitive unless
where labour and
inputs benefit

Average daily consumption per capita of livestock
protein compared to safe level in 2005
• Africa 9.9 17%
• Americas 45.3 78%
• Asia 16.6 29%
• Europe 47.7 82%
• Oceania 56.8 98%

Africa’s meat and milk trade position

% change in global demand for livestock products: 2000–
2030
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
milk beef mutton pork poultry meat eggs
FAO 2011
%

By 2050 we will need huge amounts
of cereals, dairy and meat
1bn tonnes more
cereals to 2050
1bn tonnes
dairy each year
460m tonnes
meat each year

Various sources:
BMGF, FAO and 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

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

INVESTING TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES FOR AN ENHANCED CONTRIBUTION
OF LIVESTOCK SUB SECTOR TO FOOD SECURITY PROGRAMS AND
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION
• Promoting sustainable intensification of small-holder production
systems to improve availability of and access to animal food
• Promoting decent job creation for Youth upstream and downstream
the production segment to improve productivity, marketing and
processing (food quality and safety)-
• Fighting wide spread malnutrition by promoting sustainable diets
based on strategic introduction of locally produced animal food in
school feeding programs and other public feeding schemes-
• Creating conducive environment to unlock livestock potential in the
Region and reduce reliance on food imports to meet regional
demands in animal products (regional market, extension of
production zones to tsetse infested areas).