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Add to Preferred SourcesA new FAO report highlights the multiple contributions made by the global livestock sector — especially to the lives of millions of poor, animal-dependent small-scale producers in developing countries — but also says that changes in policies and practices are needed in order to optimize those contributions.
According to World Livestock: Transforming the livestock sector through the Sustainable Development Goals, the debate around livestock production has so far been largely focused on how the sector can produce more to satisfy surging demand for animal products and feed a growing global population while at the same time reducing its environmental footprint.
While that is a worthwhile objective, FAO’s new report argues for a broader and more ambitious approach.
By realigning the livestock sector to better support the UN’s 2030 sustainable development agenda, it says that a wider range of benefits can be achieved – these include improved food and nutritional security but also extend into other realms, including access to energy, gender equality, improved environmental management and spreading peace and stability.
Noting that “even the most modern post-industrial societies remain critically reliant on animals for food and nutrition security,” FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said the livestock sector is of “enduring importance” and “can play a key role in improving the lives of millions” by providing food, jobs and income, resilience, and economic opportunities.
“Before all of this can happen, a number of complex interactions need to be addressed,” he noted, including that “competition over land for the production of feed can constrain the availability of resources to produce food” and that “promoting a more competitive sector through higher levels of market concentration will likely hamper the capacity of small-producers to participate in markets.”
“There is also an urgent need to stop the improper use of antimicrobials in animal rearing,” the FAO Director-General added, referencing the role of antibiotic use in the rise of dangerous antimicrobial resistant micro-organisms.
Meeting these challenges will require countries to look closely at their national livestock sectors and develop policies tailored to local circumstances and designed to promote equitable growth.
In particular, measures will be needed to empower smaller-scale producers to ensure they are primary actors in and beneficiaries of the livestock sector’s continued growth.
Read and download the report Transforming the livestock sector through the Sustainable Development Goals
Original source: FAO
Published on 17 October 2018