Resource information
Driven by population growth,
urbanization, and increased income, the demand for
animal-source food products in developing countries is
rapidly increasing. Livestock, which already constitutes 30
percent of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
the developing world, and about 40 percent of the global
agricultural GDP, is one of the fastest-growing subsectors
in agriculture. Growing demand presents real opportunities
for economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas. It
could directly benefit the one billion poor people who
depend on livestock as a source of income and subsistence.
Livestock also provides traction for about 50 percent of the
world's farmers and is a source of organic fertilizer
for most of the world's croplands, converting waste
products into inputs in the production of high-value food.
For these reasons, the sector has a critical role to play in
making agriculture sustainable, in reducing poverty, and in
contributing to economic growth. This report presents an
analysis of the issues related to market failures in the
livestock sector, and an examination of policy and
investment options that can be used to overcome them. Its
principal intended audience includes policy makers and
development practitioners. Much of the analysis will focus
on identifying the needs of the public sector as it sets out
to redress the imbalance between public and private
investment and to begin establishing an enabling environment
in which private sector livestock development can take place
in a way that is consistent with public health, poverty
reduction, and environmental sustainability. While the
report focuses on developing countries, much of its
treatment pertains to industrialized countries as well,
particularly with respect to issues of crosscutting global
significance, such as greenhouse gas emissions and emerging
highly infectious diseases.
