Livestock Development: Implications for rural poverty, the Environment, and Global food security

Livestock development is projected in coming decades to become the world's most important agricultural subsector in terms of value added and land use. Global meat demand is projected to grow from 209 million tons in 1997 to 327 million tons in 2020, while global milk consumption is projected to increase from 422 million tons to 648 million tons over the same period. This increase in demand is expected to exert undue pressure on natural resources worldwide ,possibly crowd out the poor, endanger global food security, thwart animal welfare, and ensure further degradation of the land and erosion of bio-diversity. Livestock Development:Implications for Rural Poverty, the Environment, and Global Food Security argues for policies that place a high priority on the public good. Given the anticipated major changes in the macroeconomic and institutional environment in which the livestock sector operates, it is incumbent on international financial agencies like the World Bank to formulate policies that promote poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, food security and safety, and animal welfare. Achieving these goals however, requires an appropriate policy framework and environment that enables the introduction of equitable, clean, and safe technologies throughout the food chain. The book describes the primary policy /technology framework for the main production systems and means required, and concludes with an 11-point action plan for the sector.