In the future scenario for livestockdevelopment, there is a continuing role for smallholderproducers, particular for dairy and small ruminants, relyingheavily on grass and crop-residues, however in a growthmode, intensifying production, and enhancing the efficiencyof resource use (less land, labor and feed resources perunit product). In particular improving the efficiency ofconverting feed into milk and meat will be critical toincrease their income. Ensuring that happens will requiretechnical solutions, in ensuring that feed rations areadequately balanced with the appropriate feedstuffs ofadequate quality, and institutional solutions on how toprovide smallholders access to high quality information andreliable supplies of sufficient quality feeds. Investmentstrategies will need to be purposefully tailored to fitthese specific contexts. This study assesses where thedemand for feed is likely to change the most, and whereinvestments in feed are most likely to increase animalproductivity and improve the livelihoods of those who raiselivestock. The study focuses on smallholder ruminant-basedlivestock systems because they have potentially majortransformative effects on the livelihoods of producers andothers engaged in the related value chains. While pig andpoultry enterprises typically play an important role inlivelihoods at very low input levels, such as backyardscavenging poultry, they tend to be replaced very quickly bylarger scale commercial units. In India for instance,broiler production moved from a few hundred birds per unitto units with a weekly turnover of ten to twenty thousandbetween 2001 and 2006.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
