Food Production and Sustainable Agriculture Policies:
Reminding the role of Livestock
Purvi Mehta
UN’s Economic and social commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) High Level Policy Conference on Agriculture, 13 August 2013
Four out of the five highest value global commodities are livestock
2Source: FAOSTAT, 2010 data
Livestock’s Many VirtuesN
utriti
on • Provide 58
million tonnes of protein annually
• 17% of the global kilocalories Po
vert
y Al
levi
ation
• Livelihood to 1.3 Billion
• Important asset for women
• Risk mitigation
Hea
lth
• Zoonosis• Malnutrition• Obesity• Soil health:• 14% N, 9% P
and 40% K inputs to global crop production
Micronutrients Provided by ASFVitamin AIronZincCalciumRiboflavinVitamin B12
Livestock in South Asia livestock population- 600 million Employment/livelihood to over 150
million people Small holder led production system Demand driven Growing contribution to Ag. GDP
Livestock contribution to AgGDP
5
4.0%
5.6%
4.3% 2.9%
3.8%
2.8%
2.4%
2.8%
2.4%
Livestock GDP
(Figures in bars are annual growth rates)FAO, 2012
% growth in demand for livestock products2000 - 2030
6FAO, 2012
Leading Milk Producing Countries (1961-2009)
Source: FAO stat
SEA
Animal source foods and global diets
China SA SSA High IncomeCountries
% calories from ASF/Day
FAO 2012
0
10
5
15
20
25
ILRI Spearheading a New Way Forward
Yet, it is not just about livestock
Crop-Livestock Interactions
Mixed Farming Systems-
50% of the world’s cereals 41% of maize 86% of Rice 66% of sorghum 74% of millet
79% of the milk 60% of the meat
Where does theworld’s food come from?
9%
15%
19%
7%
50%
Beef
28%
18%21%
5%
28%
Lambagro-pastoral
mixed extensive
mixed intensive
other
developed countries
7%
13%
17%
4%
59%
Milk
Herrero et al. 2009
4%14%
35%2%
45%
Cereals
Resource Sharing- Land- LS use 30% of ice free land Labour- Competition for labour but also LS’s contribution to labour Water- LS use 30% fresh water
Complementarity in Providing Nutrition- LS, an Important food source for at least 830 million food insecure
people. Contribute 17 % to total kilocalorie consumption and 33 % to protein ‘Biofortified’
Risk Mitigation Crop-LS mixed farming, an important risk mitigation/reduction strategy
for farmers
Nutrition Dependence- Soil Fertility: LS provides 14% N, 9% P and 40% K inputs to global crop
production Feed
Crop-Livestock Interaction
Food
ICRISAT-ILRI Collaboration on ICGV91114 Variety: Dual Purpose Crop
Feed
• Early maturing, high yielding variety
• 15% higher pod yield
• 17% higher Haulm
• 11% increase in milk yield
48,000 INR increased income/season/hectare
• 60% of human diseases are shared with animals
• 75% of emerging diseases are zoonotic
• The top 13 zoonosis are responsible for 2.5
billion illnesses and 2.2 million human deaths
each year
• Agriculture trade implication
One Health
Livestock Sector in South Asia Unique Features for Policy Considerations
Coexistence of a range of production systems 80-90% production from smallholders Mixed farming system Serge in export and domestic demand Vulnerability to diseases Feed Issues Nutrition, health and economic contributions
Key Policy Needs Livestock on agriculture policy agenda Systems approach : Need for cross sectorial
collaboration: Health, Agriculture, Environment, Trade, Education
Regional cooperation Focus on productivity led growth rather than number led
growth Leverage on existing models, such as the cooperative
model
Thank You
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