Livestock
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| Kenyan pastoralists and their cattle benefit from the USAID-supported Regional Enhanced Livelihoods in Pastoral Areas (RELPA) project (Credit - Joyce Turk) |
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As developing world populations and incomes increase, so does the demand for food. With higher incomes, people can afford higher quality foods that include animal products. Livestock are an important component of both meeting the rising demand for meat and dairy and providing a significant means of economic growth for poor farmers. Animal agriculture is the largest single sector of agricultural economies and accounts for up to 50 percent of agricultural GDP in most developing and transition countries. Livestock reinforce household food security and provide a high return on investment - often more than 10 percent! In poor households, livestock are a key means of investment and offer insurance against drought and crop failure.
USAID supports livestock development in partner countries as a critical component for economic growth, poverty alleviation, children’s physical growth and cognitive development, and conflict mitigation, prevention, and resolution.
USAID’s approach
For four decades USAID has supported livestock and range development in Africa, Middle East, Asia and South America through initiatives related to:
- Livestock product value chain development
- Vaccine and diagnostic development, commercialization, and technology transfer
- Natural resource management addressing livestock-wildlife interactions
- Pastoral risk management and conflict resolution
- Animal source foods in children’s nutrition and for HIV-infected populations
- Livestock early warning systems development and application
Much of USAID’s work in the livestock sector focuses on dairy sector development and collaborative research. In addition, the Agency has supported pastoral livelihood initiatives, trade and marketing of animal source products.
Dairy sector development
USAID’s dairy development partners work along dairy value chains to:
- Increase herd productivity and farm profitability
- Strengthen producer associations, so they can serve as a link to dairy processors
- Support dairy business development services that provide producers with access to training, quality genetics, and veterinary services
- Provide consumers with nutritious and economical dairy products
Dairy products are tradable commodities in short supply in many developing countries. USAID assists industry stakeholders from the public and private sectors to understand dairy sector competitiveness and jointly plan strategies to improve the market competitiveness of milk and dairy products. In Africa USAID assists the East and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) with sector-wide opportunities for, and challenges related to regional trade and export. In Central America, East Africa, Southern Africa, the Balkans, and other regions, USAID works in dairy genetics to ensure that cows for smallholder dairy producers are from the family line of high-quality proven U.S. bulls.
USAID’s 15 years of assisting dairy development has proven that producing and marketing milk raises families out of poverty, grows family capital, links producers into democratically governed associations and assures nutritious milk supplies for urban consumers.
Collaborative research
USAID support to the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program (GL-CRSP), one of USAID's nine collaberative reseach programs, has strengthened the ability of institutions and individuals to manage risk related to livestock production, increase employment and incomes among livestock producers, and enhance the nutritional status of targeted populations.
USAID accomplishes this through several projects. Examples of activities include:
- Supporting methods to diversify assets and links to markets, rural finance, and public service delivery, which reduce pastoral conflict
- Establishing an Avian Flu School “train the trainer” course to address the highly pathogenic avian influenza emergency in East Africa
- Developing micro-credit programs and entrepreneurial and nutrition education interventions to assess the effect on household income, animal source food expenditures, and children’s nutrition
- Designing a technology-based livestock marketing information system that has been adopted as the basis for a national system in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mali and Mongolia
- Conducting informal education and training in micro-finance, small-business management, livestock marketing, cooperative management and group leadership dynamics
For more information and a full list of GL-CRSP projects, check out USAID’s Global Development Commons GL-CRSP wiki page.
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