Livestock in the balance
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The new publication of the FAO State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2009: "Livestock in the balance" is planned to be officially launched during January 2010. The State of Food and Agriculture, FAO’s major annual flagship publication, aims at bringing to a wider audience balanced science-based assessments of important issues in the field of food and agriculture. Each edition of the report contains a comprehensive, yet easily accessible, overview of a selected topic of major relevance for rural and agricultural development and for global food security.
Livestock contribute 40 percent of the global value of agricultural output and support the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people. Rapidly rising incomes and urbanization, combined with underlying population growth, are driving demand for meat and other animal products in many developing countries. Supply-side factors, such as the globalization of supply chains for feed, genetic stock and other technologies, are further transforming the structure of the sector.
The rapid growth and transformation of the livestock sector have been taking place in an institutional void. The speed of change has often significantly outpaced the capacity of governments and societies to provide the necessary policy and regulatory framework to ensure an appropriate balance between the provision of private and public goods. The result has been systemic failures, apparent in social exclusion, widespread environmental damage and threats to human health.
A growing divide is emerging: large-scale industrial producers serve dynamic growing markets, whereas traditional pastoralists and smallholders, while often continuing to support local livelihoods and provide food security, risk marginalization. In many parts of the world, the transformation of the livestock sector, in the absence of strong governance, is resulting in market failures related to natural-resource use and public health. Interventions to correct market failures have been largely absent; in some cases, government actions have created market distortions.
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