Livestock sector development, economic growth, and poverty reduction

The global distribution of poor livestock keepers tailors closely the regional distribution of poverty densities in the developing world. Reducing poverty among this group requires livestock sector growth in these regions. As per capita incomes expand, household expenditures on meat and milk grow faster than those on grains and cereals. Strong growth in demand for meat and milk presents a significant catalyst for expansion of the economic activity and incomes of rural smallholder livestock keepers. More recent data show that the larger majority of rural households even in low-income developing countries are market-oriented rather than pure subsistence producers. Public investments that efficiently link livestock products to centers of domestic demand will allow rural livestock producers to capture the societal value accorded to their higher-value meat and milk products. The subsequent growth of livestock-related rural industries along the market chain offers an additional growth and poverty-reducing channel via spillover impacts.