Applications of Technology for Livestock for Small Holders to Meet Global Food Production

Abstract

Abstract. While the Green Revolution greatly changed production of crops worldwide and helped feed over a billion people, improved production of livestock has been more limited across the globe. Modern advances in livestock production have in general only benefitted two groups: large scale livestock producers and consumers in the developed world. In some parts of the world many of the animal production practices have not changed for the last 1000 years and in other regions small holders have benefited only marginally by the scientific advances that now are an integral part of large scale commercial production. However, increased food insecurity and a worldwide food production crisis loom in the future as the most significant scientific challenge facing us in the next 30 years. Expectations are that human population growth will soon go from 7.3 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050, and food production must increase rapidly to meet the demand. These increases must come despite evidence of climate change and limited land and water resources. Whilst there is a perception of over consumption of animal products in the developed world, there are still significant numbers that are undernourished. Animal protein plays a very important role in achieving a balanced diet in the developing world, especially for the adequate nutrition of children. Furthermore, it is expected that significant increased demand for animal source foods will occur especially in the poorer countries of the developing world where most livestock are produced by small holders, but also in countries like China and Brazil which are transforming quickly. Many researchers have touted that modern feeding systems, and the use of advanced reproductive technologies and advanced genetics and genomics will provide solutions to increasing food in the developing world. These opportunities certainly exist, but direction and focus of research, funding issues, human capacity training and training of small holders will all be required for increasing livestock production to satisfy these demands. These activities will need to be embedded within sustainable programs that address implementation from the outset, and benefiting small holder production will be crucial to meeting this challenge. Key words: Animal production, developing world, food insecurity, small producers. Aplicaciones de Tecnología en el Ganado de Pequeños Productores para Satisfacer la Demanda Global de AlimentoResumen. Mientras que la llamada Revolución Verde ha producido grandes cambios en la producción agrícola en el mundo, lo que ha ayudado a alimentar a más un billón de personas, mejoramientos en la ganadería han sido más limitados. Los adelantos modernos en la producción de ganado en general han beneficiado sólo a dos grupos: los ganaderos de gran escala y los consumidores en los países desarrollados. En algunas partes del mundo, muchas de las prácticas de producción animal no han cambiado en los últimos 1000 años y en otras regiones los pequeños productores se han beneficiado sólo marginalmente por lo...