- Food, fibre, fertilizer and fuel.
- Cash income.
- Draught power and transportation.
- Savings account.
- Buffer against crop failure and
other risks.
- Employment.
- A way to access and use common
- property and natural resources.
- Support for the social network and
- culture.
PASTORAL AND SMALLHOLDER PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTE TO FOOD SECURITY
The breeds kept by pastoralists and farmers in marginal areas are well adapted to climatic stress and relatively independent of expensive inputs. Sheep, goats, cattle, camels, alpaca, llama and yak graze areas not suitable for crops. Free-range pigs, chickens and ducks live off the land, often consuming garbage and harmful insects. Small farms that combine livestock and crops use the land sustainably: Crop residues are fed to animals; manure provides good fertilizer and fuel; and animal draught power reduces the need for fossil fuels.
Smallholder livestock production makes a substantial contribution to the economy. In India, for example, livestock contributes about 30% of the total farm output, and 80% of livestock products come from small farmers with 3-5 animals and less than 2 hectares of land.2 But government policies commonly favour intensive production, putting pastoralists and smallholders at a disadvantage.
Hardy and disease-resistant, local breeds are an important reservoir of biodiversity. But more than 30% of these local animal genetic resources are threatened with extinction because of crossbreeding with exotic breeds3 and the industrialization of animal production.
Strategic advantages of pastoral and smallholder production
- Sustainable use of vegetation and resources which have no other use
- Relative independence from outside inputs
- High genetic diversity
- Production of organic manure
- Generation of income in rural areas.