• Development policy

Development policy

Drawing on 169 Country Reports, contributions from a number of international organisations and twelve specially commissioned thematic studies, this report presents an analysis of the state of agricultural biodiversity in the livestock sector. It  outlines the current state of agricultural biodiversity in the sector, highlights livestock sector trends and assesses the state of capacities in animal genetic resources management.

The paper argues that effective management of animal genetic diversity is essential to global food security, sustainable development and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. However, evidence suggests that there is ongoing and probably accelerating erosion of the genetic resource base. Threats to this resource base include the marginalisation of traditional production systems, a rising demand for animal products and more acute threats such as major disease epidemics and natural disasters.

Main points that can be drawn from the report include:

• policies and legal frameworks influencing the livestock sector are not always favourable to the sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources. Overt or hidden governmental subsidies have often promoted the development of large-scale production at the expense of the smallholder systems that utilise local genetic resources. In addition, development interventions and disease control strategies can also pose a threat to genetic diversity.
• where the evolution of livestock production systems threatens the ongoing use of potentially valuable genetic resources, breed conservation measures need to be considered
• implementing appropriate strategies for the low external input production systems of the developing world is a great challenge. Pastoralists and smallholders are the guardians of much of the world’s livestock biodiversity, however, their capacity to continue this role may need to be supported – for example by ensuring sufficient access to grazing land
• effective management of animal genetic diversity requires resources, including well trained personnel and adequate technical facilities
• in a time of rapid change and widespread privatisation, national planning is needed to ensure the long-term supply of public goods. Livestock-sector development policies should support equity objectives for rural populations, so that these populations are able to build up sustainably the productive capacity required to enhance their livelihoods and supply the goods and services needed.

The authors conclude by noting that international cooperation and better integration of animal genetic resources management will help to ensure that the world’s wealth of livestock biodiversity is suitably used and developed for food and agriculture, and remains available for future generations.

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