Role

and
Responsibilities
of
Livestock Sector in
Poverty Alleviation
Sunil Gamage
Former Deputy Director Veterinary
Research

Poverty & food insecurity- two concepts that overlap.

Poverty -cause of hunger, hunger a cause of poverty.
Hunger deprives the poor of strength & skill to seek
employment or to select remunerative employment.
Childhood hunger impairs mental & physical growth,
crippling capacity to learn in school & earn at work.
Adults that are stunted due to hunger in childhood
earn lower wages in jobs involving physical labor.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/esa/roa/pdf/pov_analytical_framework.pdf

Sri
South
World
Lank Africa
Asia
a
Average dietary energy
18.6
Percent 8.8% 3.8%
9.3%
supply adequacy
%
Share of dietary energy
supply derived from cereals, Percent
10.4 -3.3% -1.6%
10.3%
roots and tubers
%
g/caput/d
18.8 10.2
Average protein supply
14.5% 8.9%
ay
%
%
Average supply of protein of g/caput/d
40.0 36.4
29.2%
7.7%
animal origin
ay
%
%
Prevalence of
Percent
34.3 28.1 28.3
undernourishment
41.9%
%
%
%
Prevalence of food
Percent
25.3 31.1 26.5
inadequacy
34.9%
%
%
%

Food Security Indicators from

1990/91 to 2010/14

Progress of local production

1970 to 2015
Broiler - 14,400 to 106,029 tons (640% (14.8%) )
Egg - 19,453 to 110,753 tons (469% (10.9%))
Dairy - 141,080 to 324,805 tons (130% (3.0%))
80% of the milk is imported
Goat - 14,000 to 5,805 tons (-58% (-1.3%))
Beef - 36,881 to 29,332 tons (-20% (-0.5%))
Pork - 1,339 to 1,540 tons (15 % (0.3%))
Fish 100,000 to 450,000 tons (350% (7.8%))

Priority
1.Paddy or rice production
2.Vegetables and fruits
3.Cash and export crops
4.Livestock and Fisheries

Steadily increasing consumer

demand for meat, milk and
other livestock products
arising from:

Population increase
Greater urbanisation
and
Income growth

Steadily increasing consumer

demand for meat, milk and
other livestock products
arising from:

Livestockas a stimulus
toagriculturalgrowth
andpoverty
reduction.

Policies securing basics & reducing

vulnerability
Enable the access to
Land - Land reform 1972, Landless & land
limited, grazing land

Water - for irrigation, domestic uses and

hydropower production.
40,000-50,000 metric tons of fish on an annual
basis

Feed
Grazing in tank beds &flood plain marshes
inundated during rainy season
Dung -nutrient to river & tank aquatic system
Crop residue
Feed crops - Maize

Total Annua
l
Product Productio Productio Growt
Growth
n tonnes n tonnes
h
Maize
1351 31.4%
14,410 241,144
%
Oil cake
40% 0.9%
163,725 196,816
Cowpea
346% 8.0%
3,182 15,281
Millet
-47% -1.1%
13,310
7,100
Pulses
369% 8.6%
5,422 25,435
Sweet
53,383 -26% -0.6%
Potato
72,163
1970

2013

Revolution in Maize
production
90% of maize is used for chicken
feeding
Only 20% requirement produced
DoA together with the private sector

Policies creating the

conditions for growth

Access to animal health

services
Access to credit, high-quality
inputs and other trade
expansion facilities Milk
collection
Access to market information

Policies sustaining sectors

growth

Regulating the livestock sector

through disease management,
quarantine, quality control
and food safety regulations
Environmentally sustainable
livestock production