The livestock revolution is the term used to describe the transformation and rapid changes in the production and consumption of animal products. Population growth, urbanization and income growth in developing countries are fueling a massive increase in demand for food of animal origin. These changes in the diets of billions of people could significantly improve the well-being of many rural poor.

The fundamental aspect of the livestock revolution is that it is driven by demand. In the last few decades we have seen a rapid increase in the demand for meat, milk and eggs throughout the world not only attributable to increases in population but also to large increases in per capita consumption. It is happening due to changes in lifestyles and income growth. This increase in the intake of animal products compares with only marginal increases in the consumption of foods of plant origin such as cereals, vegetables and pulses. By the year 2020, it is predicted that in value terms, products from livestock will equal or exceed those from crops worldwide. The growth of demand for animal products is much higher in the developing world compared to the developed countries. Other aspects of the livestock revolution that can be seen now are: (i) a shift in animal production from temperate to tropical areas, (ii) greater demand for meat from poultry and pigs compared to ruminants, and (iii) a shift in the production base from local, mixed farms to market-oriented agribusinesses (Ranawana, 2004).

Livestock is central to the livelihoods of the rural poor in developing countries in at least six ways (Livestock in Development, 1998). First, it is an important source of cash income. Second, it is one of the few assets available to the Poor, especially the women. Third, livestock manure and draft power are vital to the preservation of soil fertility and the sustainable intensification of farming systems in many developing areas facing increasing population density. Fourth, livestock allow the Poor to exploit common property resources, such as open grazing areas, in order to earn income. Fifth, livestock products enable farmers to diversify income, helping reduce income variability, especially in semi-arid systems characterized by one cropping season per year. Sixth, livestock provide a vital and often the only source of income for the poorest and most marginal of the rural poor, such as pastoralists, sharecroppers and widows.

Poor people have few opportunities to increase their income because of limited access to land and capital. Small-scale and backyard livestock enable the Poor to earn income from animals grazing on common property pastures or fed with household waste. Livestock production offers one of the few rapidly growing markets that poor, rural people can join even if they lack substantial amounts of land, training and capital. The significance of livestock for women's income in developing countries has been widely emphasized. Dairy cooperatives have in fact been a major means of successfully bringing women in poor areas into the cash economy in many developing countries. Evidence from studies and a pattern from developing countries show that the Poor earn a higher share of their income from livestock than do the wealthy (Quisumbing et al., 1995). Thus, it raises the possibility that the livestock revolution will be beneficial for the Poor. The revolution offers two main reasons for optimism. First, the Poor can more easily improve their income when they have a major stake in a sector that is growing. Second, the current rapid intensification of animal production comes at a time when the rural poor desperately need higher returns to their shrinking land than field crops alone can offer.

Increased consumption of animal products can help increase the food purchasing power of the Poor. The livestock revolution could become a key means of alleviating poverty in the next 20 years. However, rapid industrialization of production abetted by the widespread current subsidies for large-scale production and land use could harm this major mechanism of income and asset generation for the Poor. Policy makers need to make sure that policy distortions do not drive the Poor out of the one growing market in which they have an opportunity to escape the poverty trap.

Livestock products can also benefit the Poor by alleviating the protein and micronutrient deficiencies prevalent in developing countries. Increased consumption of even small additional amounts of meat and milk can provide the same level of nutrients, protein and calories to the Poor that a large and diverse amount of vegetables and cereals could provide.

Written by Erna Maria Lokollo, Programme Leader Research and Development, UNESCAP-CAPSA, Bogor, Indonesia.