Dairy and Human Development in the Tropics
Laying the Foundation
for Equitable, Broad-Based Growth
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Equitable
growth strategies for poor countries foster inclusion of the rural poor into
high-value agricultural markets. Dairy production presents an opportunity for
smallholder households to become more integrated into such markets while
improving their nutrition.
Milk production is growing in importance in developing countries. Milk
consumption in these regions is projected to increase 3.3% per year through
2020, well above the rate of population growth. Moreover, milk is the most
important and ubiquitous animal product that smallholders produce. Few
smallholder systems in the world have adjusted to the pressures of increasing
population density and urbanization without recourse to dairy production. Dairy
production increases household income and improves its stability while
furthering other high-value activities, such as intensive poultry and vegetable
cultivation and small-businesses. Small amounts of nutrient-rich dairy foods
can relieve both protein malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency in the most
vulnerable groups-malnourished children and women in their child-bearing years.
Smallholder dairy farming, which is overwhelmingly a female occupation, also
empowers women, generates cash for buying extra food and sustains crop
production.
The coincidence of these factors presents an opportunity in smallholder dairy
that can be seized upon to lay the foundation for equitable broad-based growth
in developing areas.
INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESEARCH
INSTITUTE
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Research in animal agriculture to reduce hunger, poverty and
environmental degradation in developing countries.