Thursday, May 8, 2008

Eliminating the Bullshit:
Making Livestock Part of
Sustained Agriculture

Most of the world’s poor keep livestock as a primary survival strategy. But until yesterday, small-scale livestock cultivation as not a part of CSD dialogues on sustainable development.

By: Carol Cooper

Wednesday afternoon’s side event on “The Value of Livestock-Based Livelihoods” attempted to rectify this omission with hard data and probing questions about the viability of responsible animal husbandry as a safe agro-ecological development strategy. Co-sponsored by the Global Livestock Working Group and Heifer International, the panel included speakers from the World Bank, USAID, the FAO, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Agriculture as well as hands-on participants in successful regional initiatives to address all sides of the issue. Feedback from Lucy Mulenkei (Indigenous Information Network) and Michael Kibue (Kenya Livestock Working Group) on animal husbandry projects currently being implemented in Kenya were particularly convincing as to the value of ecologically integrated cultivation of animals, land, and crops.

A cow, not a cup…

Heifer International is an organization which has been helping small rural communities around the world safely integrate livestock into their local economies with multilateral benefits for over 60 years. Their founder initially resolved to train those in need to raise food animals as a foundation for self-sufficiency while serving as a relief worker during the Spanish Civil War. When his expertise was later needed to aid devastated European and Asian families after World War II, his newly formed organization “Heifers For Relief” used the phrase “a cow, not a cup” to epitomize the practicality of sending living cows overseas rather than merely shipping packets of milk.

Animal welfare and productivity

Today the organization no longer ships American cattle to foreign soil: they’ve learned through experience it’s better to purchase livestock native to the target area that are already habituated to the climate. They listen to the ideas and preferences of the people who have invited their help, and tailor development projects to the needs and capacities of each specific community. In Ghana this resulted in a project to domesticate the wild guinea-pig like “grasscutters” as a cultivated food and cash crop. In Thailand the methane produced by pig manure is cheaply and safely converted to free cooking fuel. In Kenya camels are being provided to women who use them predominantly as draft animals. In Ecuador various projects have been launched which train indigenous families to improve existing poultry, rabbit, and guinea pig cultivation. Management of animal waste, protection of community streams and rivers, and soil enrichment are all equally prioritized. Where vets are not available, the routine health of livestock is monitored and maintained by Heifer-trained community animal health workers who know to immediately report any unusual problems to government officials.

Practical, proven solutions

During yesterday’s panel, Jimmy Smith of the World Bank was among those calling for documented case studies of viable livestock initiatives like the above to help inform policy makers before next year’s CSD 17. The FAO High-Level Conference on Food Security Climate Change and BioEnergy in June, the Conference on Livestock & Climate Change later this month in Tunisia, and other interim gatherings are all expected to disseminate useful data.

Meanwhile, Terry Wollen, Heifer’s Director of Animal Well Being for Global Initiatives, is well aware of the fears many still have about increased reliance on small-scale livestock programs in developing countries. Real problems like animal-to-human transmitted diseases, desertification caused by over-grazing, and safe, constructive disposal of animal waste, must be addressed with practical, proven solutions. The carefully monitored small-scale projects Heifer International spearheads have thus far proven their value in providing milk, meat, money, manure, craft materials, muscle, and motivation to communities which otherwise might not have them. Ironically, the manure, which becomes highly problematic when used in intensive livestock production in the U.S. and Europe, becomes a valuable asset in developing countries where it is sold and quickly deployed in local agriculture.