This presentation summarizes some of the reasons why indigenous livestock breeds are the foundation for sustainable rural development and why devloping countries should not follow the "western path" of increasing production at al costs, by means of imported genetics and animal feed.

1. The power of indigenous livestock
breeds for rural transformation
Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, LPP
4th April, 2014 at NARI in Lae, PNG

2. Why indigenous breeds?
• „Their yields are so small“
• „We don‘t even know about their
performance or even their existence“.
• „Farmers want fast growing animals – which
are also good for food security and poverty
alleviation..“

3. Structure
• 1. Global context of livestock development
• 2. Role of livestock for the poor
• 3. Advantages of local breeds
• 4. Need to rethink the productivity paradigm?
• 5. Examples of local production systems from
India
• 6. Experiences with local pig breeds

4. Livestock in crisis
The FAO regards livestock as :
– the biggest enemy of the environment
– 18% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions
(calculations are being revised)
– responsible for land degradation
– source of pollution (esp. marine and
waterways) with nitrogen and phosphorous
– green tide
– biodiversity loss

5. The other population bomb
livestock
humans
3.6 x
increase
data: FAOSTATS
Source: Presentation by Tony Weis:
The Meat of the Global Food Crisis
Livestock population bomb

6. slaughtered
livestock
humans
7.1 x
increase
data: FAOSTATS
Source: Presentation by Tony Weis: The
Meat of the Global Food Crisis
Growth in animal slaughter

8. • „We have to produce
more with less“
• „We have to increase
resource use efficiency“

9. “For example, the introduction of advanced genetics,
feeding systems, and animal health protection have
enabled industrialized countries, over the past four
decades, to reduce their overall land requirements for
livestock by 20%, while at the same time doubling
total meat production”

10. In Germany….

11. Livestock development according to
the western model at what cost ?
• Social – loss of rural income opportunities,
increased unemployment rates.
• Biodiversity loss – both domestic animal
diversity and floral diversity
• Routine application of antibiotics and other
additives
• Animal welfare

12. Significance of livestock for the poor
100 million rural poor (defined as existing on
less than $ 2.00/day).
More than 70% are fully and partially
dependent on livestock.
Livestock is the most important asset of the
rural poor

13. Pastoralists
• Worldwide an estimated
120 million pastoralists
utilize the 41 percent of the
earth’s land surface where
crops can’t be grown:
tropical and subtropical
drylands, mountainous and
high-altitude zones, very
cold areas.
• By means of grazing they
convert the local vegetation
into food and energy that
can sustain people.

14. Smallholders/women
• About 600-700 million
smallholders raise small
numbers of livestock on
crop residues, left overs,
in “interstitial” spaces
(along road sides)
• Zero to minimal input,
but often highly
profitable – interest rates
much higher than in bank

15. Livestock Revolution
The situation changes when people switch from local breeds to high-input
systems, as during the “Livestock Revolution”.
The Livestock Revolution is a term coined in 1999 to describe a
development in the livestock sector which is similar to the “Green
Revolution”:
Local breeds are replaced with high input and high output hybrid animals
(poultry and pigs) – farmer loses breeding function and becomes dependent
on purchased inputs.

16. From Asset to Liability?
•Farmers often get into a debt trap
squeezed between escalating input
prices and the consolidated power of the
food processors and supermarket chains
on the other.
•The financial squeeze “forces many
farmers to cut costs wherever they can,
and creates strong incentives to unethical
behaviour.”

17. Concentration and consolidation
• In India, the most rapid growth in livestock
population has been among large landholders,
and concerned especially industrial poultry units.
The number of stock owned by the poor,
including small ruminants, pigs, and poultry, is
decreasing dramatically (Chacko in FAO,2010).
• In Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) the number of pig
producers shrunk from 85,000 to 10,000 between
1995 and 2008
• In Romania, pig producers declined by 90% in 4
years

18. Loss of jobs and debts in Europe
Dairy farmers in Denmark
Debts average € 2.25 million/per farm
€ 19,000/per cow (Mathias, 2012)
Dairy farmers in Germany
4000 (about 4%) are expected to go out of
business this year (website Green Party Germany)
1984 2008
33,800 dairy producers 3,780 dairy producers

19. For the sake of national autonomies and of
rural livelihoods, this is not what should
happen in developing countries!

20. WE NEED LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT THAT
BUILDS ON LOCALLY AVAILABLE RESOURCES
– BREEDS AND BIOMASS

21. Why?
„GREEN“
• Optimal utilization of local
biomass lessens dependence on
feed imports
• Breeds are resistant to disease –
use of antibiotcs can be
minimized
• Locally evolved systems are
largely compatible with notions
of animal welfare
• No fossil fuels needed (for
fertilizer, transport of feed, etc.)
EQUITABLE
• Have been developed and
stewarded by PEOPLE for
generations
• Reproduce naturally
• Represent cultural heritage
• Require no huge investment in
infrastructure
• Low risk

22. Utilize all kinds of eco-systems: Example Chilka
lake buffaloes in Odisha/India

23. Mobile pig keeping in high rainfall
India

24. Camels grazing in mangroves

25. Use of alpine pastures in India

26. Livestock production in tune with
local resources.
• We need to support and facilitate
the optimal utilization by
domestic animals of the locally
available biomas, especially in
remote and marginal areas, as
well as in interstitial spaces, for
instance along road sides, and
improved use of the aftermath on
harvested fields.
• This requires animals with
specific behavioural
characteristics and ability to walk
• Learned behaviour is important

27. Example: Thar Desert in India

28. Tharparkar cattle
Stored

29. Jaisalmeri sheep

30. Marwari goat

31. Jaisalmeri dromedary breed

32. Food products with health benefits

33. Camel Forage Plants
36 Camel forage plants: containing phytochemicals and most of them
with proven medicinal value

34. Jaisalmeri Ghee
 Sale price is 70% higher.
 The taste panel found it to
be better both as raw and
cooked for taste and
aroma.
 The laboratory analysis
showed significantly
higher contents of vitamin
A,E and carotenoids.

35. Table showing taste panel results
Character Jaisalemeri ghee Commercial Ghee
Appearance 7.58 2.46
Flavour 7.80 2.02
Aroma 8.00 2.02
Based on scale of 1 to 8

36. Table showing the fatty acid and the
vitamin composition of ghee
Name of fatty acid Jaisalmeri
ghee
Commercial ghee
butyric acid C4:0 % by mass 2.1 0.2
caporic acid C6:0 % by mass 1.7 1.5
caprylic acid C8:0 % by mass 1.2 0.7
capric acid C10:0 % by mass 3.1 1.4
lauric acid C12:0 % by mass 2.7 2
tridecanoic acid C13:0 % by mass 0.1 0.1
myristic acid C14:0 % by mass 9.8 9.9
myristoleic acid C14:1 % by mass 1.2 0.6
pentadecanoic acid C15:0 % by mass 1.7 1.3
palmitic acid C16:0 % by mass 30 32.6
palmitoleic acid C16:1 % by mass 1.8 1.7
heptadecanoic acid C17:0 % by mass 1.1 0.9
cis-heptacanoic acid C17:1 % by mass 0.5 0.4

37. CONTINUED
stearic acid C18:0 % by mass 20.3 11.4
oleic acid cisC18:1 % by mass 27.2 25
linoelaidic acid C18:2 % by mass 0.6 0.3
linoleic acid cis C18:2 % by mass 2.4 5.8
omega-linolenic
acid
cis C18:3 % by mass 0.6 0.7
arachidic acid C20:0 % by mass 0.4 0.7
eicosenic acid C20:1 % by mass 0.1 0.3
arachidonic acid C20:4 % by mass 0.1 0
heneicosanoic acid C21:0 % by mass 0.1 0.1
behenic acid C22:0 % by mass 0.2 0.6
tricosanoic acid C23:0 % by mass 0.1 0.1
lignoceric acid C24:0 % by mass 0.1 0.1
0.1

38. contd
vitamin A mg/Kg 19.2 18.3
vitamin D3 mg/Kg 0 0
vitamin E mg/Kg 166.9 131.3
carotenoids mg/Kg 2.7 0.2

39. Jaiselmeri Goat Meat
 The meat sold at 25%
higher prices than the
goat meat imported from
adjoining districts.
 The taste panel conducted
outside the district
showed significantly
higher aroma, flavour,
texture and overall
palatability than that from
local goats.

40. Camel products

41. Lesson learnt:
• Establishment of value chains benefits not
only the producers of the raw materials
(camel breeders), but creates a myriad of rural
job opportunities for processors, especially
women.

42. Local breeds are a long-term business
opportunity
• Consumers increasingly
concerned about
animal welfare and
health issues
• Low-input costs
• Independence from
fossil fuels
Let us ensure that livestock
keepers get the opportunity to
capitalize on them!

43. Examples from the pig sector: Pedigree
pork“Do you long for Pork that has real
flavour and taste? Pork that melts in
your mouth? Succulent and juicy
when cooked? Traditional cured
bacon and hand made sausages?”
The BPA can put you in touch with small
scale pig producers who still produce
pork like Grandma and Grandpa
remember it. Dedicated pig
enthusiasts who are proud to be
able to offer you a very special
eating experience from their small
herds of pedigree pigs. Traditional
Breeds such as Tamworth,
Saddleback, Berkshire, etc. that
reflect Britain’s rich heritage of
native breeds and strong reputation
for outstanding pork, bacon and
sausages.

44. Gloucester Old Spot Pig
known as the 'orchard pig
or 'the pig with the built
in apple sauce', because
it grazed on the windfall
apples in the orchards
that once grew in
abundance along the
banks of the River
Severn in
Gloucestershire.

45. Schwaebisch-Hallische Pig in Germany

46. Some possible steps
(from the perspective of an outsider)
• Participatory documentation of PNG pig
husbandry systems to develop awareness and
raise profile
• Maybe develop Biocultural Protocols in places
where local people can facilitate?
• Establish linkages with private entrepreneurs?
Maybe some study tours to Australia?

47. Strategic Priority No. 6 of the Global Plan of Action for Animal
Genetic Resources calls for:
• Support indigenous and local
livestock systems of
importance to animal genetic
resources, including through
the removal of factors
contributing to erosion.
• Promote exchange, interaction
and dialogue ……in order to
integrate traditional
knowledge with scientific
approaches.
• Promote the development of
niche markets for products
derived from indigenous and
local species and breeds…..

48. What livestock keepers want…..
• “Livestock Keepers shall
have the right to
appropriate training
and capacity building
and equal access to
relevant services
enabling and supporting
them to raise livestock
and to better process
and market their
products.”

49. Women pig keepers in PNG have the
entrepreneurial potential

50. Tenkyu, PNG, for your hospitality !