IFPRI, ILRI leaders: Sustainable small-scale livestock farming is essential to meeting the 21st-century’s protein needs
- From
-
Published on
26.09.18
- Impact Area

While the potential harms of raising livestock and consuming meat, milk, and eggs are frequently discussed in the Western media these days, their benefits for much the world’s population, especially in developing countries, get less attention. In low-income countries, animals remain essential for nutrition, livelihoods and crop farming. The good news is that there’s a lot that can be done to promote a sustainable, broad-based and environmentally friendly livestock sector.
In a meeting at the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit Sept. 25 in New York, thought leaders in food and agriculture discussed the future of meat and how it can contribute to sustainable development.
“Concerns about livestock—relating to animal welfare, human health, the environment and antimicrobial resistance—are becoming increasingly prominent,” said IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan. Considering the crucial role livestock plays for food security and nutrition, it’s increasingly important that organizations not neglect the perspective of people in the emerging and developing world, for whom livestock are not “simple food commodities,” Fan said, but rather “living animal assets” that remain essential sources of livelihoods.
Fan’s remarks were developed in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a CGIAR research center based in East Africa dedicated to animal agriculture research for the developing world.
Related news
-
Harnessing digital tools in securing soil health for Africa’s food future
Sehlule Muzata27.06.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Environmental health
-
Nutrition, health & food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Nairobi, 27 June 2025 (IITA) - As it marks its first anniversary, the Regional Hub…
Read more -
-
Harnessing digital tools in securing soil health for Africa’s food future
Sustainable Farming Science Program27.06.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Environmental health
-
Food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Nairobi, 27 June 2025 (IITA) - As it marks its first anniversary, the Regional Hub…
Read more -
-
Raising productivity and profits, How AgWise is Closing Yield Gaps through AI
Sehlule Muzata20.06.25-
Adaptation
-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
-
Environmental health
-
Food security
-
Poverty reduction, livelihoods & jobs
Nairobi, 20 June 2025 (IITA) - Across Africa smallholder farmers battle working with degraded soils,…
Read more -