Research Report No. 1572020 Discussion Paper 42, 2007
The rapid growth in consumer demand for livestock offers an opportunity to reduce poverty among smallholder livestock farmers in the developing world. These farmers' opportunity may be threatened, however, by competition from larger-scale farms. This report assesses the potential threat, examining various forms of livestock production in Brazil, India, the Philippines, and Thailand. Findings show that the competitiveness of smallholder farms depends on the opportunity cost of family labor and farmers' ability to overcome barriers to the acquisition of production- and market-related information and assets. Pro-poor livestock development depends, therefore, on the strengthening of institutions that will help smallholders overcome the disproportionately high transaction costs in securing quality inputs and obtaining market recognition for quality outputs. These and other findings make this report a useful guide for researchers and others concerned with the opportunities and risks of smallholder livestock farming.
Christopher L. Delgado is currently a rural strategy and policy adviser in the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank. At the time of this study, he was a senior research fellow in IFPRI's Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division and director of the Program on Livestock Market Opportunities, a joint initiative of IFPRI and the International Livestock Research Institute.
Clare A. Narrod is currently a senior research fellow in IFPRI's Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division. At the time of the study, she was a livestock economist at the Animal Production and Health Division in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Marites M. Tiongco is a postdoctoral fellow in IFPRI's Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division.
Geraldo Sant'Ana de Camargo Barros is director of the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Maria Angeles Catelo is an associate professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Achilles Costales is currently a livestock economist in the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. At the time of this study, he was an associate professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Rajesh Mehta is a senior fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries in New Delhi, India.
Viroj Naranong is a research specialist at the Thailand Development Research Institute in Bangkok, Thailand.
Nipon Poapongsakorn is currently dean of the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University in Bangkok. At the time of this study, he was a senior consultant at the Thailand Development Research Institute, and an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University.
Vijay Paul Sharma is chairman of the Centre for Management in Agriculture at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India.
Sergio de Zen is a professor in the Department of Economics, Management and Sociology at the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
The abstract and report are available for download in PDF format as an entire document or by chapter.
- Full Report
- Abstract
- Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgments, and Summary
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Growth, Concentration, and Integration of the Livestock Sector in the Study Countries
- Chapter 3: Approach
- Chapter 4: Data and Surveys
- Chapter 5: A Profile of the Survey Samples
- Chapter 6: The Impact of Scaling-Up of Livestock Production on the Environment
- Chapter 7: Empirical Results
- Chapter 8: Conclusions
- References
- Covers
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