Leveraging Livestock Production Systems for Human Nutrition in Developing Countries

Livestock farming is a key sector that promotes socio-economic development in developing countries with around 600 million smallholders relying on it for livelihood. The multi-functionality of livestock production in the livelihoods of smallholders, from an income and input generating asset to a source of food and nutrition, is well known but less acknowledged. Though the concept of leveraging agriculture for nutritional goals is gaining importance, the evidence on the impact of nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions is sparse particularly in one of the major subsectors in agriculture like livestock. The current chapter discusses the potential of livestock farming systems to tap nutritional outcomes in developing countries where multiple forms of malnutrition are highly prevalent due to over-reliance on starch-based diet and other socio-economic and cultural factors. Thus, the chapter highlights the importance of animal source foods (ASF) in human nutrition, the pathways linking livestock and nutrition, the sustainability issues related to livestock production systems, and the way forward to exploit these systems as a tool for tackling malnutrition in the developing world.