Animal products not only represent a source of high-quality food, but, equally important, they are a source of income for many small farmers in developing countries, for purchasing food as well as agricultural inputs, such as seed, fertilizers and pesticides.
At the national level, livestock food products represent 27 percent of the total agricultural output. This subsector has achieved the greatest growth in production over the last three decades, and it is expected that it will continue to grow faster than all other agricultural subsectors in the next 20 years (Table 5). The total value of milk and meat represents 3.5 times the value of wheat and rice and 2.8 times the value of fish (Table 6). In addition, there are various other products and services provided by livestock that are not accounted for in these statistics, but which would increase the total value of livestock considerably.
At farm level, cash can be generated regularly from direct sales of livestock products, such as milk, eggs and manure, occasionally from the sale of live animals, wool, meat and hides and from fees for draught power or transport services.
An important feature of dairy income is its regularity. India's dairy development programme Operation Flood has created cooperatives that pay daily for the milk delivered, thereby providing regular income to thousands of poor farmers. An FAO/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) dairy project in Burkina Faso assisted 100 families in increasing their monthly income by about US$80, which is equivalent to an extra labour unit per family. In many countries, the provision of animal draught power services for cultivation, transportation and the pumping of irrigation water is an important source of income that is particularly beneficial to landless owners of cattle or buffalo.
Livestock also provide increased economic stability to the farm or household, acting as a cash buffer (small livestock) and as capital reserve (large animals), as well as a deterrent against inflation. In mixed-farming systems, livestock reduce the risks associated with crop production. They also represent liquid assets that can be realized at any time, adding further stability to the production system.
The importance of livestock as a source of income for poor farmers is illustrated by the example of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which assists only the poorest segment of the population and provides about 50 percent of its loans for the purchase of livestock, mainly large ruminants for milk production and draught power.