Livestock Farming Case Study

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Livestock can be described as all domesticated animals, especially sheep, goats, cattle and pigs, intentionally reared in an agricultural setting for food, fibre or breeding purposes (Ntshepe, 2011). Livestock systems occupy about 30 percent of the planet’s dry land surface area (Steinfeld et al., 2006a). According to Nouman et al. (2014), livestock has the biggest land-use activity globally, which is expected to double by 2020 with an annual increase of 2.7 percent in meat production and 3.2 percent in milk production. Livestock production in developed countries is highly efficient due to the limited availability of resources, especially land, which are better utilized with more attention given to animal ethics, environmental impact, product traceability and consumer satisfaction (Steinfeld, 2004). Livestock farming plays an important role in the agricultural sector for most countries. Livestock provide high-quality

Livestock farming has great potential to alleviate household food insecurity and poverty in communal areas of the world, including South Africa (Musemwa et al., 2008). Livestock may be used as a form of insurance against crop loss in poor weather (Seo et al., 2008). Livestock production contributes to food security both directly and indirectly, and plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of almost one billion of the world’s poorest people (Smith et al., 2013a). Important products and by-products derived from livestock farming include meat, milk, eggs, manure, feathers, hides and skins, fibre and wool. Keeping livestock is an important risk-reduction strategy for vulnerable communities, and livestock are important providers of nutrients and traction for growing crops in smallholder systems (Thornton,