Livestock Production in Industrialized and Less Industrialized Countries

Abstract

Livestock Systems and Products The one thing that perhaps most distinguishes
livestock systems in less industrialized or developed countries is that essentially the enviroiunent is in charge of events. In industrialized countries the enviromnent can be buffered to a large extent so that the milk yield, growth rate etc. is similar in dry and wet seasons or in summer and winter. Concentrates can be liberally fed and high quality forage preserved. Cattle can be housed in winter and even kept in air-conditioned houses in hot seasons. Diseases can be kept at bay with medicine, management and good feeding and nutritional deficiencies identified and repaired. In less or 11on-industrialized countries the livestock and their owners must accept the environment i.e. climate, feed resources etc. The environment can be altered
somewhat by providing shelter etc. the feed resources can be improved within limits but the environment on the whole cannot be buffered to the extent possible in industrialized countries. This is illustrated by Figure l from flrskov and Viglizzo (1994) in which it can be seen that the environmental control decreases and economic risk
increases as livestock system move towards marked orientations.