Globally smallholders supply more than 40% of milk, 70% of lamb, 50% of beef, 60% of pork and 50% of poultry

Growing demand for livestock products means the productivity and production of smallholders must be increased. This will require policy and infrastructure support to help smallholders access critical inputs and services (e.g., animal breeds, feeds and veterinary services).

Livestock asset transfer programs that provide live animals to rural households to keep and multiply over time have well-documented positive impacts, including improved milk productivity, increased incomes, more diversified diets, and subjective self-reporting of improved welfare. Livestock asset transfers can increase household resilience, asset accumulation, and reduce poverty.

Approaches need to help small and medium farmers comply with increasingly stringent market standards. This might be via innovative business-oriented collective action, or contractual approaches to gain from economies of scale and joint capacity development.

Many poor households rely on livestock assets for insurance and savings and so tend to keep surplus livestock, which may have negative environmental effects. Policies should provide alternative insurance/financing options such as a weather-based insurance index and reliable savings plans to encourage livestock keepers to manage their animals for market.