AID's Interest in Range Management and Livestock Production in te Tropics and Subtropics

Abstract

Grassland resources in the tropics and subtropics of South America, Asia, and Africa occupy nearly one billion hectares of land, roughly twice as great as all arable lands in these areas. These support about four billion sheep units of ruminant livestock. One major hope for more nearly meeting animal protein needs for peoples of the tropics and subtropics is by increasing supplies of meat from ruminants grown on permanent grasslands in four ecological zones-humid tropics, savannas, sahelians, and semidesert. The five major categories of limiting factors that control progress in livestock production on rangelands are (1) feed supplies and animal nutrition, (2) animal disease control and prevention, (3) livestock husbandry and management, (4) animal breeding, and (5) efficient marketing systems. A "Range Code," consisting of 12 principles, is presented to evaluate similarities and differences between the tropics and temperate zones. Group action by "associations" of pastoral groups is suggested as a method of improving the potential for more efficient livestock production and marketing without disturbing private ownership of livestock.