Although food availability has increased along with the growing human population over the last 30 years, there are still 800 million people suffering from malnutrition. This problem is not only the result of insufficient food production and inadequate distribution, but also of the financial inability of the poor to purchase food of reasonable quality in adequate quantities to satisfy their needs (FAO, 1993a).

Livestock production constitutes a very important component of the agricultural economy of developing countries, a contribution that goes beyond direct food production to include multipurpose uses, such as skins, fibre, fertilizer and fuel, as well as capital accumulation. Furthermore, livestock are closely linked to the social and cultural lives of several million resource-poor farmers for whom animal ownership ensures varying degrees of sustainable farming and economic stability.

The importance of livestock in the agricultural sector has been emphasized in a number of FAO publications, notably, Livestock production: a world perspective (FAO, 1982), The role of ruminant livestock in food security in developing countries (FAO, 1992), Livestock and improvement of pasture, feed and forage (FAO, 1993a) and Strategies for sustainable animal agriculture in developing countries (FAO, 1993b).

This article by FAO Feed Resource Group does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather aims at emphasizing the importance of both direct and indirect contributions of livestock to food security and sustainable development at a global level.