The Nature and Role of Policies and Institutions

The livestock sector’s potential for contributing to economic development and poverty reduction has so far remained largely untapped, and it is difficult to identify a single developing country where growth of the sector has been unambiguously pro-poor. Livestock have long been treated as an appendage to agriculture, with both policy-makers and development practitioners giving higher priority to staple crops than to high-value agricultural products such as ASFs or fruits and vegetables. In addition, interventions in the livestock sector have been concerned mainly with technical aspects, focusing on details of animal husbandry, feeding and disease control. Although important, these interventions have disregarded the broader policy and institutional framework in which farmers operate, i.e., the range of incentives and disincentives that underlie household production and consumption decisions. Finally, on the rare occasions when policy and institutional dimensions have received adequate attention, livestock sector policies/programmes have been designed by technical staff in livestock departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or international organizations, with little consultation of other ministries, and limited appreciation of and connection to the non-livestock policies and markets that are critical for both livestock sector development and livestock farmers themselves (FAO, 2009a; Otte et al., 2009). This chapter emphasizes the relevance of sound policies and institutions for livestock sector growth and development, elaborates a pro-poor livestock sector policy agenda, and draws practical policy and institutional lessons from the empirical evidence to make recommendations that go beyond generalities (such as “improve the delivery of veterinary services”) and help policy-makers and development practitioners design and implement pro-poor livestock sector policies and institutional reforms. The chapter concludes with some operational tactics that may assist outsiders in identifying openings for change in generally hostile political environments, and suggested approaches for promoting effective work at the local level of such environments.