Small Scale Dairy Production Prevents Hunger, New FAO Report Shows

The global demand for milk increases by 15 million tons a year. This could provide three million new jobs in primary production each year, if these jobs are given to small scale milk farmers, writes the FAO, the UN organization for food and agriculture at their blog.

Making small scale producers competitive might be a powerful way to reduce poverty and strengthen food supplies in many developing countries, they say.

Today there are about 150 million small scale milk producing households – around 750 million people (or one in every nine on the planet) – and average livestock numbers for them is two cows, supplying around 11 liters of milk a day.

Download the report: Status and Prospects for Smallholder Milk Production – A Global Perspective.

Related reading:

• Holistic Management: Herbivores, Hats, and Hope
• Hooray for the Water Buffalo!

This article is published at The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia on October 7, 2010.