Human development through livestock projects: Alternative global approaches for the next millennium

The expression "livestock development project" is often interpreted as a project aimed at increasing livestock production so that project beneficiaries may realize increased economic returns or improved diet quality. Mellor(1986) succinctly states: "Animal agriculture should be an important element in efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger in developing countries." Unfortunately, a hard lesson learned from several decades of global assistance is that projects that are specifically designed to improve the nutritional status of rural populations by promoting intensive animal production systems have largely failed (Udo, 1997a). In general, this approach is not sustainable because it is either out of reach of the rural poor or because it may pose considerable economic risk.