Les enjeux des productions animales dans les pays du sud

Abstract

In Southern countries, the place of the animal production is more and more important and requires a quantitative/qualitative improvement of the production ability quite different than previously. In contrast with stagnation of the animal production observed in Europe and North America, this progress results from an important increase of the demand linked to the human growth and, in some cases, to the change in feeding behaviour of urban people. The challenges for research and development are the improvement of the animal productivity, lower than in northern countries, the poverty alleviation still predominating in rural areas from tropical countries, and environmental preservation. In the same time, these challenges must avoid the drifts of productivist approach, common after the second world war in northern agriculture, and must ensure the sustainability of the production systems in the future. The current dynamics reveal the livestock revolution in those countries as it is recognized by international agencies.