Agricultural development needed to improve health and well-being of world's poor

More than 600 delegates from Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia are in Alberta this week for the annual Banff Pork Seminar. Delegates have plenty to chew on with this year’s theme, “Feeding Tomorrow’s World.”

One of the plenary session speakers this year is Greg BeVier. BeVier is responsible for livestock grants at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the focus of his talk was livestock production’s role in lifting people out of poverty and hunger.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation initially focused on health in the developing world, and health issues are still the core of the foundation’s work. However, the foundation soon realized that agricultural development is key to helping people improve their health and earn more money.

According to a strategy document on the foundation’s website, 75 per cent of the world’s poor rely on livestock for food and income. Livestock development is grossly underfunded, receiving only three per cent of global agricultural development funds. Despite meager funds, livestock producers contribute 30 to 40 per cent of the agricultural gross domestic product in much of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

In Sub-Saharan Africa the foundation focuses on cows, goats, and chickens. Buffalo are also a priority livestock in South Asia. The foundation sees these animals as fitting on a ladder. Chicken are the least expensive, and therefore, most accessible, animal for farmers to raise and process, and provide protein through meat and eggs. Once a family has more money, goat production is an option.  Along with providing meat, milk, and fibre, goats can be sold to pay for healthcare and education. Finally, with more money, families can afford to raise dairy cows. The cows can pull plows and provide milk, meat, and organic fertilizer.

In 2011, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided over $2 million to the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya for a biosciences initiative. The foundation also awarded $2.5 million to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to improve livestock data systems. The Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines received over $22 million to combat several key livestock diseases, including Newcastle disease, Rift Valley fever, and more. And, close to my own heart, the National 4-H Council obtained close to $1.5 million to educate the next generation of African producers. I wonder if African youth will be pledging their heads, hearts, hands and health like so many North American farm kids did.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have figured out that improving the health and well-being of humankind requires a comprehensive approach.  Agricultural development is one facet, and agricultural development itself is a complex undertaking. Science, policy development, and economics are all needed. Excluding one is like trying to balance on a two-legged stool. I think the same could be said for the Banff Pork Seminar this year. Their program includes sessions on a wide range of topics.

Whether you live in Kenya or Alberta, agricultural progress is a vital, complex, and fascinating process.