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In addition to news, interviews and media advisories, the FAO News and Media office is now distributing real-life stories of farmers, pastoralists, fisher folks, indigenous peoples, forest dwellers and others in the sector. These stories reflect how their livelihoods are being affected by the various global challenges and how their hope and resilience, together with the support of partners like FAO, have brought about changes in the global fight against hunger and poverty. These are the stories of real-life food heroes. This is agri-food systems transformation in action.
News agencies and media outlets are welcome to reproduce and reuse these stories and related photos with proper credit given. A link back to the original story is also appreciated.
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Seven reasons why pastoralism supports a better future
This time-tested practice works with nature and offers numerous benefits
Pastoralism, a traditional and extensive form of raising livestock, employs more than 200 million people in 100 countries. Pastoralists guide and feed their animals through diverse landscapes such as prairies,
savannas or tundra.
Employing different species of local breeds that adapt to variable environments, pastoralism is critical to reducing poverty and providing food security in these areas. By working with nature, it champions productivity, sustainability and animal welfare.
Here are seven reasons why pastoralism plays a key role for a better future:
1. It diversifies food production
In a world where the availability of natural resources and climate patterns are increasingly variable, meeting demand for milk and meat through different methods, including pastoralism, spreads the risk of production failures. Pastoralism provides affordable,
high-quality proteins and nutrients to meet local demand and can help reduce a country's reliance on imports. And because herders travel with their livestock and work knowledgeably with nature to access water and forage, production inputs are low relative
to outputs.
2. It acts against climate change
Research shows that pastoral landscapes have the potential to achieve a neutral carbon balance, as grazing can offset carbon levels by stimulating plant growth, which helps sequester carbon in soil. In pastoral systems, livestock can also be moved to fallow
lands and fields to make use of crop residues for feed and to distribute animal manure as fertilizer – recycling nutrients as part of a circular bioeconomy.
3. It functions as an early warning system for pandemics
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that dealing with health challenges requires paying attention to the health of animals, the environment, and humans. The One Health approach helps countries better monitor and control zoonotic diseases (those that pass
between humans and animals). Pastoralists play an essential role in this, providing early warnings of new infectious disease threats in wildlife populations. Improving access to veterinary services and prevention measures – including affordable quality vaccines
– will help meet production needs while reducing the risk of disease transmission.
Between 2016 and 2019, FAO vaccinated approximately 30 million small ruminants against Peste des Petits Ruminants in the pastoral areas of Ethiopia. FAO also supports farmers and pastoralists on the responsible use of antimicrobials in livestock to help
control the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens through the food supply chain and into the environment.
4. It strengthens the labour force and offers employment opportunities
5. It reduces feed-food competition
Consumer demand for naturally raised and grass-fed animal sourced foods continues to expand the retail market of these products, presenting new opportunities for exports and profitability. It is estimated that up to 811 million people in the world faced
hunger in 2020. Grazing systems can help reduce food insecurity by reducing the competition for cereals between livestock feed and food for human consumption.
6. It protects animal diversity
Pastoral herds and flocks have been bred for thousands of years, resulting in some of the highest levels of genetic diversity and resilience of any breeding population. This diversity of local breeds stems from a close interdependency between the environment,
pastoralists and livestock. Through genetic selection and local ecological knowledge, herders continuously improve their animals’ breed, allowing them to adapt to environmental changes, diseases and changing market preferences. The need to interact and work
with other herds also allows for greater genetic diversity.
7. It helps forests grow
Pastoralism and forests are interdependent. In some areas, riparian forests (those close to a body of water) are a significant grazing resource for livestock during dry seasons. In exchange, pastoralism helps maintain and renew these lands. For example,
ruminants facilitate the germination of acacia tree seeds in dryland forests by digesting them, allowing water and air through the weakened outer seed coating. Pastoralists in Europe remove blackberries that prevent the regrowth of larger trees. Herders also
play a role in preventing wildfires, as their animals remove biomass in forests.
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The original story and related photos can be found at: https://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1453839/ |
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Media outlets are welcome to reproduce the article and related photos provided that FAO and the photographers are given credit. A link back to the original story is also appreciated. Please contact [log in to unmask] for the original photos or other information.
(+39) 06 570 53625 This email was issued by the Media Office at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
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