Animal production in Latin America and the Caribbean: limitations, opportunities and perspectives

Abstract

The real contribution of the agricultural sector in general and livestock in particular to the economy of the countries has been underestimated since it contributes beyond the accounting done on the basis of primary production. In fact, it has been estimated that for every dollar invested in the agricultural sector, livestock contributes 53 cents, indicating its undoubted contribution in the fight to reduce poverty, be it rural or urban. Even when the above is known, the livestock industry continues to have challenges that are similar in the different regions of this world. These challenges, although they differ in magnitude from region to region, include aspects such as the need to increase production efficiency and productivity, improve the safety and quality of products that are increasingly demanded by society, and environment-friendly livestock industry that even contributes to the conservation and management of biodiversity as well as being flexible to respond to any change in the structure of agriculture. All of these challenges become even more important if we consider the increase in the human population that is estimated to be 10 billion people by 2050 and to which we must ensure food and that thanks to technologies that are increasingly specialized and efficient there is the certainty that the sector will have to feed them.