Revenus des éleveurs, mise à mort de l’animal… Vos questions sur les élevages à travers le monde

When broadcasting our Transition(s) program dedicated to livestock systems, you asked our guests many questions. We selected a few and submitted them to the three guests present on the set: Claire Aubron, Bio Goura Soulé and Xavier Poux. Here are their answers.

What is the relationship between societies (according to the diversity of production systems) and livestock farming in different regions of the world? Particularly in relation to the killing of animals? 

Claire Aubron, lecturer-researcher at the Montpellier Agro Institute, UMR SELMET : Livestock farming practices – and therefore the relationships between livestock farmers and animals – vary greatly across the world. It can be assumed that the killing of animals is a concern in all societies and that it is also resolved in very diverse ways, sometimes involving rituals.

In the livestock farms that we have called pastoral and integrated into agriculture, older animals are usually killed after a fairly long reproductive life, during which they have provided the various "services" expected of them (production of manure, milk, traction power, etc.). This is very different in specialized intensive livestock farms where some animals are raised solely for meat and where the aim is to shorten the duration of breeding cycles to reduce the costs of meat production.

Apart from the case of India, where the slaughter of cattle is banned in most states, I am not aware of any regions in the world where livestock farming is practiced without any killing of animals. In India, these bans are frequently accompanied in the states by abandonment and underfeeding of certain animals (males, old females), which therefore does not in any way resolve the issue of their welfare.

Raising animals to contribute to agroecology without slaughtering them for food is theoretically possible. However, this raises economic questions for breeders, as they must have enough to feed the animals and invest time in managing them until their natural death. These practices would also be questionable in ethical and philosophical terms. I also recommend reading the writings of Jocelyne Porcher or of Charles Stepanoff.

How can we explain that Kenya and Uganda were able to protect their dairy industries with import taxes, while this seems impossible for West African countries?

VIDEO – Bio Goura Soulé

Bio Goura Soulé, technical assistant in livestock and pastoralism for the ECOWAS In this video, we look back at the strategies of Kenya and Uganda. Both countries have implemented proactive policies by creating exclusive livestock and milk production zones, attracting private sector investment, and mobilizing dairy production, particularly through cooperatives.

He points out that such policies are currently a matter of debate in West Africa. Without protecting regional markets, decision-makers in the region fear a shift from dependence on European imports to those from East Africa. The issue is all the more complex as Africa embarks on the construction of a continental free trade area. In this context, what is the future of West Africa's dairy potential?

The issue of livestock farmers' income in changing systems is essential. How do you address this issue in the TYFA project and how to restore value to livestock production, create jobs and generate income? 

Xavier Poux, associate researcher at Iddri and agronomist consultant at AScA: In TYFA, the key hypothesis is to redefine food standards that are currently too lax on animal production (animal welfare, nutritional quality of products, antibiotics, externalities, etc.) and plant production (with the issue of pesticides, the evaluation of which is known to be biased). Civil society and politicians no longer want these products from industrial agriculture. As a result, there is a major qualitative change that certainly translates into lower volumes produced, but higher prices for producers—and partly lower costs.

The question is that of the inevitable rise in food prices in households' shopping baskets and calls for political support at the level of production (we find the idea of public support to minimize risks at the level of production) and consumption (food social security, etc.).

Debates surrounding the environmental impact of livestock farming have long focused on the internalization of the externalities of specialized intensive livestock farming. Where do we stand in this debate? And what actions have been taken by public policy makers or other stakeholders in this regard?

Xavier Poux, associate researcher at Iddri and agronomist consultant at AScA: This debate is still ongoing, but it is evolving. Indeed, the promotion of a climate metric that measures the environmental impact of production per kg produced favors the most intensive livestock farming (a lot of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted, but even more tons of meat/milk produced = favorable GHG/kg ratio). This approach is promoted by the most intensive sectors, which forget two things.

First, the final impact is not GHG/kg but total GHG – so it must be multiplied by the kg produced, and there, the growth in production is problematic.

Second, environmental impacts are not limited to GHGs but also include biodiversity, soil and water pollution, and landscapes. The big problem I see is that climate metrics, which are poorly understood, are being adopted by politicians and many civil society actors. They are crushing everything and justifying a technological intensification of livestock farming that is destructive to extensive livestock systems, which are essential for biodiversity.

Straight to the point – find other questions asked during the show here:

Are there any ways that farmers can capture CH4?

The FARM Foundation: Some technologies are being developed, such as methane masks for cows, but their use is still far from widespread. This item gives you some information about masks that convert methane into CO2. Research is exploring numerous avenues for reducing GHG emissions through livestock management (ration composition, age at first calving, etc.). These techniques are within reach of all breeders.

​Do or can pig and poultry farming participate in agroecological techniques (inputs, nitrogen cycle, etc.)?

The FARM Foundation: Indeed, other types of livestock farming can be conducted in an agroecological manner and participate in closing nitrogen cycles, for example through fertility transfers.

To continue your reading on the subject of breeding:

– Grain of Salt: Environment and agriculture, best enemies?

– Iddri: the “Ten Years For Agroecology in Europe” scenario 

– FARM/Avril Foundation: analysis of the chicken sector in Senegal

– Gret/Inter-networks: What future for local milk in West Africa?

– Breeding without borders: the “Grey Gold of the Savannahs” project

– Transitions(s): the FARM Foundation's program dedicated to legumes