In 2005, some 1.4 billion people lived in absolute poverty and nearly 1 billion were affected by chronic mal- or undernutrition. An estimated 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas,
and at least 600 million of these keep livestock that enable them to produce food, generate cash income, manage risks and build up assets. With the valuable contribution that livestock makes to
sustaining livelihoods, especially in rural areas, the development of small-scale livestock enterprises could be a key element of efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Milk
production is an important livestock-sector activity and it is estimated that nearly 150 million farm households throughout the world are engaged in milk production. Small-scale milk production
not only improves food security of milk producing households but also creates significant amounts of employment in the entire dairy chain, which comprises many small-scale rural processors and
intermediaries. The aim of this book is to provide a holistic picture on the trends and drivers in the dairy sector as well as the implications these may have for the future of dairy farming,
in particular among the smaller-scale, rural producers.
