Dairy animals
World
milk production is almost entirely derived from cattle, buffaloes,
goats, sheep and camels. Other less common milk animals are yaks,
horses, reindeers and donkeys. The presence and importance of each
species varies significantly among regions and countries. The key
elements that determine the dairy species kept are feed, water and
climate. Other factors that may influence the presence of a dairy
species are market demand, dietary traditions and the socio-economic
characteristics of individual households (e.g., poorer families tend to
rely more on small ruminants).
Although cattle are kept in a wide range of
environments, other dairy species make dairying possible in adverse
environments that often cannot support any other type of agricultural
production. Sheep allow milk production in semi-arid regions around the
Mediterranean, goats in regions with poor soils in Africa, horses in the
steppes of Central Asia, camels in arid lands, buffaloes in wet
tropical regions, and yaks in high mountainous areas such as the Tibetan
Plateau.
In developing countries, milk producing animals are
often raised in subsistence and smallholder systems. These animals are
usually multi-purpose and grow and produce under difficult conditions,
such as low inputs, minimum management and harsh environments. They are
well adapted to local conditions, but have low genetic potential for
milk production
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| Feeding of Dairy Animals |
Production systems
An
estimated 80 to 90 percent of milk in developing countries is produced
in small-scale farming systems. These operations are based on low
inputs, so production per dairy animal is quite low. Most milk produced
by smallholders in developing countries comes from one of the following
production systems:
- Rural smallholder dairying: Dairying is often part of a mixed farming system in which manure is used for cash crop production. Dairy animals are fed on grass, crop residues and cultivated fodder. Supplementary feeding is practised only when feasible.
- Pastoral/agropastoral dairying: These systems are land-based and milk is often the most important subsistence item. Dairy production is generally associated with cropping, but nomadic pastoralists practise little or no agriculture and roam the land in search of grazing grounds and water.
- Landless peri-urban dairying: This is a purely market-oriented production system located within and close to the boundaries of cities. Peri-urban dairy producers benefit from their closeness to markets, but their production is based on purchased inputs and may encounter problems of feed supply and waste disposal. In recent decades, a peri-urban dairy sector has developed very rapidly around the larger cities of many developing countries, in response to expanding market demand. The concentration of milk production in close proximity to urban centres may threaten human health.
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| Care of Dairy Animals |
In addition to these traditional
small-scale milk production systems, some developing countries have
large-scale dairy enterprises. Generally, large-scale producers do not
account for a large share of national milk production.
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