Rearing Livestock in Warm Regions

Livestock rearing carries tremendous economic and social weight in world agriculture:
- The planet counts nineteen billion livestock, all categories together, with 70% reared by farmers in non-industrialised countries;

- Livestock contributes to the livelihood of a billion poor people in Southern countries and employs a total of 1.3 billion people worldwide;

- Animal production is forecast to double by 2050, basically through strong expansion in livestock activities in Southern countries.

This is the context that prompted the Editorial team of the INRA review Animal Productions to devote a whole issue to rearing livestock in warm regions.

The contributions compiled in this special issue attempt to summarise in depth the state of knowledge and experience acquired in rearing livestock in warm regions.

The animal productions are analysed at various organisational levels, giving a broad overview of the global livestock situation.