Tropical Livestock Production

Dear Colleagues,

Livestock systems are enormously important for food security and livelihoods in low-income countries (i.e., tropical areas). However, the productivity is low in small-scale systems compared with richer countries, and livestock production is often constrained by feed shortage (both quality and quantity), lack of breeding, and animal diseases, among many factors. The demand for livestock products is expected to increase by some 50–60% until 2050, putting greater pressure on the environment but on the other hand giving poor small-holder farmers the potential to improve their livelihoods. Although agriculture and livestock production are major sources of greenhouse gases, they also hold a large potential to be part of the mitigation. There is thus a need to improve livestock production systems so that they are both economically and environmentally sustainable, and the aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research papers or reviews concerning livestock production in the tropics.

Areas of interest include nutrition and feeding; management and animal health in, for example, mixed crop–livestock systems; rangeland-based livestock systems; adaptation and coping strategies of livestock production due to climate change effects; the innovative use of technology; and value chain development.

Dr. Ewa Wredle
Dr. Horacio Leandro Gonda
Guest Editors

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