Livestock Services and the Poor: A global initiative - IFAD

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LIVESTOCK SERVICES AND THE POOR
keepers, the geographical regions and production systems presenting the
greatest potential for poverty reduction are unknown. Because the resources
are tight at the national and international levels, it is critical that they be
applied as strategically as possible where they will have the biggest impact. As
an initial step, poverty mapping must be further refined so as to incorporate
more household survey data, thereby improving the knowledge base. The
second step is to identify areas with the best potential for poverty reduction.
This will be quite challenging. Various indicators of development potential,
such as the physical characteristics of regions, the natural resource base,
infrastructure, market potential, the presence of an enabling economic
environment, and government policies for rural empowerment, must be
combined with data on spatial poverty distribution into more accurate maps.
Enhance Inclusion
The overriding issue that emerges from this review and cuts across production
systems is the exclusion of the poor. Participation and the resulting
empowerment of end-users in the whole process of programme planning and
implementation are essential if programmes are to be adequately sustainable
and have the desired pro-poor impact. Yet, as has been the case in even the
most successful livestock schemes aiming at poverty reduction, such as the
poultry and microfinance scheme in Bangladesh, the poorest segments of the
population are rarely involved or, if they are involved, are treated with
arrogance by staff. This is particularly important during the initial phases of
design and planning because these phases are so crucial for success. The
inclusion of the poor is also important during implementation and monitoring
so as to ensure that the poor are gaining access to quality services and are being
treated fairly by the service providers.
New types of organization need to be identified and tested to ensure more
inclusive forms of participation by the poor. The lack of participation by the
poor in discussions on pro-poor service delivery is, to a considerable extent,
caused by the almost complete absence of poor livestock keepers in the wider
debate on public sector policies. This is demonstrated, for example, by the near
absence of the poor in the preparation of public policy documents such as the
poverty reduction strategy papers and the related programmes.