Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

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Milk and dairy products in human nutrition
Buffaloes are the most important source of milk in South Asia, accounting for
slightly more than half (53 percent) of total production. They make a substantial contribution
to total production also in East and Southeast Asia – especially China, where
their share reaches 7.5 percent – and the Near East and North Africa, where it stands
at 7.7 percent. Goat milk contributes only 2.4 percent of global milk production, but is
relatively significant in sub-Saharan Africa, with 12.6 percent of the total, and parts of
South Asia and East and Southeast Asia (excluding China). Sheep milk is important in
the Near East and North Africa, with 7.5 percent of production, somewhat less important
in sub-Saharan Africa (5.6 percent) and East and Southeast Asia (3.9 percent), but
of marginal importance in other regions. Camel milk makes a notable contribution to
production only in sub-Saharan Africa (7.3 percent), while its contribution is marginal
in the Near East and North Africa and negligible in the other regions.
2.4 Effects of technological changes on milk production
and processing 5
For the last 50 years, the dairy sector in most developed countries has shifted
towards larger herds and greater annual milk production per cow. The driving force
in this development has been the need to adopt technologies that require large capital
investments and hence depend on larger herds to be profitable. At the same time,
more feed concentrates are being used to support the higher yields. However, average
herd size varies widely between countries, ranging from 4–6 cows in Bulgaria,
Latvia and Lithuania and 10–12 cows in Austria and Croatia to 386 cows in New
Zealand in 2010. Annual milk production per cow in 2010 ranged from 3 951 kg per
cow in New Zealand to 11 667 kg in Israel (ICAR, 2012). This largely reflects differences
in production systems, especially in regard to the feeding of the cows, and
only to a minor extent different genetic potential of the animals. Feeding strategy
has a major impact on the production obtained. The system in New Zealand is based
on year-round grazing whereas in Israel the system is based on in barn feeding with
energy-rich complete mixed rations.
Most developing countries have adverse conditions for milk production in the
form of higher ambient temperature and/or humidity compared to countries with
a developed dairy sector. This implies a harsher environment for the dairy cattle
and in many cases a reduction in the expression of the full genetic potential of the
cows. It is possible for dairy cows to produce similar yields under tropical conditions,
but this requires efficient management and housing systems to protect against
the adverse climatic environment, a condition that is normally seen in particular in
large-scale production systems.
Most milk in developing countries is still produced in traditional small-scale
systems with little or no mechanization or technological innovations; in Kenya, for
example, the smallholder sector accounts for about 85 percent of total milk production.
The main constraint to increased milk production in the smallholder sector in
developing countries is poor animal management, particularly suboptimal feeding
with poor forage and low levels of concentrate supplementation. Therefore, there
5 Based on Henriksen et al., 2009.