Animal Options

Aquaculture (Fish and Related) Fish farming can generate high interest and excitement. It has great potential to produce high quality protein in relatively short time periods and in small areas. Fish farming is one way that resource poor farmers throughout the world can provide protein that is often lacking in the family diet and too expensive to purchase. Small Animal The purpose of this resource list is to help Third World families alleviate hunger and poverty by improving small-animal production. Insects for Food and Feed Insects are an often-overlooked food and feed source. In many areas of the world, they have been eaten for centuries. In 1885, Vincent M. Holt wrote a document called “Why Not Eat Insects?” in which he described historical instances of people who ate... Poultry Domesticated food producing animals in the world outnumber the human population, two to one. There are thousands of animal species in the world, yet, only a few have been successfully domesticated on a permanent basis and none within the last 2000 years. In fact, five species (cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and pigs) comprise over 95% of the world’s farm animals and all five1 are found in the humid lowland tropics. Of all traditional smallscale animals in the tropics, however, chickens are by far the most common — as indeed they are worldwide. Beekeeping FAO : In nearly all countries of the world bees and their products are not only well known and have wide consumer preference, but provide sustainable livelihoods to many small-scale farmers and other rural and non-rural people. Bees offer a large potential with minimal investments. As an agricultural enterprise beekeeping does not require land ownership or rental, it can be started with equipment and tools that can be sourced locally and in many instances skills and knowledge required for such an enterprise are found within local traditions. As a business enterprise it offers not only diverse products, for example honey and wax among others, which can be sold in local markets and become an important source of regular income for farm families, but can also provide complementary services, such as crop pollination. Moreover bee products improve farm family nutrition and can provide for traditional health care remedies. echocommunity.org Beekeeping FAO : In nearly all countries of the world bees and their products are not only well known and have wide consumer preference, but provide sustainable livelihoods to many small-scale farmers and other rural and non-rural people. Bees offer a large... Livestock In countries experiencing intense population pressure, there is seldom enough land for pasture or for crops grown specifically for livestock. In many instances they are fed the locally available agricultural by-products and scavenged mature forage, which are usually deficient in minerals, energy and protein. Animals in these situations are not primarily producers but rather serve many purposes: insurance, mobile capital, a source of fuel, traction, a fertilizer factory, and status symbols. Unsophisticated but scientifically based research has been carried out in developing countries, primarily on farms, over the past few decades seeking to optimize the production of such animals from local resources.