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Rome (Agenzia Fides) – During the Rome presentation of the Annual Report of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Director General, Jacques Diouf sounded the alarm on the worrying situation in Haiti, saying the country is facing a serious food crisis and that there is need of aid that has still not arrived. The Report on The State of Food and Agriculture 2010 (SOFA), entitled "Livestock in the balance - the challenges of globalization for the livestock sector,” analyzes the changes in animal production worldwide, and highlights how animal husbandry is essential to the livelihoods of about one billion poor people. Moreover, given that 70% of new infectious diseases (see SARS and H1N1) come from animals, the document focuses on the relationship between disease, livestock and climate change. Animal diseases pose risks that must be addressed - the law. As new pathogens continue to emerge, the report recommends greater investment in national animal health and safety sanitation infrastructure to reduce the risk of animal diseases being transmitted to man.
The livestock sector is one of the sectors of the agricultural economy that registers the most rapid growth, the FAO report says. Livestock accounts for 40% of the total value of agricultural production and provides livelihood and food security to about one billion people. Worldwide, it provides 15% of total food energy and 25% of dietary protein. Animal products provide essential micronutrients, not easily obtainable from other plant products. The report also highlights the need for improvements in efficiency in the use of natural resources in the sector and the need to reduce the environmental effects of livestock production. Livestock can play an important role both in adaptation to climate change, as well as in the mitigation of its effects on man, says the FAO. Moreover, without adequate control policies, many countries of the South are likely to meet the spread of viruses and diseases among farm animals, which would endanger the health of animals and humans. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 19/2/2010)
