© Springer International Publishing AG 2016 211
M. Farooq, K.H.M. Siddique (eds.), Innovations in Dryland Agriculture,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47928-6_8
Integrated and Innovative Livestock
Production in Drylands
Dominique Blache, Philip E. Vercoe, Graeme B. Martin, and Dean K. Revell
1 Introduction
The need for improvement in the efficiency of food production for humanity has
never been greater, with one in seven humans already underfed (FAO 2003 ). This
situation will worsen over the coming decades as our agricultural land, and its abil-
ity to meet global demands for food, come under great pressure from climate
change, soil degradation, increasing human population, urbanisation, biofuels, and
the growing demand for animal protein in developing nations.
In this context, the role of livestock has been controversial, and often the popular
view is that ruminant industries cause problems rather than solve them (e.g. (FAO
2006 )). The focus of such discussions is invariably the environmental footprint of
the livestock sector because it probably accounts for 14–16 % of human-induced
greenhouse- gas emissions, much of it due to enteric methane production (Forster
et al. 2007 ). However, such analysis discounts the fact that foraging animals can
consume feedstuffs that humans cannot and then produce human food. Moreover, in
many parts of the world, ruminants also supply power, fertilize crops, consume
post-harvest residues, and play cultural roles as measures of wealth, status, dowry,
insurance and long-term economic resilience (Otte et al. 2012 ). Sustainably man-
aged grazing can also increase biodiversity, maintain ecosystem services and
D. Blache • P.E. Vercoe (*) • G.B. Martin
School of Agriculture and Environment M085 and The UWA Institute of Agriculture,
Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth 6001, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
D.K. Revell
School of Agriculture and Environment M085 and The UWA Institute of Agriculture,
Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth 6001, Australia
Revell Science, 10 Wade Close, Duncraig, WA 6023, Australia