The apparent superior productivity of livestock systems in most developed countries, compared with those in most developing countries, has been well documented and is quantified for five major types of livestock production in Table 1.1.1. It is likely, however, that this productive superiority is not anything like as great as these data suggest. For example, a large number of the cattle and buffaloes producing beef in developing countries will almost certainly be also used for work purposes, the majority of the females will produce some milk for human consumption and all will produce manure that may be used as fertilizer or fuel. Also, large numbers of pigs and poultry in developing countries are reared as scavengers and are not fed highly-priced grain or other concentrate feeds.

In the early part of the last decade the World Bank identified the livestock sector as the principal area for investment in several countries in Africa, upon which continent this paper concentrates. Since that time very considerable amounts of time and scarce development capital have been directed into improving and “modernising” the production and marketing of, particularly, cattle from the traditional sector. However, the success rate of projects has been extremely low, leading one writer to comment: “There are few fields of economic development characterized by greater or more destructive blunders than those involving attempts to improve the productivity of grazing lands and the animals depending on them” (Dasmann, Milton and Freeman, 1973).

Intensive animal production systems are commonly associated with high income, industrialized societies. These systems are seen by many as indicators or even causes of a widening gap in living standards between developed and developing countries (Aziz, 1976; George, 1976). The controversial subject of resource competition between man and animals has been treated elsewhere (Byerly, 1978; Fitzhugh, Hodgson, Scoville, Nguyen and Byerly, 1978; Newcombe and Bowman, 1978; Svedberg, 1978). Much of the concern stems from the positive relationship between income levels and animal protein consumption (Barreveld, 1977; Weber and Gregersen, 1977). The underlying premise of this paper is that intensification is an appropriate means of increasing animal protein supplies and that these increased supplies could offer the best opportunity of favourably altering this relationship between animal protein consumption and income levels for the developing countries.

As a consequence of the rapidly expanding population and the general recognition of the need for more efficient food production in the less developed countries, there is currently much interest in the establishment of intensive animal production units therein. However, traditional animal production enterprises in these countries, particularly in those with hot humid climates, are noted for their low productivity and poor reproductive rates. Consequently, only a few of the intensive units established in these locations have been successful. The most common factors associated with this failure are, inexperience in ‘farming’ animals, mismanagement, inappropriate animal types, inadequate housing and planning and ignorance of the deleterious effects of tropical environments on animals and production systems and on means of alleviating them.

As the theme of this conference is intensive animal production in developing countries, I will apply myself only to the design of farm buildings for the purpose of livestock production. It is important to understand that I am a farmer and not an architect or civil engineer. As such, I should be more attuned to the needs of the animal, which must represent the first criterion in building design in any circumstances. But that is not enough and, as a farmer, I am concerned to include ergonomic factors (that is the economies of labour use) and the commercial implications of any design. At the same time I must be conscious of the factors which influence architects, the materials available and the construction methods that are possible. In this regard I have the advantage of having at my disposal the Civil Engineering Division in our Company—Masstock.

In discussing world supplies of grain for animal feeding, this has been interpreted in its broadest sense to include the seeds of oilseed crops, legumes (or pulses) and cereals. These, together with fish and animal protein meals, are the basic raw materials for the production of concentrated, or compound, feed which is conventionally associated with intensive livestock production. In his introductory remarks, the President warned against the dangers of generalization and this is particularly true when dealing with feed supplies, since the situation may vary considerably not only from one country to another but also from one region to another within a country. Nevertheless, it is not feasible to discuss detailed situations in a publication of this kind and the intention is to provide a general review of the overall situation.

At present, only a small proportion of livestock in developing countries are kept on cultivated pastures (Williamson and Payne, 1978).

This paper is therefore more concerned with the intensification of the pasture production and the levels of animal production which may be achieved. In general, the pastures which may be cultivated in an area and the ways open for their utilization are related to the ecology of that area (Bogdan, 1977; Skerman, 1977). The factors which determine the natural vegetation to be found on a site, and the distribution of the major plant communities in developing countries, will therefore be reviewed first. Then, certain ecological zones which show promise for the intensification of pastures will be selected and, for each, some of the possible lines of development will be discussed.

In the majority of developing countries, there is increasing competition for land use. This is due, on the one hand, to increasing population pressure and, on the other hand, to the need to earn/save foreign exchange by growing crops for export and also for human consumption at home. In this situation, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the utilization of land for animal production only, as is the case in grazing systems.

The provision of sufficient feedstuffs is likely to be the most limiting factor in increasing animal production, apart from other aspects such as breed improvement and disease control. With the continuing shortage of traditional sources of feedstuffs, it is timely to consider underutilized or little-known tree crops which could be used to increase supply of feeds for livestock, particularly in the developing countries.

The limited genetic potential of indigenous cattle has often been quoted as a major constraint to beef and milk production in Africa south of the Sahara. Thus, considerable efforts have been and are being made to increase output through breeding programmes in many countries of the continent. These efforts include both the introduction of cattle from America, Asia and Europe for use in upgrading and crossbreeding schemes and maintenance as purebreds and the operation of selection programmes within indigenous cattle populations.

After many years of advocating the benefits that arise from the use of genetically superior or proven bulls, the principle has now found almost universal acceptance in the U.K. A study of the reports of Milk Recording Services shows the widening gap between the breeder using proven bulls and the one who does not and confirms theory with results in practice. It is perhaps easy to forget that this acceptance of the proven bull does not apply in many other countries. Finding and identifying the genetical superior sire is, however, a long and costly operation, particularly with the dairy breeds. Even with modern sophisticated methods of predicting breeding ability, it is unlikely that more than one sire in four tested will be returned to the stud for widespread use (M. M. B. Breeding and Production, 1977/78).

Domestic food animals have been moved from country to country for as long as man himself has wandered in search of new land. Surprisingly, the distribution of certain infectious diseases is not as widespread as might be expected and many countries remain free of them, in spite of man's apparent lack of restraint in flying animals all over the world.

If the definition of intensive is “that which is not extensive and includes housed animals and animals kept intensively on improved or irrigated pasture”, then the range of diseases affecting animals in the developing countries is a very wide one. Often the word “intensive” is associated with large concentrations of potentially productive animals kept in a restricted area and fed carefully calculated rations. The “feedlot” for cattle and sheep is an example of this, together with the large pig and poultry units.

The problems which a country faces in the development of its animal industry and the solutions it finds effective can only be appreciated against the specific background of that country's whole economy and indeed its culture. The accepted technology of one developing country may be just as inappropriate in another as that of a developed country would be. With this in mind, a few words will be appropriate to describe the background to the pig industry in Taiwan and to its recent expansion.

Populations of domestic pigs, very different in appearance and size to recently imported exotic breeds, are found in many countries in Africa. Although often referred to as indigenous or native, in East and Southern Africa at least, they may be descended from stock originally introduced by Europeans, probably in the nineteenth century (Mason and Maule, 1960). Diverse phenotypes have developed in different parts of the continent (e.g. Jollans, 1959; Joubert, Combrinck and Bonsma, 1960), and reports generally refer to their poor conformation, slow growth rates and low productivity. To some extent this is probably a reflection of their environment and diet, since they largely subsist by foraging around human habitations and cultivations (Epstein, 1971).

The pig is by far the most important domestic animal in Papua New Guinea, having been introduced to the island from Asia as domestic stock more than 5 000 years ago (Purdy, 1971; Harris, 1975; Brown, 1978).

The relative importance of agriculture in the Central American region (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) is beyond question. With close to 65% of its economically active population devoted to agriculture, with 95% of its exports based on agricultural products and with 30% of the Gross National Product (GNP) originated by agriculture, this area is particularly dependent on this activity for its development (SIECA and GAFICA, 1975).

In the Middle East in the last decade there has been a rapid expansion in the production of poultry meat and table eggs with the development of associated sectors, such as feed mills, hatcheries and breeding farms. This development has been reported in many articles (Anon., 1978) and is especially true in Jordan (Abdul Rahim, 1978; Anon., 1968–1978; Anon., 1979; Daghir, 1970; Daniels, 1969; and Pitcher, 1977) (Table 5.5.1).

It is generally recognized that at high temperatures egg production is reduced. Although Hutchinson (1954) reported that hens will lay at 44°C, the highest constant temperature under which laying hens have been kept under research conditions is 38°C for 8 weeks (Smith and Oliver, 1972a). Both feed intake and egg output were greatly depressed and at the end of the experiment the hens were reported to be “approaching death” (Smith, 1970).