Food Security and Role of Livestock Sector. Dr.

Kedar Karki
Background: In the last decade the livestock sector had experienced significant in terms of its contribution in national economy of developing country . Though the contribution of agriculture and industrial sector of to the national gross domestic product had declined in the last few decades; but share of livestock to agriculture gross domestic product had increased consistently and this sector is marching ahead to self sufficient and replacement to import sector. At the farm household level livestock are central to livelihood of the rural poor mainly as source of supplementary income. Food Security: According to food and agriculture organization the basic concept of food security has been defined as all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. In contrast in other hand, world bank has taken a more holistic approach in defining food security as access by all people at all times to enough food and ability to acquire it. To understand the concept of food security a few points of the definition are need to be considered: 1. Access .tofood: Availability of food will not guarantee the mitigation of hunger. People need to be have assured access to food through increased income and employment opportunities or production at farm level, exchange or social entailment programs. 2. By.allpeoples: There is a Proclivity to define food security at only the national level. However the main emphasis needs to be laid at household and individual level. As even after ensuring national food

security disparity may remain in food security among region, communities, household and individuals. 3. Atall.times: Civil and external conflict, natural disasters may have impact on food production, marketing supply chain and stewardship of food reserves. Thus agencies working towards food security should to the best of their abilities must work towards mitigation of such adverse situation through support of disaster management and preparedness activities. 4. . enough. for an active, healthy life: Adequate food viability both in quantity and quality will not ensure active and healthy life unless there is access of proper health care, water supply and other basic services. Factors Contributing to food insecurity: Poverty is the major detriment of chronic food insecurity. It can be seen that rural sector constitutes the lion's share of total number of poor people in developing countries in Asia and Africa. The poor do not have adequate means or entitlement to secure access to food even when food is available in local or regional market. Had it have been so, sufficient stock lying in central and regional warehouse of food corporation of Nepal, people of Humla, Jumla, Mugu, Bajura and remote region of Gorkha should have deprived of rice even great festival Dashain. However poverty is not the sole determent of under nourishment. One major factor is lack of gainful employment. As per a recent estimate mere thou 80% of country's population is dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood. The elasticity of land supply it is becoming more and more difficult to provide gainful employment to ever increasing rural population in agriculture sector. Lack of employment in rural areas resulting out migration of the unemployed to

urban areas far of farm work, which does not redeem the urban poverty scenario. Inequitable distribution of land also contributes to food insecurity. As more than two thirds of farmers in country are either marginal or small holder or squatters thus severely constrained in increasing income only from crop cultivation. The relatively limited access to suitable technology and other product are resource are also important factors influencing under nourishment. The huge share of share agriculture in national gross domestic production points towards the traditional methods cultivation and low productivity or only when the production of crop per unit area increases substantially then the rural people have the requisite purchasing power to stimulate the growth of non agriculture sector. Thus bringing down the contribution of agriculture in national gross domestic production in percentage term. This would be only possible through development of agriculture by providing improved and compatible technologies and effective use of productive resources. Availability of food does not guarantee access to it for the poor even if they have purchasing power. In the country live Nepal where most of part are still remote and have not access to land transport and whatever is available is not all weather, fluctuation in the availability of food stock over periods of times causing uncertainties area common feature. The prolactivity on the part of private sector traders to exploit the situation of scarcity also compounded the problem of in accessibility. Role of livestock in food security: It is being seen that all the major crops have experienced lower growth rate in last decade. This reduction of growth rates could be attributed to both the stagnation in bringing in more land under cultivation or increasing the productivity. The declining trend in growth rate of grains ad pulses production

in last decade had serious implication is for national food security. Which has serious concern in consumption of plant protein. In contrast during the same period per capita consumption of different live stock product had increased during same period. It is being estimated that minimum requirement of animal protein should be targeted at 20 gr per capita per day as compared to the present availability of 10 gr or world average 25 grams. A person's daily protein intake should be about 1 gram per kg. body weight for adequate nutrition and ideally 30-50% of daily protein intake should be animal protein to provide an optimal range of amino acids. Apart from the direct role played live stock in providing nutritional security, livestock also have other role in insuring food security. -means of employment -Livestock as supplier of imputes and services for crop production i.e. drought power, source of plant nutrition, fuel and biogas, weed control, recycling own secondary products and households and industrial waste, more equitable distribution thou land, source of income. This sector either save the resources or generate the income which can be utilized to procure high valued food. As consumption of livestock product in being considered as the measures of stander of the increase of prosperity of society. For this state have to increase their investment in terms of finance, technology as well as research and development. Least but not the last monitoring of sanitary and psycho sanitary stander not only improve the domestic food security situation but also help in import replacement and export expansion to earn the high value foreign exchange. Whose ultimate gain will be active healthy and productive citizen.