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But look out over a farm fence anywhere in these countries and you are likely to find yourself staring into the face of a farm animal. Livestock matters a great deal in developing countries, playing an increasingly important role in food security and economic development. In fact, the livestock subsector is growing faster than all other agriculture sectors in developing countries worldwide. And importantly in the International Year of Family Farming, the bulk of that livestock production is occurring on small family farms. Livestock farming offers unique features to support local livelihoods and economies, especially for women. Some 70 per cent of the world’s 37 billion farm animals are raised in developing countries, and that share will increase in the coming decades. A major reason for this is an ongoing dramatic rise in demand for meat, milk and eggs in developing countries, far outstripping that for grains, starches and other food crops. This ‘livestock revolution’1 is a result of dietary changes due to increasing urbanization and incomes, both of which lead people to spend more of their disposable income on meat and other high-value animal-source foods than on maize, rice, potatoes and other cheaper staples. As a consequence, total demand for livestock products is expected to double by 2050 from 2000 levels. 2 Nearly all of that growth is occurring in developing countries, where experts anticipate a 37 per cent rise in per capita consumption of animal-source foods, even as richcountry consumption levels flatten or decline. Further, because feeds are easier to trade than perishable livestock products, 90 per cent of the increased livestock production will …