Invisible guardians : women manage livestock diversity / Ilse K�ohler-Rollefson.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 49-56).

"This study analyses the roles of women, in both smallholder and pastoralist systems, in practising and sustaining livestock production (and thereby acting as guardians of livestock diversity) and in taking active decisions in breeding and in the choice of livestock. It presents case studies from different geographical areas and summarizes the handful of studies that have focused explicitly on the role of women livestock keepers as active breeders and conservers of local breeds. The study also looks at changes brought about by global trends, and how these changes affect women. This analysis considers the shift from subsistence-level livestock keeping to market-oriented production in the context of the so-called Livestock Revolution on the one hand and the sedentarization and disintegration of pastoralism on the other. A third trend is the development of niche markets for high-value livestock products from local breeds, which is emerging as an important rural employment opportunity for women, and which could be further expanded by means of appropriate public and private investments. Projects around the world show that there is a market, especially for natural coloured fibre, but also for specialized meats and dairy products. The significance of local livestock breeds may therefore also include their potential for providing opportunities for secondary product development -- a market that can be predicted to expand as affluent consumers become tired of the generic and standardized products of industrialized production."--Summary.

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