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Policy Brief - Indigenous livestock and poultry to alleviate under-nutrition among women and children in rural farm-households of Sri Lanka

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Colombo, Sri Lanka ;

Pages 12

Author Silva, P; Weerahewa, J.; Gonzalez,I.; Bouterakos, M.; Yanoma, Y.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Booklet

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Malnutrition among women of reproductive age results in reduced productivity, increased susceptibility to infections, slow recovery from illness, and heightened risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In Sri Lanka, only 45.7 percent of women have a healthy BMI, with 45.3 percent either overweight or obese. Being underweight and overweight can impact negatively on an unborn child. The causal relationship between nutritional status and food consumption patterns is well established, including the relationship between increased consumption of animal source foods. Promoting the consumption of these foods, specifically, indigenous livestock and poultry, is one channel to improve food and nutrition security in Sri Lanka. At a household level, evidence demonstrates that indigenous livestock and poultry keepers consume more animal source foods, and contribute to food and nutrition security of the household. Furthermore, the keepers of livestock with a market orientation earn additional income from sales and thus contribute to accessibility of more nutritious food. Despite the benefits of rearing indigenous livestock, a secular decline of indigenous animals from the farming systems of Sri Lanka is evident. In this respect, this policy brief examines the benefits of livestock and poultry to alleviate malnutrition and improve the living conditions of rural small-holder farm families and provides recommendations for policy and regulatory reforms.

Language English

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