Sustainable livestock production under changing climate: A review

Abstract

Climate is a key determinant in agricultural productivity and is projected to have a significant impact on livestock production systems. Although, the impact of climate change on the livestock sector is a bit controversial because there is a skeptical view that the livestock itself is contributing a share to global climate change. Even if the sector is contributing, we cannot completely stop the production of livestock products due to the increased demand for milk, meat, egg, pork, wool etc. by the increasing population. Thus, there is an emerging need to educate the farming community in regard and encourage them to take up livestock production in a sustainable way. This paper reviews the impacts of changing climate on sustainable livestock production and the ways to produce livestock products in a sustainable way by adapting to climate change. The direct impact of climate change on the sustainable livestock production is broadly reviewed as the effect on animal health, productivity, and wellbeing and the techniques to overcome the obstacles faced by the livestock sector due to changing climate in a sustainable way have also been detailed in the paper.