Cow or goat? Population pressure and livestock keeping in Burundi

Livestock contributes significantly to livelihoods in developing countries. Yet, most academic studies focus on dairy cattle and neglect that many smallholder farmers in mixed-cropping systems prefer goats, sheep, pigs or poultry over cattle. Using a unique dataset from a national representative agricultural survey in Burundi, we estimate the determinants of livestock keeping with a multivariate probit model. We find that wealthier households keep more livestock, but population density and access to markets are also key determinants. Moreover, even the wealthiest households switch from cattle to smaller animals in densely populated regions, where pressure on land is high and access to pastures limited. This has important policy implications since it questions the emphasis of most development programs by NGOs and governments in Sub-Saharan Africa which promote dairy cattle.

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