Challenging strategies to promote the sheep and goat sector in the current global context Options méditerranéennes série A : N° 99 Series

Small ruminant production, a traditional sector in Mediterranean agricultural systems, is challenged by societal demands and factors that differ from Northern to Southern and Eastern countries. European productions face a loss of consumption of sheep and goat products, and the low profitability rates, among other factors, are leading to a reduction in the number of farms and animal population size. Environmental and animal welfare concerns are also directly affecting animal production systems, and more specifically small ruminants, which play an irreplaceable role in the agroecosystems of which they are part. On the other hand, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries are increasing their demand in animal products, transforming the traditional farms to more intensive and input dependent systems, and increasing pressures on the pasture and soil resources. This regional context, together with global factors such as climate change, higher demand of animal products for human consumption and volatility of animal feed prices are calling for an evolution where higher productivity and efficiency will have to be compatible with the sustainability of the natural resources upon which sheep and goat productions are based. The contribution of nutrition science and technologies to the necessary advances will be of relevance as nutrition significantly shapes animal production systems, both in terms of their yield and production efficiency and of their environmental impacts. This publication is a result of the 13th Seminar of the FAO-CIHEAM Sub-Network on Sheep and Goat Nutrition, held in León (Spain) from 14th to 16th October 2009, and contains 52 invited and selected papers presented at the. meeting. Under the title "Challenging strategies to promote the sheep and goat sector in the current global context", the Seminar was jointly organized by the University of León (Spain), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Seminar covered a wide range of topics distributed in four sessions and a round table: Strategies for sustainable production and landscape management. Manipulation of animal behaviour and interloping of other species, Rumen microbial ecology and metabolism in sheep and goats. Microbiome, digestion, manipulation and welfare, Feeding strategies to improve small ruminant production in the current global context. Global warming impact on sheep and goat production, Nutrition parasite.