Economic and social consequences of animal diseases

摘要

The consequences of animal diseases in domesticated birds and livestock can be complex and generally go well beyond the immediate effects on affected producers. World Bank livestock specialist Francois Le Gall discusses the economic and social effectsof animal diseases. The most direct economic impact of animal diseases is loss of production and/or productivity, and ensuing income losses for farmers. If the farm economy is diversified or if there are other opportunities to generate income, the impacts can be mitigated. However, if the economy depends on one or some of the vulnerable products, the impacts can be serious, and local food security can be threatened. The economic impact also depends on response strategies adopted by farmers and possiblemarket adjustments. The loss of the farmer's 'well-being' will generally be lower than the value of the lost product, except where the farmer has few alternatives or is wholly dependent on the affected product, which is quite often the case in developing countries. Direct losses are therefore the result of the disease itself (they may be very high when mortality rates are between 50 and 100%), or from animal health measures (stamping-out policies).