The livestock species play very important economic and socio-cultural roles for the wellbeing
of rural households, such as food supply, source of income, asset saving, source of
employment, soil fertility, livelihoods, transport, agricultural traction, agricultural
diversification and sustainable agricultural production.
The aim of this work was to identify and characterize the different roles that livestock and
livestock species play in rural communities of Timor-Leste, highlighting the importance of
animal production for the wellbeing and rural development, and relate the functions
performed by livestock production with economic, social and cultural attributes of the
communities. The data used in this study were collected in 2011 through a questionnaire
survey in three rural communities in the district of Bobonaro -mountain area, irrigation plain
and coastal zone, and were complemented with secondary data.
Livestock production in Timor-Leste is predominantly familiar being chickens, pigs, goats,
cattle, horses, buffaloes and sheep the main species. Beyond the economic function, each
livestock species also performs social and cultural functions.