Market segmentation and potential for new CIAT forage hybrids in Africa, Latin America, and Asia

AbstractLivestock is a critical economic driver in East Africa (EA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and Southeast Asia (SEA), contributing significantly to global dairy and beef production. In EA, 25% of the global dairy cattle and 13% of the beef cattle herd are found, while LAC contributes 11% to dairy and 29% to beef cattle herds. Despite its smaller role, SEA's beef cattle population exceeded 6.8 million in 2022. Livestock sustains 60% of the rural population in developing countries, helping to combat food insecurity amid rising global demand for animal products. However, the sector faces challenges, particularly for small-scale producers in EA and LAC, including inefficiencies in production systems, feed scarcity, and environmental concerns such as deforestation. The forage seed market, critical to supporting livestock productivity, requires regionally adapted solutions. CIAT, in collaboration with Grupo Papalotla, has developed hybrid forages, including Urochloa species, to address these needs. This report, as part of the CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence, quantifies the potential market for new hybrid forage seeds, estimating the hectares and market values for three genetic improvement lines across EA, LAC, and SEA: Interspecific Urochloa, Urochloa humidicola, and Megathyrsus maximus.