The Agriculture and Rural Development Day event was held at the University of Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Saturday, 12 December 2009. The event took place in parallel with the United Nations Climate Change Conference, including the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate … Continue reading
Author Archives: ILRI Communications
Africa / Agriculture / Ethiopia / Food Security / Livestock
Commercialisation of livestock agriculture in Africa: Challenges and opportunities
For too long, the potential of the livestock sector in Africa has not received the attention it deserves. Policies and other institutions promoting livestock development have been weak or absent in most African countries. Commercialization has not been a focus and livestock production remained predominantly subsistence-oriented. Commercially oriented animal production systems are more likely to … Continue reading
Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Goats / Pests / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Vaccines
Vaccine success sees Moredun head to market
It may have a somewhat exotic name but the Barber Pole worm was this week called a “nasty blood-sucking piece of work” by the scientist charged with finding a way to eliminating it. The work of Dr David Smith and his team at the Moredun Research Institute could make a dramatic difference for sheep and … Continue reading
Livestock, food and climate change
Carlos Seré The 800 million livestock keepers of the developing world are among those communities at greatest risk of climate change. They need technological and policy support to produce the greater amounts of milk, meat and eggs needed to feed the world – and to do so more efficiently with less environmental cost. Read more… … Continue reading
Eat less meat and dairy: Official recipe to help health of consumers – and the planet
he first official recommendations for a diet that is both healthy and good for the environment are published today, and they are likely to be seen as an assault on the UK’s current food system. To fight climate change and tackle the growing crisis of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, British … Continue reading
World faces epidemiological transition: Emerging and re-emerging animal diseases a growing problem for public health
The number of animal diseases affecting humans is set to escalate as the world undergoes a new epidemiological transition, say researchers this month in BioScience. Experts say that “dramatic” changes to the environment have sparked lasting alterations to human disease patterns. “We appear to be undergoing a distinct change in global disease ecology,” write Montira … Continue reading
Australia–Cloned cattle the way of the future
If you thought the cattle business had reached its technical zenith with artificial insemination and embryo transfer systems, then hold on to your hats, because long term, it’s going to get a whole lot more technical in the name of improving genetics, efficiencies and profitability. Late last month, a gathering of beef producers and industry … Continue reading
Soggy pork … and other climate change choices
The world faces some interesting choices in the next few years. As illustrated by the ongoing Copenhagen negotiations, we have to decide whether and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a wide range of sectors, from energy generation to transportation and beyond. The livestock industry faces particular uncertainty in this environment. According to various … Continue reading
Agriculture / CGIAR / Research
CGIAR unveils agricultural research ‘masterplan’
A “masterplan” for agricultural research and technology transfer was unveiled at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen today by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the world’s largest alliance of agricultural scientists. The 45-page strategy calls for, on the one hand, action that harnesses multiple advances that the group says are waiting … Continue reading
Asia / Cattle / Dairying / Environment / Livestock / Pastoralism / Vulnerability
Pastoralism unraveling in Mongolia
A pungent odor like turpentine wafts over the hillsides north of the Mongolian capital. It comes from the sharilj, a wild plant that has taken over the scalloped landscape, a telltale sign of overgrazing since the plant is inedible for sheep and goats. Sukhtseren Sharav has a herd of 150 goats and 100 sheep, and … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 