Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Egypt / Eritrea / Kenya / Livestock / North Africa / Research

Improved pastures revive Kenya’s livestock exports

Exporters of live animals to Mauritius are preparing to resume the business following the recent rainfall that has improved pasture in Coast province. The growing demand for live Kenyan animals in Mauritius was interrupted by the recent drought that affected many parts in the country, leading traders to suspend exports since they could not get … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Health / ILRI / Livestock / Research / Southern Africa

Livestock, just what the vet ordered

Harare — GLOBALLY, livestock farming is fast becoming agriculture’s most economically important sub-sector with demand for animal products projected to double over the next 20 years, especially in the developing countries, findings by the International Livestock Research Institute have indicated. It is against this backdrop that developing economies need to direct their focus on research … Continue reading

Australia / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pacific / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants

Australian aims to breed ‘green’ sheep that burp less

Australian scientists have said they are hoping to breed sheep that burp less as part of efforts to tackle climate change. The scientists have been trying to identify a genetic link that causes some sheep to belch less than others. Burping is a far greater cause of emissions in sheep than flatulence, they say. Read … Continue reading

Animal Diseases / Cattle / East Africa / Middle East

Deadly cattle plague, once the bane of farmers, on its deathbed

Sometime soon, rinderpest will officially be declared extinct, marking the first time mankind has ever eradicated an animal disease In animal health circles, it’s the equivalent of the Apollo 11 moon landing: some time in the next 18 months, FAO jointly with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and other partners will officially declare one … Continue reading

Africa / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security

The ultimate crop rotation

Lured by a new business model, wealthy nations flock to farmland in Ethiopia, locking in food supplies grown half a world away BAKO, ETHIOPIA — In recent months, the Ethiopian government began marketing abroad one of the hottest commodities in an increasingly crowded and hungry world: farmland. “Why Attractive?” reads one glossy poster with photos … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Cattle / East Africa / ECF / ILRI / Livestock / Tanzania / Vaccines

Group works to expand supply of cattle vaccine in Africa

Each year a million cows in Africa die from East Coast fever. The disease is spread by tick bites. Young cows are most at risk; they can die within days. Farmers and herders can lose up to half or more of their calves to East Coast fever. The disease is widespread in eleven countries. And … Continue reading

Asia / Dairying / Livestock / Markets / Pakistan / South Asia

Engro Foods launches Pakistan’s first Dairy Hub

Milk demand is growing by 15 per cent while supply has been increasing by only 3 to 4 per cent in the country. Managing Director Tetra Pak Pakistan, Azhar Ali Syed at the launching ceremony of the first Dairy Hub of Pakistan in Kassowal, district Sahiwal said Pakistan’s dairy sector is at an important crossroad. … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Ethiopia / Livestock / Pastoralism

IFAD provides USD 39 million to Ethiopia to improve the lives of pastoralists and their families

A US$19.5 million loan and a US$19.5 million grant from IFAD to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will support the delivery of basic social services to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country – pastoralists and their families. After the success of its first phase, the Pastoral Community Development Project … Continue reading

Agriculture / Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya

If words were food, nobody would go hungry

Investment in agriculture is soaring. So, worryingly, is distrust of markets and trade At the height of the food-price spike in 2008, many of the biggest food producers banned the export of crops (they sought to cushion the domestic impact of rising world prices). Most of these restrictions have been lifted and replaced by a … Continue reading