In the Horn of Africa region, millions of families are desperate for food and water. Several seasons of failed rains is slowly turning into a major catastrophe. In Kenya an estimated 100,000 livestock have been lost to the current season. Read more … (World Sentinel) Continue reading
A top European delegate says African countries are continuing to boycott meetings at U.N. climate negotiations after talks with the European Union failed to persuade them to return. Swedish delegate Anders Turresson says the Africans remain concerned about the low pledges by industrial countries to reduce carbon emissions. About 50 African nations have boycotted some … Continue reading
Somalia’s livestock-based economy has received a major boost as its major market, Saudi Arabia lifts its 11 year ban on imported livestock from Somalia. The lift comes after many Somali farmers suffered from the severe east African droughts that dried the soil and dehydrated livestock to death. Last month, a U.S. based NGO embarked on … Continue reading
Researchers at Tufts’ Feinstein International Center (FIC) played a leading role in Ethiopia’s successful eradication of a viral disease that kills cattle and destabilized a large group of people dependent on the livestock for survival. The Ethiopian government, along with a team from FIC and the Tufts School of Medicine, in July celebrated the official … Continue reading
Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute and the University of Nairobi recently bred a test-tube calf using a technique called in vitro embryo production (IVEP). The technology, they say makes it possible to rapidly multiply and breed genetically superior cattle within a short generation interval. Is this much different from previous technologies? IVEP does … Continue reading
Globalization has proven that what happens in one area of the world invariably affects the whole planet. Right now in Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, and numerous other countries, people are experiencing severe droughts and flooding to an extent beyond anything they have ever witnessed before. Rising temperatures all over the world are causing malnourishment, starvation, and … Continue reading
As African leaders prepare to present an ambitious proposal to industrialized countries for coping with climate change in the part of the world that is most vulnerable to its impacts, a new study points to where and how some of this money should be spent. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Systems, the study projects … Continue reading
“The workshop concluded with visits to local research facilities, including the International Livestock Research Institute’s Biosciences of Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) Hub. Private donors and investors have provided more than $10 million in funding for expansion of the facilities and training. “The BecA Hub showed me the country was actively seeking solutions,” Monteros said. … Continue reading
The man behind one of the most influential reports on climate change, Lord Stern, has highlighted the impact meat production has on greenhouse gas emissions. Part of it comes through methane made by the animals as they digest food. So which farm animals expel the most methane? A diet that relies heavily on meat production … Continue reading
A global collaborative has produced a first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig, an achievement that will lead to insights in agriculture, medicine, conservation and evolution. A red-haired Duroc pig from a farm at the University of Illinois will now be among the growing list of domesticated animals that have had their genomes … Continue reading
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