Author Archives: Peter Ballantyne (ILRI)

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Vaccines / Zoonotic Diseases

Global veterinary vaccines market to reach US$5.6 billion by 2015

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Given the frequent outbreaks of animal diseases such as bird flu, avian influenza, anthrax, and other viral and bacterial infections, animal healthcare has gained tremendous significance across the globe. The global veterinary vaccines market waned in 2008 and 2009, as a result of the global meltdown. The market, nevertheless, recovered in 2010 and is expected … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Environment / Europe / Livestock

EU publishes study on livestock emissions

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A study on the ‘evaluation of the livestock sector’s contribution to the EU greenhouse gas emissions’ was commissioned by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. It estimates emissions from all livestock sectors in Europe. UK National Farmers Union Director of Policy Martin Haworth said: “This recent evaluation from the EU builds upon previous … Continue reading →

Animal Products / Dairying / Livestock Systems / Middle East

IFAD to help boost dairy production in Syria

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A new US$73.13 million IFAD-supported project will help reduce poverty mainly in marginal dry areas of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Integrated Livestock Development Project will benefit around 311,000 poor rural households: small sheep, cattle and buffalo holders; small milk producers, collectors and processors living in poverty-stricken seasonal settlements in the Badia and in settled … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Climate Change / Environment / Livestock Systems

Research shows livestock industry is ‘green’

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Livestock agriculture is green. It is time the industry stopped allowing itself to be pushed around and start using science-based information to tell what it is doing for the world, according to speakers at the recent Southwest Beef Symposium in Amarillo. Confined cattle feeding is a necessary industry to feed the growing population and also … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Mozambique / Poultry / Southern Africa

Transforming Mozambique’s poultry sector

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Speaking at a recent meeting on the ‘Impact of U.S. Support on Farming, Poverty and Stability in Mozambique’, Florencia Cipriano, Head of Veterinary Services in Mozambique, described the country’s poultry sector transformation. This transformation included the establishment of the Mozambican Aviculture Association (AMA) that “enabled new poultry farmers to form sustainable businesses, helping them understand … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / CBPP / Disease Control / Vaccines

Paying for outcomes: Protecting human and animal health in Africa

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A new report from the Milken Institute, “Paying for Outcomes: Protecting Human and Animal Health in Sub-Saharan Africa“ looks at two of the primary threats to sustainable agricultural development in the region and suggests how donors can break through challenges in vaccination and crop safety. The two specific issues examined are contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Products / Dairying / Livestock / Southern Africa / Tanzania / Value Chains

Plan launched to increase incomes for Tanzanian dairy farmers

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Land O’Lakes International Development has launched a new $8 million, three-year USDA-funded dairy development programme in the country that is expected to directly improve incomes and strengthen food security for nearly 18,000 farmers and agricultural input and service providers. The programme, to be funded by the USAID, will also indirectly benefit an additional 87,000 family … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Asia / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Livestock / Southeast Asia / Zoonotic Diseases

South-East Asia still pandemic hotspot, says study

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The next global pandemic is likely to arise in South-East Asia where factors ranging from weak surveillance to the increasing proximity of humans and animals continue to make it vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases, according to experts. The region’s population has soared in the last decade and, together with an increase in livestock production, particularly … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Production / Botswana / Disease Control / Livestock / Southern Africa / Vaccines

Botswana’s cattle industry: an uncertain future despite vaccine breakthrough

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One chief facet of the country’s domestic agriculture industry remains cattle raising (though agriculture and livestock production account for between only 2-4% of GDP, while employing approximately 25% of the country’s labor force) and the export of beef to international markets such as the European Union (EU) and South Africa, although production has admittedly sagged … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Livestock / Zoonotic Diseases

USAID creates online mapping tool to track animal diseases

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A new online mapping tool will enable scientists and the public to track outbreaks of animal diseases that might jump to humans. The tool, known as Predict, will be at http://www.healthmap.org/predict. Created with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development, it is being produced by experts on human and animal diseases from … Continue reading →