Even though locally-adapted, diversified agriculture and farming is a key component of both food security today and in a warmer more climate-stressed future, the Big Ag trend is still towards less crop diversity and more uniformity. Here’s a perfect example of the downside of that. Read more … (Treehugger) Continue reading
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf yesterday commended Namibia for acting swiftly and effectively to halt the spread of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in the country during recent outbreaks. Speaking at a meeting in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in Windhoek, Diouf praised the Namibian institutions involved. “Their alertness and prompt reaction prevented outbreaks of … Continue reading
Unpredictable changes in world climate and the global energy crisis have affected the production of livestock, according to an expert. “We used to have a year of half rain and half sunshine. Farmers had no difficulties in poultry provision,” Iman Hernawan, a poultry nutritionist from Padjadjaran University, said in Bandung on Wednesday. Read more … … Continue reading
Researchers at Washington State University are working to prevent diseases from moving from animals to humans, and they will soon have a new state-of-the-art facility to help them. The Pullman school broke ground Friday 25 June on the $35 million headquarters for its new School for Global Animal Health. The building was funded with a … Continue reading
Scientists have developed technology that can be carried to the field in a laptop suitcase to diagnose diseases in animals on the spot. The joint division of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are using molecular diagnostic methods, once only available in laboratories. Dr. Hermann Unger, Technical Officer … Continue reading
Pastoralists across East Africa are set to benefit as the region’s national borders are relaxed amid joint efforts to mitigate the risks associated with their migration. “With the coming into effect [on 1 July] of the common market protocol, pastoralists like the Maasai, the Pokot and the Somali who do not believe in borders as … Continue reading
rgent action is needed to help pastoralists cope with the rising impacts of climate change including strategies by governments to facilitate safe passage across borders in the Horn and East Africa region. This is among the key recommendations of a new report launched today by the United Nations (UN) and partners, members of the Security … Continue reading
Two new approaches could form the basis for the first-ever human vaccine for Rift Valley Fever (RVF), an infectious disease that threatens both farm animals and people, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research. Reported in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, experimental vaccines developed with these approaches produced strong immune responses in … Continue reading
Fishers and livestock keepers in Ghana face numerous challenges. For fishers, a good harvest can mean abundant fish but low prices. And the country’s small-scale chicken farmers often lose their flocks to disease. But in Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region, two farmers’ groups are helping members find innovative ways to add value … Continue reading
Kampala — Uganda is set to start manufacturing poultry and animal drugs. This was announced at the commissioning of the construction of the veterinary pharmaceutical plant in Namanve last Thursday. The plant, which is estimated to cost $15m (about sh600m) will be carried out in three phases. Dr. Stephen Birungi, the managing director Farm Support … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 