Category Archives: Animal Production

Africa / Animal Production / East Africa / Kenya / Livestock / Markets / Pastoralism / Value Chains

Learning route on innovative livestock marketing in Kenya

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Participants in a ‘learning route’ on Innovative Livestock Marketing just completed their trip through Kenya. Organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the PROCASUR Corporation, the route is a participatory practitioner-to-practitioner training to increase awareness about channels and strategies to diversify livestock production and marketing. Read stories from the route … How … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Health / Animal Production / Livestock

GALVmed ‘Livestock 2012’ e-discussion – Ways to improve livestock development in Africa

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GALVmed – the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines – just published an ‘Impetus Strategy Paper’ that  puts forward ideas on the directions Africa’s livestock sector needs to take to maximise prospects for  African livestock farmers, based on evidence and opinion from Sub Saharan Africa. To validate and extend the discussions, GALVmed has set up … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Animal Products / Botswana / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Innovation Systems / Kenya / Livestock / Report / Southern Africa / Uganda / Value Chains

Multi-stakeholder innovation in Africa: Dairy and beef cases feature in new report from FARA

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The Forum on Agricultural Research in Africa just published a new report on agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from multiple-stakeholder approaches. The report draws together case experiences across Africa with an ‘integrated agriculture research for development (IAR4D) approach’ that brings together multiple actors along a commodity value chain to address challenges and identify opportunities … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biodiversity / Cattle / Gambia / Goats / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock / Project / Report / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants / West Africa

The Gambia’s hardy native ruminant livestock surveyed in bid to improve their conservation and productivity

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Although livestock play a central role in rural development in West Africa, traditional livestock systems have high death rates, low reproductive rates and low offtake rates. Furthermore, the presence of trypanosome-infected tsetse flies in the sub-humid and humid areas hurts the potential for livestock production. The region’s endemic ruminant livestock, however, are highly adapted to … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / East Africa / Ethiopia / Goats / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Sheep / Small Ruminants

Ethiopia gets sheep and goat production handbook

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In Ethiopia, sheep and goats have traditionally served as a means of ready cash and a reserve against economic and agricultural production hardship. However, the proximity of Ethiopia to large Middle Eastern markets demanding export quality sheep and goat carcasses and an increase in the domestic demand for small ruminant meat is leading to a … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Animal Production / Livestock

Elevage en régions chaudes

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L’agriculture – et plus particulièrement les productions animales – sont depuis quelques années au coeur des préoccupations mondiales, si l’on en juge par les nombreux rapports produits par diverses institutions internationales. Les productions animales au Sud se trouvent ainsi dans une situation paradoxale : elles doivent faire face à une évolution importante de la demande … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Farming Systems / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Policy

Policies for pastoralists?

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Pastoralists across the world suffer serious problems of poverty, vulnerability to shocks and political marginality. Authored by WrenMedia, this series of Information Notes from the Natural Resources Institute outlines the major challenges to development of and for pastoralists. Opportunities for Development Challenges to Pastoral Development Rights, Governance and Voice Risk Reduction and Linking Relief with … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Asia / Books and chapters / China / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Indonesia / Livestock Systems / Southeast Asia / Value Chains / Vietnam

Beef production in crop–livestock systems

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This new report from the ACIAR – the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research – argues that  the “improvement of production and profitability in smallholder beef enterprises is typically not limited by a lack of promising feeding and management technologies. It is more due to low access to, and uptake of, these technologies. There has … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Directorate / ILRI / Interview / Livestock / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research

Billions depend on livestock

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The New Agriculturist’s Geneviève Renard recently interviewed ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith about the challenges facing livestock and livestock research. Livestock play a vital role in the income and livelihoods of billions and they are also a safety net for the poor. To help smallholders escape their poverty, we need to act on productivity: by … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biotechnology / East Africa / Event report / Genetics / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Research

Livestock research directions for ILRI – systems, health, genetics, impacts?

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  During the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, we video recorded reports back from group discussions in three of the sessions: Animal health and genetics – issues and controversies for ILRI research. This session discussed significant or controversial developments; the next big thing in animal genetics, breeding, health, genomics, and feeding.   Livestock … Continue reading →