Category Archives: Animal Production

Africa / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / Animal Production / East Africa / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems

Farm-Africa to launch livestock services franchises in Kenya

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FARM-Africa recently announced that it has received funding to develop the first franchise business model that will establish a chain of new veterinary stores to provide quality, accessible and affordable livestock services including clinical services, veterinary drugs, farm inputs, animal feeds and artificial insemination in Africa. Through a US$5m grant from the Bill & Melinda … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

International conference to debate the future of pastoralists in Africa

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In March 2011, Addis Ababa will be host to conference on the future of pastoralism in Africa. The Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) and the Feinstein International Center of Tufts University are hosting this academic conference to critically reflect on the future of pastoralism in Africa and to share new learning from the dynamics of change … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Climate Change / Drought / Environment / Food Security / Kenya / Uganda

World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report

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A move from industrial farming towards local food projects is our healthiest, most sustainable choice, says Worldwatch Institute The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture, according to a report from the Worldwatch Institute. The US-based institute’s annual State of the World report, published … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / East Africa / Ethiopia / Kenya / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

University of the Bush – understanding pastoral lives

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In November 2010, more than 50 pastoralists, politicians, donors and researchers met in Kenya to discuss the place of nomadic livestock keeping in national development, recent research findings and future policy options. Unusually, the meeting took place not in a conference centre but under an acacia tree, on the edge of a national park – … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Markets

Commercialization of smallholders: Does market orientation translate into market participation?

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This working paper by Berhanu Gebremedhin and Moti Jaleta on Commercialization of smallholders: Does market orientation translate into market participation? was released on 15 December, 2010. It makes little distinction between market orientation (production decision based on market signals) and market participation (sale of output).  It analyses the determinants of market orientation and market participation … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Central America / Farming Systems / Innovation Systems / Knowledge and Information / Latin America / Livestock Systems

Exceeding expectations: The ‘degraded pastures’ project in Central America

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In the past 40 years the area under pastures in Latin America increased from 473 to 555 million hectares, and the number of cattle has risen from 195 to 394 million. This growth has resulted in forest loss and fragmentation. Pastures are now the main agricultural land use, particularly in areas like El Petén, in … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / Animal Production / Asia / India / Livestock / Livestock Systems / South Asia

Demand led transformation of the livestock sector in India

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The South Asia Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank has produced its first assessment of the livestock sector in India since 1996. According to the report, a ‘livestock revolution’ has occurred on a large scale in India over the last couple of decades. Demand for all major livestock commodities (milk, eggs, meat) … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Insurance / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

Oxfam calls for climate insurance for West African pastoralists

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Government-sponsored climate insurance for pastoralists in West African’s arid Sahel region offers a solution to mitigate the loss of livestock due to recurrent droughts related to the effects of climate change, an Oxfam official has said. Gilles Marion, Mali country director for the U.K based charity, said that pastoralists in the Sahel prepare for the … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Asia / Capacity Strengthening / CapDev / ILRI / Livestock / Research / South Asia

Status of postgraduate training in the livestock sector in South Asia and priorities for ILRI’s support

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This Status Report on the status of postgraduate training in the livestock sector in South Asia and priorities for ILRI’s support was released on 15 September, 2010. In order to establish the priorities for collaborative capacity strengthening activities of the learning institutes in the areas of animal production and veterinary services, ILRI commissioned five studies … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Crop-Livestock / ILRI / Livestock Systems / Livestock-Water

International Symposium on Sustainable Animal Production in the Tropics–ILRI papers

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The November 2010 issue of Advances in Animal Biosciences contains papers from the ‘International Symposium on Sustainable Animal Production in the Tropics: Farming in a Changing World,’ held in Guadeloupe 15-18 November 2010. Five papers are included from ILRI authors: Mario Herrero and Philip K. Thornton: Mixed crop livestock systems in the developing world: present … Continue reading →