Africa / Animal Production / Biodiversity / Cattle / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock

Imported cattle threaten African livestock diversity

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

Animal Production / Asia / Climate Change / Indonesia / Southeast Asia

Woeful climate threatens Indonesia’s livestock production

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

Animal Health / Animal Production / Asia / China / Environment / Livestock

World Bank supports Henan Ecological Livestock Project in China

The objective of the Henan Ecological Livestock Project for China is to improve environmental health management practices on the targeted livestock farms in the Yellow River Belt in Henan province. There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is institutional strengthening, training and technical support. Improving the technical understanding and … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Health / Animal Production / Livestock / Southern Africa

Zambia formulates livestock development and animal health project

The proposed project will support the government in improving the productivity of key production systems, namely meat and milk from cattle and small ruminants, and poultry sector. It will specifically strengthen the veterinary services (public and private) to better control major animal diseases and improve food safety. It will also tackle other identified constraints by … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Production / Fish / Ghana / Livestock / West Africa

Tapping local ingenuity to raise fish and livestock

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

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Drought / Livestock / Niger / West Africa

Niger: Forced to sell cattle for a handful of dollars

Nigeriens are likely to take years to recover from selling their weakened livestock at a fraction of its normal value due to drought in the Sahel region. The drought threatens almost 70 percent of herds, according to rough estimates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “It can take up to 10 years … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biodiversity / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock

African livestock offers ‘untapped genetic resource’

The genetic diversity of Africa’s indigenous livestock needs to be tapped before it is lost forever, researchers have warned. They said native breeds had adapted to tolerate parasites or produce “robust” milk yields in harsh conditions. Writing in the journal science, they added that these traits had yet to be unlocked by the scientific community. … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Production / Livestock Systems

Monitoring rangeland health: A guide for pastoralist communities in Eastern Africa

Funded by USAID-East Africa, this guide is written for people who want to design and implement a simple rangeland monitoring programme in eastern Africa. The guide outlines a series of steps that will enable community members and other land managers to decide what, where, when, and how to monitor, as well as how to interpret … Continue reading

Animal Production / Climate Change / Livestock

UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today. As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says … Continue reading