Andrew Revkin responds to a reader in Dot Earth who says moral responsibility to help people stops at one’s national borders. ‘Toward the end of a week focused on how the world’s rich can foster progress at the other end of the Slinky of social and economic progress, a reader here posted a provocative comment. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Countries
Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Kenya / Sudan / Tanzania
Veterinary officers meet to strengthen animal disease control in eastern Africa
Chief veterinary officers and heads of central veterinary laboratories from 10 countries met in Zanzibar from 24 to 26 Aug 2010 to plan how to enhance the preparedness, prevention and management of animal diseases. Participants recommended strengthening regional cooperation and collaboration, particularly with key partners such as the Africa Union/Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the World … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Production / Animal Products / Asia / Biodiversity / India / Indigenous Breeds / Latin America / Livestock / Markets / Somalia / South Africa
Marketing local breeds to improve livestock diversity and livelihoods
Throughout the world and over centuries, small-scale livestock keepers and pastoralists have developed animal breeds that are well suited to their local conditions. These breeds are hardy and disease-resistant; they can survive on little water and scant vegetation. They can continue producing meat and milk in areas where modern, imported breeds succumb without expensive housing, … Continue reading
Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Asia / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / South Asia / Sri Lanka / Zoonotic Diseases
Mobile-phone–based surveillance of infectious disease in Sri Lanka
With infectious zoonotic diseases emerging in animals in low- and middle-income countries, surveillance of animal health in these nations is becoming increasingly important for forecasting disease risks to people. A new paper describes a mobile-phone-based surveillance system for animal populations that has been developed and implemented in Sri Lanka. Using this system, field veterinarians reported … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / East Africa / Feeds / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock Systems
Kenya – Preying on small uneducated farmers
A new study by the International Livestock Research Institute has found that reductions in greenhouse gases could be worth $1 billion dollars to poor livestock farmers if they could sell saved carbon on international markets. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock operations in tropical countries — a major contributor to climate change — could be … Continue reading
Ethiopia: New Wheat Variety to Deal With Wheat-Killer Diseases
Gadab Assassa — Like most farmers in Ethiopia, Jundi Hajji expected that the profit from his wheat harvest would be sufficient to feed his family of eight until next year’s harvest. But, following a yellow wheat rust epidemic across the country and on his farm, he is concerned how his family will survive if the … Continue reading
Agriculture / Climate Change / East Africa / Farming Systems / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Research
Preying on small uneducated farmers
A new study by the International Livestock Research Institute has found that reductions in greenhouse gases could be worth $1 billion dollars to poor livestock farmers if they could sell saved carbon on international markets. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock operations in tropical countries — a major contributor to climate change — could be … Continue reading
How to save the grasslands: Bring in more cattle
To many, the Western grasslands still reflect the essence of this country: the vast plains that begin with prairie and bump up against the Rockies, home to herds of cattle and the cowboys that run them. Yet this indelible image belies the facts, as much of the nation’s rangeland has been degraded by overgrazing. Land … Continue reading
Could new farm animals provide a future for the livestock sector?
The future for livestock farmers could be pretty bleak if we believe everything we read in the press. Is meat really going to give you cancer? Is producing beef wrecking the rainforests and the planet? Are farting cows really a major contributor to climate change? Will millions starve if we don’t all become vegetarians? A … Continue reading
Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Climate Change / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems
Better feed and genes could cut livestock emissions – but only if animals survive, farmers say
In the heart of Namori village, in the outskirts of Mwea Game Reserve in Eastern Kenya, Samuel Muturi Karobia chops fodder into manageable pieces for his two Friesian dairy cattle. Karobia bought the two animals three years ago after he sold off a herd of 11 locally bred cattle. It was a great decision, he … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 