Makerere-North Dakota to tackle zoonoses and vector-borne diseases in Eastern and Central Africa

Posted on 18 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Under a new initiative by the United States Agency for International Development and Higher Education for Development, 11 innovative new partnerships between 22 universities in Africa and the United States have each been awarded up to US$1.1 million to address food security and other issues in Africa. These partnerships will maximize the resources of US … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Animal Products / Kenya / Mozambique / Southern Africa / Trade / Wildlife

Getting wildlife and livestock value-added benefits: Part 2 of interview of veterinarian Steve Osofsky

Posted on 13 Sep 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

. . . If we don’t recognize the importance of both livestock and wildlife, southern Africa is going to lose out. The following excerpts are taken from the second part of a two-part interview with Steve Osofsky, Director of Wildlife Health Policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society. ‘In Botswana, if you want to export beef … Continue reading →

Biodiversity / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Epidemiology / Kenya / Mozambique / Southern Africa / Tanzania / Wildlife

Veterinarian Steve Osofsky on smart ways of tackling wildlife, livestock and human health in tandem

Posted on 8 Sep 2010 by Susan MacMillan • 1 Comment

Photo credit: ILRI / Mann Steve Osofsky, wildlife veterinarian and Director of Wildlife Health Policy at the international Wildlife Conservation Society, spoke with Laurel Neme on her ‘The WildLife’ radio show and podcast about the intersection between wildlife, livestock and human health, and how paying attention to all three in tandem leads to better outcomes … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Drought / East Africa / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock / Pastoralism

Coping with drought – livestock insurance

Posted on 7 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

In Kenya, the International Livestock Research Institute, working with partner organisations, has developed an insurance scheme for livestock farmers. The insurance enables farmers to protect their livelihood against the risk of drought. It works through satellite images, which can be used to measure the amount of grazing available in areas covered under the scheme. If … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / East Africa / ECF / Livestock / Tanzania / Vaccines

Official approval for East Coast fever vaccine

Posted on 6 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

A vaccine against East Coast fever – a disease which kills over 1 million cattle every year – has recently been officially registered in Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi, with Uganda also close to completing registration. This opens the way for private sector companies to take on vaccination delivery as a profit-making business. But how much … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Ethiopia / Livestock / Pastoralism

Ethiopia: Pastoralism against the odds

Posted on 4 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Pastoralists’ disproportionate contribution to Ethiopia’s economy is belied by their marginalized status and by policy assumptions that they would be better off farming. But those who raise livestock tend to make the most of marginal land, according to experts, and are often proficient at adapting to changing circumstances. “People think that pastoralist production systems are … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Climate Change / East Africa / ILRI / Namibia / Southern Africa

Climate change will have a great impact on Southern African livestock

Posted on 2 Sep 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Cattle herd walks home along dry riverbed in Tete Province, Mozambique (photo: ILRI/Mann) ‘A researcher at the International Livestock Research Institute says climate change will have a great impact on Southern African livestock and coastal systems in future. ‘Mario Herrero says by 2050, [some] of Africa will have to revert to livestock farming from crop … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Brazil / Cattle / Environment / Food Security / Latin America / Livestock / North America / NRM / Research / Soils / Water / WLE

The miracle of the cerrado

Posted on 2 Sep 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

Brazil has revolutionized its own farms. Can it do the same for others? IN A remote corner of Bahia state, in north-eastern Brazil, a vast new farm is springing out of the dry bush. Thirty years ago eucalyptus and pine were planted in this part of the cerrado (Brazil’s savannah). Native shrubs later reclaimed some … Continue reading →

Animal Health / Asia / Disease Control / Livestock / Malaysia / Southeast Asia / Vaccines

Could self-vaccinating cattle cut disease?

Posted on 2 Sep 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

Scientists are testing a vaccine that spreads by itself as a solution to a highly infectious buffalo and cattle disease that costs millions of dollars a year. But experts have raised questions about the safety of using such an approach. Read more … (SciDev.net) Continue reading →

Animal Production / Asia / India / Insurance / Livestock / South Asia

Iffco-Tokio, OLRDS in pact for insuring cattle

Posted on 1 Sep 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Iffco-Tokio General Insurance (ITGI), a general insurance providing company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Orissa Livestock Resources Development Society in India. The pact is to implementa the company’s newly launched Pasudhan Bima Yojana on a pilot basis to insure the cattle. Read more … (Business Standard) Continue reading →