A new piece of kit in the form of a backpack could help small farmers in Kenya increase yields, profits and agricultural know-how in a sustainable way. The backpacks, weighing 15-42 kg, contain things which help farmers bring a crop to harvest, including tools, a training manual and, in some versions, a collapsible water tank. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Countries
Asia / China / Climate Change / Livestock
Cows absolved of causing global warming with nitrous oxide
Livestock could actually be good for the environment according to a new study that found grazing cows or sheep can cut emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas. Dr Butterbach-Bahl said the study overturned assumptions about grazing goats and cattle. “It’s been generally assumed that if you increase livestock numbers you get a rise in emissions … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Livestock / Uganda / Vaccines
Makerere to produce vaccines and drugs for livestock
Makerere University is to start an animal institute which will produce vaccines and drugs for livestock and wild animals. The Africa Institute for Strategic Animal Resource Services will also train youth in livestock management. It will promote value addition and develop high market value products from cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits. to support the … Continue reading
Agriculture / China / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Research
Chinese agricultural academy signs memorandum with Kenyan partners
To expand cooperation and exchanges with African countries on tropical agricultural technology, experts of livestock, vegetable and cassava from Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) recently visited the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and signed a cooperation memorandum of understanding with the ILRI, marking a new start … Continue reading
Australia ‘reef and beef’ project launched
An Australian scientist Friday launched what he called a “reef and beef” study into whether feeding cows seaweed would reduce their flatulent carbon emissions, in a move that could help save the Great Barrier Reef. Tony Parker, from James Cook University, said cattle produced up to 20 per cent of global man-made methane emissions, and … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Feeding / Fodder / Livestock / Niger / West Africa
Niger: Livestock herders plan ahead
HAMDALLAYE, Niger, Mar 31, 2010 (IPS) – The cows Djibo Hama looks after belong to someone else, but he is diligent. Anticipating a severe shortage of good grazing in 2010, he secured cattle feed for the 35 that remain. “I have purchased a large quantity of feed for my cattle, with the proceeds from selling … Continue reading
USDA ARS and NIFA hold priorities workshop on animal health research
USDA’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) and National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) held a two day workshop on March 23rd and 24th to discuss research priorities in the area of animal health. The workshop was well attended by a mix of industry, academia and government representatives. The goal of the workshop was to develop … Continue reading
Implications of avian flu for economic development in Kenya
Kenya is vulnerable to avian flu given its position along migratory bird routes and proximity to other high risk countries. This raises concern about the effect an outbreak could have on economic development. We use a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of Kenya to simulate potential outbreaks of different severities, durations and geographic spreads. Results … Continue reading
GPS tracking set to revolutionise livestock management
A recent trial of global positioning system (GPS) tracking technology on Twynam Agriculture’s “Buttabone” property in Western NSW has shown that steers graze only a fraction of the paddock available to them. “Most graziers realise that their cattle don’t use the paddocks evenly,” said Dr Mark Trotter from the University of New England’s Precision Agriculture … Continue reading
Climate change – Brazil: The threat posed by livestock
The livestock industry has less economic clout than the oil industry, but ranchers say it has better arguments to defend itself from accusations regarding its share of responsibility for global warming. The livestock industry represents 40 percent of agricultural production worldwide and provides a livelihood and food security to one billion people. The fact that … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 