Bone dry, dusty and windy, the vast plains outside Arusha are often a sight of despair and hopelessness during the height of the dry season. Such was the situation in most of the Maasailand for the past one year. The dreadful situation was too obvious even for travellers along the Great North Road; Arusha- Namanga … Continue reading
They may look innocent, but Australia’s cows and sheep are together one of the largest contributors to our country’s overall carbon emissions. Australian scientists and farmers are currently collaborating in the hope of implementing strategies that will make the livestock industry more sustainable. With the support of a $26.8 million dollar research grant from the … Continue reading
As the world awaits the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the Australian beef industry is researching new ways to reduce methane emissions in cattle by 50 per cent by 2030. Read more … (Beef CRC, Australia) Continue reading
The Rainfed Livestock Network (RLN) together with the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) organised a workshop entitled, “Fodder, feed and grazing issues of Livestock Keepers with specific reference to CPRs”, from 8-9th October 2009 at New Delhi. The focus of the workshop was on synthesizing lessons from the case studies/programmes undertaken by different organizations across … Continue reading
In June 2009, scientists of National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal have developed the landmark technique i.e. “Handguided Cloning Technique” and have produced the world’s first and second cloned buffalo calves. This technique is simpler and is an advanced modification of the “Conventional Cloning Technique” which was used for the production of the cloned sheep “Dolly”. … Continue reading
China’s dairy industry is on the move if developments in Xingtang county in north China’s Hebei Province are anything to go by. Cows used to roam around rural houses there, but now they are being sent to the province’s 109 new dairy farms built this year. The county government has encouraged dairy farmers to set … Continue reading
Because of its effect on the environment, cattle must be given the same priority in global agendas as nuclear weapons, wars and, in particular, climate change, says Brazilian activist João Meirelles Filho, author of two books on Amazon deforestation. Cattle farming in Brazil is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, as it is responsible … Continue reading
Alan Duncan – leader of the IFAD-funded ‘Fodder Adoption Project’ at ILRI just launched a new blog to report on activities and developments in the project. Visit the blog at http://fodderadoption.wordpress.com/ Sign up for a regular update by email Continue reading
Pastoralists in parts of the semi-arid eastern region of Isiolo are abandoning their nomadic lifestyles in favour of farming to improve their food security and livelihoods. Successive droughts in arid and semi-arid parts of Kenya have led to livestock deaths, affected pastoralist nutrition and, in places, led to pastoralist drop-outs. Read more (IRIN: Humanitarian news … Continue reading
A tense calm has been restored following clashes between pastoralists and farmers in central Nigeria’s Nasarawa State which left 32 people dead, scores of houses burned, and several farms destroyed, officials told IRIN. Violence erupted on 18 December when pastoralists attacked the farming village of Udeni Gida – two weeks after a clash with farmers … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 