The environmental impact of meat is something of a well-done dish. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and Sir Paul McCartney are just two of the public figures who have called on us all to eat less meat in order to curb the rate at which the world warms. The … Continue reading
Category Archives: Livestock
Livestock sector policies and programs in developing countries: A menu for practitioners
Interventions to strengthen the livestock sector in the developing world help reduce poverty and hunger because hundreds of millions of rural households rely heavily on livestock to sustain their livelihoods. Farm animals generate opportunities for on- and off-farm employment and provide important supplements to the cereal-based diets of the less well-to-do. At the same time, … 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
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
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
Africa / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Climate Change / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Fodder / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Southern Africa
Livestock systems in Swaziland: Adapt or perish
A changing climate will prompt changes in behaviour across southern Africa. And when it comes to adaptation, Swazi farmer Bongani Phakathi is a frustrated man a few steps ahead of his neighbours. Traditionally, livestock in Swaziland grazes in the fields during winter, eating what’s left behind after maize and other crops are harvested. But Phakathi … 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
Tropentag examines animal production, feeding and and health
Earlier this week, the annual Conference on Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural and Natural Resource Management (TROPENTAG) was held in Zurich. Check out blog postings on animal science; view abstracts of the presentations and posters on animal breeding, husbandry and health, forages and feeding systems, and animal nutrition and supplementation … Continue reading
Immense demand for disease control in developing countries
The International Federation for Animal Health–Europe annual conference, held in June 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, was devoted to the role of the animal health industry in the context of the food security challenge in the 21st century. One of the speakers—Baptiste Dungu—highlighted the need for animal disease control in developing countries. Read more … (Vetsweb) Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 