Faced with difficult choices, a Maasai community in Tanzania was able to get an accurate picture of their land resources with the help of conservationists and GPS receivers. Read more … (ICT Update) Continue reading
Despite oft-repeated claims by sources ranging from the United Nations to music star Paul McCartney, it is simply not true that consuming less meat and dairy products will help stop climate change, says a University of California authority on farming and greenhouse gases. UC Davis Associate Professor and Air Quality Specialist Frank Mitloehner says that … Continue reading
ALLIANCE for Commodity and Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA) has said Africa’s share in meat exports has continued to remain less than one per cent. According ACTESA manager for Livestock Programmes Abdiweli Mohamed, this is despite an increase in global demand for meat. “There is therefore need for African countries to put in … Continue reading
Livestock production is one of the major causes of the world’s most pressing environmental problem – global warming. The United Nations estimates that livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share even than transport. Monday, (December 7), world leaders from 192 nations will join 15,000 people from across the world … Continue reading
Look in the crystal ball and envision what animal agriculture might look like in 2030. Sound like a tough assignment? Now try getting people from the Humane Society of the United States and the National Pork Producers Council to agree on what animal agriculture should look like in 2030. Sound impossible? It probably is. But … Continue reading
Insurers will use satellite images of vegetation to assess Kenyan farmers’ claims for cattle deaths during drought. In a pilot project due to start in early 2010, the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) will analyse freely-available satellite data to observe changes in vegetation in northern Kenya. The technology works by detecting changes in light … Continue reading
SCIENTISTS have grown meat in the laboratory for the first time. Experts in Holland used cells from a live pig to replicate growth in a petri dish. The advent of so-called “in-vitro” or cultured meat could reduce the billions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted each year by farm animals — if people are willing … Continue reading
Exporters of live animals to Mauritius are preparing to resume the business following the recent rainfall that has improved pasture in Coast province. The growing demand for live Kenyan animals in Mauritius was interrupted by the recent drought that affected many parts in the country, leading traders to suspend exports since they could not get … Continue reading
Harare — GLOBALLY, livestock farming is fast becoming agriculture’s most economically important sub-sector with demand for animal products projected to double over the next 20 years, especially in the developing countries, findings by the International Livestock Research Institute have indicated. It is against this backdrop that developing economies need to direct their focus on research … Continue reading
Australian scientists have said they are hoping to breed sheep that burp less as part of efforts to tackle climate change. The scientists have been trying to identify a genetic link that causes some sheep to belch less than others. Burping is a far greater cause of emissions in sheep than flatulence, they say. Read … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 