When the smallholder dairy farmer looks at a cow, he sees more than just a simple economic asset whose value is reckoned in terms of the milk it produces. What he sees is an asset endowed with an assortment of attributes ranging from the production of milk, manure to fertilize crops, insurance against unforeseen contingencies … Continue reading
Category Archives: Africa
Africa / Animal Feeding / Dairying / Feeds / Livestock / South Africa
Feedlots can be environmentally friendly
Koos Coetzee of South Africa’s Milk Producers’ Organisation argues that intensive livestock-production systems can be sustainable for people and the environment. He argues: “It’s erroneously believed that low-input production systems hold the key to sustainable dairy production” “We need efficient high-input production systems that use technology to produce enough food for our growing population. Farmers … Continue reading
Nomadic alarm bells
ceaselessly across some of the harshest environments in the world in search of grazing land are vital for Africa’s economic prosperity. However, their way of life is being undermined by governments, conservationists and large-scale farmers, says a study. Read more … (Mail and Guardian) Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Insurance / Pastoralism
Farm aid from space
Dusty northern Kenya doesn’t look like a laboratory, but across its dry plains, cattle herders are pioneering a new way to fend off poverty and teaming up with unlikely partners – insurance agents. The two groups have been brought together by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), headquartered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. A few years … Continue reading
Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock / Pastoralism
End of the road nears for pastoralists’ way of life
The government of Kenya and the donor community should act fast to preserve the way of life of nomadic people. For long, the economic worth of nomadic people has been underplayed, though the role they play in preserving fragile ecosystems is vital. That’s the conclusion of a new book published by the Institute for Environment … Continue reading
Walter Plowright: Developed vaccine against rinderpest
The London Times recent obituary of Walter Plowright hails Plowright for transforming cattle-based economies that had been blighted by the rinderpest virus. Read more . .. (Times) Continue reading
Milk improves orphans’ nutrition in Mozambique
Land O’ Lakes reports how the Maforga Christian Mission in Mozambique has improve the nutritional intake of the orphans through a dairy demonstration project. As of December 2009, the Mission’s lactating cows were producing more than 50 liters of fresh milk per day. From August to December, total production reached 5,076 liters of milk. This … Continue reading
Fighting disease spread during ‘the greatest show on earth’
The annual migration of over a million wildebeest across the Serengeti and Maasai Mara is often described as one of the greatest spectacles on earth. However, this natural wonder poses a real threat to the livelihood of local farmers whose cattle are essential to their economic and social welfare. Four hundred thousand wildebeest calves born … Continue reading
Africa / Drought / East Africa / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock / Markets
Der Ziegen-Schutzbrief
Kleinbauern in Afrika können ihr Vieh neuerdings gegen Dürren versichern Der Marsabit-Distrikt in Kenia ist nicht unbedingt eine Touristengegend. Es gibt zwar um den verloschenen Vulkan gleichen Namens herum einen Nationalpark mit Löwen, Leoparden, Zebras und Elefanten. Aber das Tiefland am Ufer des Turkana-Sees und an der Grenze zu Äthiopien ist eintönig und flach, steinig … Continue reading
End of the road nears for pastoralists’ way of life
The government of Kenya and the donor community should act fast to preserve the way of life of nomadic people. The economic worth of nomadic people has long been underplayed, though the role they play in preserving fragile ecosystems is vital. That is the conclusion of a new book published by the Institute for Environment … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 