‘Chad is dirt poor because its dirt is poor. Germany is relatively rich because its soil is rich. That’s the provocative conclusion flowing from a new study, which suggests that just two fundamental factors—soil type and climate—can largely explain why humans have prospered in some places but not in others. The finding, drawn from a … Continue reading
‘The Green Revolution of the 1960s raised crop yields and cut hunger – and also saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions, a study concludes. ‘US researchers found cumulative global emissions since 1850 would have been one third as much again without the Green Revolution’s higher yields. ‘Although modern farming uses more energy and chemicals, … Continue reading
The creation of many more “beef valleys” nationwide can be seen as the right step toward attaining self-sufficiency for meat. However, while waiting for the beef valley projects to fully take off, Malaysia’s self-sufficiency for both beef and mutton meat are still alarmingly low, at about 25% and 10% respectively. Read more … (The Star) Continue reading
Brian Perry, a former scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and a continuing collaborator with ILRI, now a visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, writes a column, ‘Our Man in Africa’, for the Dick Vet News, of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Perry’s column in the … Continue reading
Large numbers of farmers and enterprises are now on the edge of bankruptcy as blue-ear pig disease ravages 15 cities and provinces across the country, a senior livestock breeding expert said yesterday. “A considerable number of consumers have turned their backs on pork, including ‘clean products”, said deputy director of the Livestock Breeding Department Nguyen … Continue reading
Farmers in Sorsogon province (the Philippines) have recognized goat raising as environment friendly and profitable farming venture. Goats are very popular among Filipinos because they require low initial capital investment, fit the small hold farm conditions, and multiply fast,” PCARRD explained in its investment briefer. “Culturally, goats are integral to every special occasion such as … Continue reading
There is no doubt that in the last 50 years, agricultural science has helped to overcome the threat of famine for billions of people. But a billion remain undernourished and the spectre of poverty remains. With climate change, rising food prices and a burgeoning global population, the demands on agriculture to become more efficient and … Continue reading
Colorado State University has received $15 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development to manage a Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP). The focus of the five-year, multi-disciplinary research and training program is to adapt livestock systems to climate change in the semi-arid regions of Africa and Central Asia. Read more … (Colorado State University) … Continue reading
GENE CAMPAIGN and Action Aid organized a seminal workshop at New Delhi last week (April23/24) to deliberate on this issue. In her lead presentation, Suman Sahai made the point that climate change will bring turbulence in ALL production systems: no exclusions will be pronounced! The greater the genetic variety, the better the coping strategy will … Continue reading
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) includes Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and the southern provinces of China. In the GMS, the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in early 2003 and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from 2004 to 2010 has marked this region as a hotspot for emerging infectious diseases. Animal … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 