For the first time since anyone can remember, there is a very real possibility of four famines—in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen—breaking out at once, endangering more than 20 million lives. Continue reading
Livestock are the backbone of the Somaliland economy accounting for about 60% of the country’s gross domestic product, 70% of employment opportunities and 85% of export earnings, and about 15% of total government revenue. Despite being Somaliland’s biggest livestock export market, little is known about marketing channels, grading and pricing of Somaliland livestock in Saudi Arabia. A recent research report, sheds a light on these key issues and how they affect Somaliland exporters. Continue reading
African camels could hold important clues to controlling the potential spread of a respiratory disease transmitted by the animals. For many years African camels have lived with the disease and the risk of it spreading to humans is still low. But more research is necessary to understand the disease better. This is even more important given the confirmation that the chains of transmission of the human Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection originated from contact with camels. Continue reading
The pathogenesis of Rift Valley fever. Viruses 2011, 3(5), 493-519; doi:10.3390/v3050493 (image credit: A J Cann’s Flickr photostream). Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper reports that Kenya is forging a new pact in an old war against the deadly mosquito-transmitted ‘zoonotic’—human plus livestock—disease called Rift Valley fever. ‘Kenya has partnered with neighbouring stats to boost surveillance on Rift Valley … Continue reading
The New Agriculturist reports today that ‘As the Middle East increases livestock imports from Africa, officials are meeting in Dubai to develop a strategy to prevent the spread of Rift Valley fever, without banning livestock imports from the Horn of Africa. . . . ‘To guide their responses to the disease, officials from the Middle … Continue reading
In Egypt, rising food prices have caused panic and hunger: Girl with koshary, Egypt’s national dish, consisting of rice, lentils, chickpeas and macaroni topped with salsa or, for the lucky few with more money, meat (photo credit: James Buck’s Flickr photostream). In the months of October and November 2010, Ellen Geerlings, then working for the United … Continue reading
Intensive camel farming, mechanised milking, camel milk chocolate, frothy camelcinos and strawberry-flavoured camel milk, all from a 2,000-strong herd of calm, friendly, well-behaved camels? Not quite the picture of Bedouin desert nostalgia you’d expect from a camel farm in the desert. Emirate’s Industry for Camel Milk and Products, better known as Camelicious, does things a … Continue reading
‘Livestock traders in Somaliland welcomed the latest development in Saudi Arabia after the kingdom announced on Friday it will increase livestock imports from the Horn of Africa by two-fold by 2012. ‘A press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water said Saudi Arabia plans to import close to 2 million heads of a livestock … Continue reading
Ancient Egyptian cow relief (photo credit: ILRI/Elsworth). The Washington Post’s op-ed columnist Robert J. Samuelson argued yesterday that the turmoil in the Middle East is related to a global food squeeze. ‘Here’s a question about the Mideast turmoil for future historians: How much did food inflation contribute? We know some basic facts. Middle East countries … Continue reading
A new US$73.13 million IFAD-supported project will help reduce poverty mainly in marginal dry areas of the Syrian Arab Republic. The Integrated Livestock Development Project will benefit around 311,000 poor rural households: small sheep, cattle and buffalo holders; small milk producers, collectors and processors living in poverty-stricken seasonal settlements in the Badia and in settled … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 