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
Wildlife Trust, the global conservation health organization, announced the formation of the One Health Alliance of South Asia (OHASA) – a collaborative group of scientists and government agencies focused on preventing the spread of emerging diseases among wildlife and human populations. Read more … (Wildlife Trust) Continue reading
For many developing countries, natural resource management is still the single most important aspect of the lives, livelihoods, and survival of rural communities. Poor and marginalized people are usually directly dependent upon environmental services. Forests provide firewood, building materials, and a host of foods and medicines. Functional grasslands provide grazing for livestock. Streams and rivers … Continue reading
From equity and livelihood perspectives, livestock rearing must be at the centre stage of poverty alleviation programmes. Livestock rearing is a key livelihood and risk mitigation strategy for small and marginal farmers, particularly across the rain-fed regions of India. Livestock products comprised 32 per cent of the total value of agriculture and allied activities in … Continue reading
Herders of camels, cattle, sheep and goats, the Raika pastoralists of North West India have an interesting account of their origins: created by Lord Shiva from the skin and sweat of the camel, they were charged with controlling the beast, whose stubborn behaviour was becoming a nuisance. But Raika guardianship extends beyond their livestock. In … Continue reading
The long wait spanning more than 62 years for having the national rangeland policy is almost over. Alarmed by the rangelands and pastures’ degradation and adverse impacts of climate change on them coupled with growing loss of biodiversity, the Ministry of Environment has finally come up with a draft strategy to ensure sustainable development and … Continue reading
Can the food that we load our plates with actually affect climate? Surprisingly, the answer is “Yes”. What this means is, it’s time we did our bit to save the planet from global warming by simply going vegetarian! Did you know that rearing livestock for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the fuel guzzling … Continue reading
The first-ever Veterinary Disease Diagnostic Testing Laboratory at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore has received “Certificate of Accreditation” from the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC), which has mutual recognition arrangements with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC). The laboratory, established through the funding of … Continue reading
India’s almost-indelible perch atop global milk-producing nations is showing the first signs of cracks, with farmers increasingly preferring to rear livestock for meat, lured by lucrative prices and a friendly government policy. Read more … (Economic Times) Continue reading
This report assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of contract farming as an institution for integrating rural smallholders in markets for livestock products, using detailed reviews of particular case studies on contract farming in India, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Read more … (Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative) Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 