For people living in absolute poverty and chronic hunger, the solution is not to rid the world of livestock, but to find ways to farm animals more efficiently and more sustainably
We need to conserve the most important livestock genetic diversity for possible future use – by poor and rich farmers alike
Livestock feed is a key constraint to the commercialization of smallholder livestock production
While vaccines remain the most cost-effective medical and veterinary interventions for controlling disease, opportunities also exist to improve animal health by improving existing veterinary services and access by poor livestock keepers to those services
Mixed crop-and-livestock farms will, more than the traditional breadbaskets and rice bowls of the past, feed the developing world over the next few decades
Human, livestock and environmental health are inextricably linked, Sixty-one per cent of all diseases are ‘zoonotic’ –that is, transmissible between animals and humans.
Making smallholder production more competitive is a powerful tool to reduce poverty, raise nutrition levels and improve the livelihoods of rural people in many developing countries
Expert opinion agrees that the best way to tap into the potential of the drylands is to build on the foundation of their livestock economies rather than ignoring them or seeking to replace them.
Watering camels in a makeshift trough on the road from Wajir to Garissa, in northeast Kenya; herders are taking advantage of the rains to water their livestock after a long period of drought (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). The New Agriculturist this month reports on a recent study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) … Continue reading
The landscape of Tigray, Ethiopia, which was the centre of famine in that country 25 years ago but is now managing to remain food secure due to years of agricultural and other investments (photo on Flickr by hhesterr). Mark Malloch-Brown is in good, and candid, form in an opinion piece in Reuters published yesterday. ‘. … Continue reading
A research report by Solomon Gizaw, H. Komen, O. Hanotte, J.A.M. van Arendonk, Steve Kemp, Aynalem Haile, O. Mwai and Tadelle Dessie on Characterization and conservation of indigenous sheep genetic resources: A practical framework for developing countries was released on 12 April 2011. Livestock characterization projects in developing regions are characterized by a mere physical description of traditionally … Continue reading
Andrew Mude of ILRI receives the best practice award for an Index-based Livestock Insurance project in northern Kenya that he leads (image from The Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network [PEGnet] conference in Midrand, South Africa, 2–3 Sep 2010). As hunger spreads among more than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa, a study … Continue reading
Livestock policies do not always benefit the poor. A Livestock Policy Initiative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is ambitious to change that. ‘A key aspect of the initiative is to improve the voice of poorer livestock keepers and women as policies are developed. “We have teams in each country, including around 40 people … Continue reading
Pastoralism—a free-range livestock production system—is practised in all of Africa’s dryland regions, and in some communities it is the main source of food security and income. But will pastoralism survive in the changing climate? The August 2011 issue of Joto Afrika provides research findings, lessons learned and success stories from across Africa. Contents include: The future … Continue reading
Artists from around the world have painted canvases illustrating the human impact of climate change in their countries. Sixteen of these canvases were exhibited at UN climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland, in December 2008 (artist: Ashley Cecil; image on Flickr by Piotr Fajfer / Oxfam International). Bryan Walsh delves into a rich discussion of the possible … Continue reading
Lillian Wambua, a 2011 African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) fellowship winner working at ILRI, announced 18 August 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/ Njiru). ‘The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (Award) yesterday named three East African women among 70 brilliant African researchers who have won its 2011 Award Fellowship. ‘. . . … Continue reading
These camels in northern Kenya are part of a large herd that will cover dozens of kilometres in search of water (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). USA Today reports on a new paper in the prestigious journal Science that increasing temperatures are pushing plant and animal species to move uphill and northward at much … Continue reading
A working paper by Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Kahsay Berhe and Dirk Hoekstra on Shifting towards market-oriented irrigated crops development as an approach to improve the income of farmers: Evidence from northern Ethiopia was released on 5 May 2011. Rainfed crop production in Ethiopia’s semi-arid areas is associated with extreme rainfall variability which occasionally leads to complete crop … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 