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.
Working in a maize field in Malawi (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). IRIN, a United Nations humanitarian news service, says Africa should be in a better position to feed itself in another five years. ‘. . . Shortly after Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika became AU [Africa Union] chair in 2010, he announced a plan to make … Continue reading
National Geographic magazines (photo credit: Chris Nixon’s photostream on Flickr). The January 2011 issue of National Geographic has an informative feature article and photo gallery about the growth of world population, which is expected to reach seven billion before the end of this (new) year. ‘By 2050 the total number [world’s population] could reach 10.5 … Continue reading
Participant in semi-intensive ‘cut-and-carry’ goat production model in Haiti using soil conservation fodder production plots; a man holds the first of the improved breed baby goats in a development project run by Developpement Economique pour un Environnement Durable (photo credit: Nick Hobgood’s Flickr Photostream). ‘Nearly a year after the earthquake in Haiti, more than one … Continue reading
A farming household in the rainy season in Malawi; here, as in much of Africa, people’s livelihoods depend on the climate. This homestead is in Khulungira, a village of 150 families in central Malawi, 27 km from the nearest paved road and 50 km from the nearest town; there is no electricity and no running … Continue reading
An improved, crossbred, dairy cow made available in Rwanda by an East African Dairy Development project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Heifer International; the International Livestock Research Institute is a partner in this project (picture credit: ILRI/EADD). Uganda’s Independent recently carried an opinion piece extolling the good progress … Continue reading
As world population reaches 7 billion at the end of 2011, a leader in the Economist‘s special edition ‘The World in 2011’ reminds us not to panic. Here’s why. ‘Although the population looks as if it is growing as fast as ever, or faster . . . Malthusian fears are overblown: the real story is that … Continue reading
The wizard (picture credit: Sean McGrath’s Photostream). In the (reflective/list-obsessed) spirit of the end-of-year/end-of-decade season, and in case you missed it last November, the ‘top 100’ questions on the future of global agriculture was whittled down from a total of 618 ‘key questions’ over the course of a year by a group of 55 experts … Continue reading
Dragon head detail on a gate to the walled Citadel of Hué, the former, imperial, capital of Viet Nam from the 17th to 19th centuries and national capital until 1945. Located in the middle of the country along the Perfume River, Hué’s Citadel, like Beijing’s Forbidden City, housed only emperors and their concubines and closest … Continue reading
Decades of food delivery and ‘miracle’ seeds haven’t addressed underlying causes of hunger. But new efforts to replicate Africa’s original ecosystems are generating impressive, sustainable results Faith-based aid groups in Africa have a long and mostly admirable history of working to alleviate hunger. Too often, however, faith groups have focused their relief solely on food … Continue reading
With mainstream banks and microfinance organizations mainly helping business startups in urban Kenya, a group called Juhudi Kilimo decided to focus on rural small-holder farmers. In the largely agricultural east African country of Kenya, many small-holder farmers need a way to start generating income. An organization called Juhudi Kilimo has stepped in with a new … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 