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.
‘A mandate created by the 193 participating nations, of which the United States is not a part, has ensured that countries will now have full jurisdiction over their genetic resources, and the resulting profits. ‘Countries will be able to collect compensation or royalties on any product made from a genetic resource within their borders. ‘This … Continue reading
Preparing land for sowing seeds in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). ‘A report published Wednesday [17 November 2010] says developed nations are not fulfilling the financial promises they made at a United Nations conference last year aimed at helping poor countries deal with climate change. ‘At a U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen last … Continue reading
The newly launched livestock insurance scheme will help improve business sustainability and productivity in the agricultural sub sector, the product promoters-Botswana Insurance Company-are confident. Read more: Midweek Sun (Botswana) Simbarashe Nembaware News blog More posts on livestock insurance Continue reading
‘Throughout the tropics, a lack of feed keeps farm animals underweight and underproductive, thereby preventing some 600 million poor farmers and herders from meeting fast-rising global demand for milk and meat. But thanks to a partnership between India’s National Research Centre for Sorghum (NRCS), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and … Continue reading
Even as the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment — dubbed “the Indian Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)” — released its first report on the impact of climate change in four regions of the country, it admitted that significant research gaps and lack of extensive databases were hampering Indian climate science. Long-term localised data … Continue reading
In a recent article in the New Yorker, writer Philip Gourevitch asks: Can you provide humanitarian aid without facilitating conflicts? He and the author of the book he is reviewing, The Crisis Caravan: What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?, by Dutch journalist Linda Polman, think not. This book review should be mandatory reading by all who enter … Continue reading
Sahelian sheep look for food before the mosque at Djenne, in Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). A new research program on ‘Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security’ (CCAFS) was launched this week. It will link much of the best climate-related agricultural research for development work going on at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and 14 … Continue reading
Busy fodder market in Hyderabad, India; farmers transport their fodder to this market, where it is bought by urban dairies (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). The magazine Farming Matters ran a feature on a Fodder Innovation Project funded by the UK Department for International Development and conducted since 2003 by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with … Continue reading
Ethan Zuckerman (photo credit: Joi Ito). Blogger Ethan Zuckerman and Harvard research on internet and society took the following among other notes of a TED Talk by Jason Clay, of the World Wildlife Fund. ‘Human beings are currently using 1.3 planets worth of resources for consumption. Yes, population growth is important, but so is the … Continue reading
Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, in Davos, Switzerland, 2008 (photo credit: Andy Mettler for World Economic Forum). With the right support and help, farming can transform lives of millions of people in Africa, argues Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 