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.
The future for livestock farmers could be pretty bleak if we believe everything we read in the press. Is meat really going to give you cancer? Is producing beef wrecking the rainforests and the planet? Are farting cows really a major contributor to climate change? Will millions starve if we don’t all become vegetarians? A … Continue reading
A changing climate will prompt changes in behaviour across southern Africa. And when it comes to adaptation, Swazi farmer Bongani Phakathi is a frustrated man a few steps ahead of his neighbours. Traditionally, livestock in Swaziland grazes in the fields during winter, eating what’s left behind after maize and other crops are harvested. But Phakathi … Continue reading
In the heart of Namori village, in the outskirts of Mwea Game Reserve in Eastern Kenya, Samuel Muturi Karobia chops fodder into manageable pieces for his two Friesian dairy cattle. Karobia bought the two animals three years ago after he sold off a herd of 11 locally bred cattle. It was a great decision, he … Continue reading
Under a new initiative by the United States Agency for International Development and Higher Education for Development, 11 innovative new partnerships between 22 universities in Africa and the United States have each been awarded up to US$1.1 million to address food security and other issues in Africa. These partnerships will maximize the resources of US … Continue reading
On the fara-net comes this interesting post from Francois Lategan: ‘I always find it quite interesting to read about the way we speak about the (lack of) progress (?) in the way Africa performs its agriculture and the possible reasons why things do not change (quick) enough for our liking. We tend to forget that … Continue reading
From an Economist article this month (4 September 2010) comes the latest ánimal source food scare in America. ‘Americans are known as hearty eaters, so a string of recent food-safety scares has shaken them to their rather wide cores. The country has already endured the economic and gastronomic damage inflicted by recent recalls of unsafe spinach, … Continue reading
Earlier this week, the annual Conference on Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural and Natural Resource Management (TROPENTAG) was held in Zurich. Check out blog postings on animal science; view abstracts of the presentations and posters on animal breeding, husbandry and health, forages and feeding systems, and animal nutrition and supplementation … Continue reading
The International Federation for Animal Health–Europe annual conference, held in June 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, was devoted to the role of the animal health industry in the context of the food security challenge in the 21st century. One of the speakers—Baptiste Dungu—highlighted the need for animal disease control in developing countries. Read more … (Vetsweb) Continue reading
A cow in India eats the wastes of crop production after the grain has been harvested (photo by ILRI / Mann). In a new book, Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie shows we should not be arguing against all meat eating, but against the current farming model. Fairlie, says Guardian writer George Monbiot, ‘demonstrates that … Continue reading
Environmentalists say cows’ methane-filled flatulence and burps are partly responsible for the changes in the earth’s climate. But a new study from the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) suggests that we can curb cattle-generated greenhouse gas emissions by improving degraded lands, making breeds stronger and changing the animals’ diets. The study’s findings are published … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 