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.
How many times in the past years have you heard just how terrible livestock is to the Earth? Polluting the atmosphere, overgrazing the grasslands, and destroying ecosystems with their vast presence. But emerging voices are arguing this long standing belief that livestock are the bane of the worlds environmental problems, and instead reminding us that … Continue reading
Studies in Africa reveal that raising livestock through pastoralism is ‘far more’ ecological than crop production Read more … (Solve Climate Blog) Continue reading
In the May/June 2010 issue of Foreign Policy, agricultural policy analyst Robert Paarlberg argues that the trendy food causes of rich countries, whose sustainable mantra is ‘organic, local and slow’, ‘is no recipe for saving the world’s hungry millions’. ‘Too much food production is already organic, local and slow in the developing world,’ he says. … Continue reading
Brian Perry, a former senior scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya, now a visiting professor of tropical veterinary medicine at the University of Oxford, in the latest issue of a newsletter produced jointly by Oxford, the Jenner Institute and the International Animal Health Institute, all in the United Kingdom, writes: … Continue reading
Livestock diseases have put Kenya under siege. This sorry state of affairs is a creation of a combination of factors that have complicated animal and disease surveillance in “an agricultural country” where herders, pastoralists, and ranches remain vulnerable, say experts. Read more … (Business Daily) Continue reading
The Gambia has got support of vaccine for animal diseases that are often neglected. This was disclosed to TODAY Newspaper by the director of Animal Health and Production Service at Abuko, Dr. Kebba Daffeh while speaking with our reporter in an interview. According to Dr. Daffeh, The Gambia is one of the 14 countries that … Continue reading
Scientists have developed a chemical for controlling tsetse flies using cattle urine. The invention by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology will soon be available to East African livestock keepers, who are among the worst affected by the parasite, under an $18 million project. Read more … (East Africa / AllAfrica.com) Continue reading
One year old Oromia Insurance Company (OIC) is to offer livestock insurance for farmers – a new service for Ethiopia. The insurance company is also to introduce crop insurance for farmers selected from three farmer unions of Oromia Regional State. The Bureau of Oromia Cooperative Union has selected the companies based on agro-ecological practices. OIC … Continue reading
This network is meant to be a learning community–a place where those that influence environmental decisions in animal agriculture can connect, share experiences, and collaborate. Read more … (LPELC) Continue reading
The June 2010 issue of People and Science contains a ‘spat’ – a debate between Vicki Hird and John McDermott (of ILRI) on whether we should eat less meat to increase food security. Some flavour of the discussions: Hird: “Meat-hungry western consumers can still eat meat and dairy, but less of it and only from … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 