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 presence of tsetse flies in the Upper West Region is making it difficult for improved breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs to be introduced to farmers in the area. Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Livestock, who said this last Friday, indicated that until they were totally … Continue reading
This week delegates gather for the International Ministerial Conference on Animal and Pandemic Influenza in Hanoi, Vietnam. The past year has seen the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic sweep the world and avian influenza remains endemic in a number of countries, particularly in Asia. Fortunately neither has resulted in the ‘big one’: a pandemic on a … Continue reading
The organic movement has taken the world by storm. But what’s truly healthy and what’s just hype? The manager of a grass-fed beef farm breaks it down. With skeptical, beef-centric films like Food, Inc. and Fast Food Nation encouraging the American consumer to question the source of their meat, how do you know what to … Continue reading
Under the slogan ‘animals + humans = one health’, the European Commission brings together information on the EU Animal Health Strategy for 2007–13 and the third edition of the EU Veterinary Week which runs from 14 to 20 June 2010. The 2007–13 strategy is based on the principle that “prevention is better than cure”. The … Continue reading
The dairy sector accounts for around four percent of all global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) according to a new FAO report. This figure includes both emissions associated with the production, processing and transportation of milk products as well as emissions related to meat produced from animals originating from the dairy system. Read more . … Continue reading
After enjoying breakthroughs in the fight against low farm productivity more than four decades ago, farm scientists from the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly in agreement with their worldwide peers that their work is no longer keeping pace with the rapidly changing farm environment. Mapping out an appropriate direction for the future was the focus of … Continue reading
Scientists at the University of Liverpool are working with international partners on a £3 million project to further understanding of how climate modelling can help predict the spread of infectious diseases in Africa. Researchers across 13 European and African research institutes will work together to integrate data from climate modelling and disease forecasting systems to … Continue reading
Handling cattle can be a challenge under the best of circumstances, but those who do, from cow-calf producer to feedlot cowboy to livestock hauler, will find that the better they understand how cattle think as animals of prey, the better they will be at enhancing cattle health and performance, said veterinarian Tom Noffsinger. “Prey animals … Continue reading
A new piece of kit in the form of a backpack could help small farmers in Kenya increase yields, profits and agricultural know-how in a sustainable way. The backpacks, weighing 15-42 kg, contain things which help farmers bring a crop to harvest, including tools, a training manual and, in some versions, a collapsible water tank. … Continue reading
A ministerial conference to marshal international cooperation against the advance of new infectious diseases opens this month in Hanoi, drawing on experience gained in responses to pandemic A/H1N1 influenza and H5N1 avian influenza. The conference will set the scene for a worldwide effort, over the next 20 years, for tackling threats to people’s health that … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 