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.
Forget all that indecorous talk of animal flatulence, cow burps, vegetarianism and global warming. Welcome to Cowgate. Lower consumption of meat and dairy products will not have a major impact in combating global warming — despite persistent claims that link such diets to more greenhouse gases. So says a report presented Monday before the American … Continue reading
A 2006 report concluded meat production was responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions – more than transport. The report has been cited by people campaigning for a more vegetable-based diet, including Sir Paul McCartney. But a new analysis, presented at a major US science meeting, says the transport comparison was flawed. Sir Paul was … Continue reading
Eating less meat will not reduce global warming, and reports that claim it will are distracting society from finding real ways to beat climate change, a leading air quality expert said on Monday. “We certainly can reduce our greenhouse gas production, but not by consuming less meat and milk,” Frank Mitloehner, an air quality expert … Continue reading
The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development must reset research priorities, says World Food Prize winner Monty Jones. The world’s agricultural scientists have done life-saving work in university laboratories, global research centres and government agencies. Millions of people across the developing world are alive today because of advances that have conquered deadly pathogens, kept … Continue reading
A recent trial of global positioning system (GPS) tracking technology on Twynam Agriculture’s “Buttabone” property in Western NSW has shown that steers graze only a fraction of the paddock available to them. “Most graziers realise that their cattle don’t use the paddocks evenly,” said Dr Mark Trotter from the University of New England’s Precision Agriculture … Continue reading
The livestock industry has less economic clout than the oil industry, but ranchers say it has better arguments to defend itself from accusations regarding its share of responsibility for global warming. The livestock industry represents 40 percent of agricultural production worldwide and provides a livelihood and food security to one billion people. The fact that … Continue reading
Wildlife Trust, the global conservation health organization, announced the formation of the One Health Alliance of South Asia (OHASA) – a collaborative group of scientists and government agencies focused on preventing the spread of emerging diseases among wildlife and human populations. Read more … (Wildlife Trust) Continue reading
A recent paper in the African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics presents a model for calculating the optimal livestock stocking rate in a semi-arid rangeland that accounts for stochastic rainfall, the ecological feedback effect and variable prices. The model is developed for rangelands dominated by annual rather than perennial grasses, such as the African … Continue reading
The Marsabit district in rugged northern Kenya is the size of Ireland. It has ten tribes and seven languages but only 160,000 people. The manager of the local branch of Equity Bank says it takes two crunching days of driving his jeep through burning deserts to reach some of his customers. Marsabit depends on cattle, … Continue reading
Now that agriculture is regaining its rightful place on the international development agenda, it’s time for agricultural biodiversity to become the center of attention as well, particularly in view of its vital importance for coping with the intricately linked issues of global food security and climate change. The United Nations has designated 2010 as the … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 