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.
On November 17, 2009, the One Health Commission held a summit convening leading health science experts across the human, animal and ecosystem disciplines. The One Health Commission Summit aimed to raise awareness of the importance of transcending institutional and disciplinary boundaries to improve health outcomes for all species. During the Summit, the Institute of Medicine … Continue reading
Livestock are a key asset for the global poor. However, access to relevant information is a critical issue for both livestock development practitioners and the poor themselves. This paper details the creation of an on-line Animal Health Resource Room. The Animal Health Resource Room was created to deliver learning media i.e. videos and pamphlets to … Continue reading
Sir Paul McCartney arrived in Brussels yesterday to recruit support for his “meat-free Mondays” campaign. The argument seems so easy: cut down meat consumption and the planet will be saved. But even if a world without roast beef was one in which we all wanted to live (please count me out), we need to think … Continue reading
Ethiopia’s President, H.E. Ato Girma Woldegiorgis has awarded Ethiopian sorghum breeder and 2009 World Food Prize Laureate Prof Gebisa Ejeta the National Hero Award, the nation’s highest honour. This is the first time the award has been given to an Ethiopian for work in science and technology. Prof Ejeta received the honour at a ‘Dialogue … Continue reading
…Pastoralists will be compensated for loss of their animals from January after a livestock insurance product is launched in Kenya. However, details of the exact amount of premium to be paid will depend on the insurance company that have agreed to partner with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the institution that developed the product. … Continue reading
East Africa will face both crop gains and losses as a result of climate change, but food security is an achievable goal if new farming technologies are embraced, says a study. The research, published in Agricultural Systems this month (3 November), predicts that yields of staples like maize and beans will double in the region’s … Continue reading
Drought and war in eastern Africa have left more than 20 million people in desperate need of emergency food aid, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The situation is very worrying due to expected crop and pasture failures from poor rains in several areas, the increase in conflicts, trade disruptions and continuing high food prices,” … Continue reading
Satellite-based insurance for livestock has been developed in Kenya to measure the country’s “greenness,” safeguarding herders against droughts and other effects of climate change. Slated to begin in early 2010, Kenya will be the first developing nation to set up a satellite insurance mechanism. Specialists will study satellite images measuring the greenness of vegetation in … Continue reading
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Abeba recently requested assistance to undertake a review of the Embassy’s portfolio to identify possible ways and means of addressing/integrating appropriate climate change and environmental concerns in existing programs and projects supported by Norway. Read more … [Norad] Continue reading
LOKE, Ethiopia — Standing amidst a group of scrawny fellow Ethiopian farmers, Tuke Shika points to the scorching sun when asked why his food reserves have dwindled this year. “The weather has changed, it’s not as it used to be before,” he laments. “The rains are increasingly erratic, and we are getting less and less … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 