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.
Professor Elaine Watson, Head of the Dick Vet, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate cooperation with GALVmed (Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines). GALVmed is a not-for-profit global alliance working with key partners to make animal health medicines accessible to poor livestock keepers in developing countries. Read more. . . Continue reading
Virtual City using Microsoft technology, it uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to keep track of cattle in Kenya, according to a Microsoft blog post. The tag goes in the cow’s stomach (no word on which one, or how it doesn’t end up coming out again) and keeps information on the cow’s origin, previous owners and … Continue reading
The stresses of climate-induced crop failures could be avoided if more small farmers in Africa also raised livestock, say researchers. Climate change will result in a 10–20 per cent drop in yield for crops such as beans, maize and millet in Africa’s drylands by 2050, researchers from the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and … Continue reading
Life in Kenya’s famine-prone fringe areas will get worse with total crop failure within the next four decades, according to a new study. The study carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute says drought-tolerant maize and even the much more resilient millet will hardly survive hotter weather and rainfall shifts in the areas. It … Continue reading
The recent H1N1 influenza epidemic has raised many questions about how animal viruses move to human populations. One potential route is through veterinarians, who, according to a new report by University of Iowa College of Public Health researchers, are at markedly increased risk of infection with zoonotic pathogens — the viruses and bacteria that can … Continue reading
L’élevage de chameaux pourrait être une option pour quelque 20 à 35 millions de personnes vivant dans des zones semi-arides d’Afrique, et qui seront bientôt dans l’incapacité de cultiver leurs terres en raison du changement climatique, a dit le co-auteur d’une nouvelle étude. D’ici 2050, la hausse des températures et la raréfaction des précipitations dans … Continue reading
Demand for beef products, particularly in Britain and Europe, has led ranchers to raze thousands of acres of Amazon rain forest to raise cattle. The cattle business represents the greatest threat to the Amazon rain forest, 80% of which still stands today. A three-year investigation by Greenpeace found cattle ranchers have followed the inroads by … Continue reading
I had just entered my teenage years when I discovered the power of the idiot box. As we sat huddled before the eye-popping technology in a rectangular shape , my first memories are those of hearing a deep baritone voice, intellectually refined , possessing extraordinary depth and talking esoteric stuff. I did not understand much, … Continue reading
Nearly one million square kilometers of farmland in Africa could become unproductive as a result of the effects of Climate Change, a new study has found. The study conducted by researchers from the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the United Kingdom’s Waen Associates and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com has found that by 2050, hotter … Continue reading
Camel farming could be an option for some 20 million to 35 million people living on semi-arid land in Africa, who will soon be unable to grow crops because of climate change, says the co-author of a new study. By 2050, hotter conditions and less rainfall in an area covering 500,000 sq km to one … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 