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.
This report by Moti Jaleta, Berhanu Gebremedhin and Dirk Hoekstra of ILRI on Smallholder commercialization: processes, determinants and impact was released on 2 June, 2009. This paper reviews the literature on smallholder commercialization. It explores the conceptual developments in smallholder commercialization, methodological advancements in measuring the degree of agricultural commercialization at household level, and the … Continue reading
It is a time of new opportunities as new technologies allow people to easily obtain new and more information, and local and global markets become more accessible. But coping with change is a complex process and it is unfortunate that a business-as-usual approach in agriculture and rural development often results in these opportunities being under-exploited. … Continue reading
The sequencing of the cow genome, announced last week, could speed up efforts to improve the quality of cattle in the developing world, say livestock scientists. The sequence, the compilation of which involved 300 scientists from 25 countries, was published in Science last week (24 April). The genome contains 22,000 genes, according to the Bovine … Continue reading
This Publication by ILRI on Mapping a better future: how spatial analysis can benefit wetlands and reduce poverty in Uganda was released on 25 May, 2009 This publication presents results of a study carried on Ugandan abundant natural wealth. Its varied wetlands, including grass swamps, mountain bogs, seasonal floodplains, and swamp forests, provide services and … Continue reading
Dairy cows that produce USDA-certified organic milk also produce manure that may gradually replenish soil nutrients and potentially reduce the flow of agricultural pollutants to nearby water sources, according to findings by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and colleagues. Cows on organic dairy farms generally consume forage feeds cultivated on soils that are fertilized with … Continue reading
Latest findings from the Bovine Genome Sequencing Project: Ground breaking findings by an international consortium of scientists who sequenced and analysed the bovine genome, could result in more sustainable food production. The findings, published in two reports in the journal Science today, will have a profound impact on Australia’s livestock industry. CSIRO scientists were among … Continue reading
Wild grazing animals in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve are steadily disappearing, a study has found. Numbers of giraffe, warthog, impala, topi and hartebeest fell by 50% or more between 1979 and 2002. The falls are linked to rapid growth of Maasai settlements around the reserve, say scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). … Continue reading
The giraffe population of Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara reserve has declined by up to 95% because of increased human settlement around the unfenced park, according to a new study. Scientists at the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) found that the numbers of giraffes, hartebeest, impala, warthogs, topis and waterbuck all fell “markedly and persistently” throughout … Continue reading
Many developing countries have “extremely limited capacity” to diagnose diseases such as swine flu and are likely to remain this way for decades, according to a public health expert specialising in pandemic preparedness. There has been substantial investment in developing countries to support animal and human health surveillance, says Richard Coker, professor of public health … Continue reading
The cow is of the bovine ilk, One end is moo, the other, milk. Now science knows why which is which, They’ve read the genome, without a hitch. While poet Ogden Nash had cow basics down, it took 300 scientists six years to outline the genetic sequence of “L1 Dominette 01449,” a Hereford cow living … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 