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.
ANNE KRUGER, PRESENTER: These days cattle often come in for some bad publicity in the mainstream Western media, from alarmist dietary advice about red meat and dairy products through to methane gas emissions and global warming. Yet these animals also make a life-saving difference to the world’s poorest, most of whom live on less than … Continue reading
Using the Ricardian results and examining climate scenarios for 2060 and beyond, the net revenues of small farms are predicted to increase as much as 120% (+USD6 billion) but those of large farms are predicted to fall by 20% (-USD12 billion). The impact estimates in any given period also depend on the rainfall predictions. The … Continue reading
The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute estimates 250 million people in Africa – a quarter of the population – rely on livestock for their livelihoods, yet African governments invest almost nothing to support the sector. “Livestock on the continent is extremely important, especially for the poor and also for large scale farming. Unfortunately there has … Continue reading
Growing up on the slopes of Mount Elgon in the small village of Namwela, chicken had widely become a staple for her community. A meal was considered incomplete without a chicken wing or a leg. And even though the imondo (gizzard) was reserved for the men, Sheila Ommeh loved the leg. It was, for her, … Continue reading
A new survey claims regional breeds of sheep face a heightened risk of disease because of their tendency to remain together in one location. The Sheep Trust report said it showed the need to protect many of the UK’s commercially-farmed native breeds. Read more. . . (BBC) Continue reading
This working paper by Azage Tegegne and Worku Teka of ILRI, Tesfaye Mengistie of Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, Amhara Regional State,Ethiopia, Tesfaye Desalew of Kutaber woreda Office of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kutaber,South Wello Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, and Eshete Dejen of Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI) on Transhumance cattle production … Continue reading
In the late 1980s thousands of chickens died from a cancer caused by a virus known as avian leukosis virus J because they were all descended from a few roosters susceptible to the disease. This is just one example of how a lack of genetic diversity can imperil livestock and agriculture. Similar instances abound from … Continue reading
Developing countries would suffer if livestock numbers were reduced to cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, a visiting expert says. Iain Wright from the International Livestock Research Institute is in Australia this week to look at ways emissions from livestock can be curbed while not adversely affecting global food supplies. He advocates improved livestock feeding systems … Continue reading
Developing countries would suffer if livestock numbers were reduced to cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, a visiting expert says. Iain Wright from the International Livestock Research Institute is in Australia this week to look at ways emissions from livestock can be curbed while not adversely affecting global food supplies. He advocates improved livestock feeding systems … Continue reading
U.S. President Barack Obama’s step-grandmother will use her newfound celebrity status to help eradicate the tsetse fly, an insect that causes sleeping sickness, the African Union (AU) said on Monday. Sarah Obama, 87, was given a spray pump and enough insecticide to treat 3,000 animals — which like humans can be infected by the insect … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 