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.
Grasslands are versatile and multifunctional landscapes, providing a range of ecosystems goods and services for human benefit. To further develop grassland-based models, together with the broader spectrum of grasslands research interests, a stocktaking of the current state of grasslands knowledge is desperately needed. From 2-30 September 2013, FAO convenes an E-Conference on Sustainable Grasslands. One … Continue reading
Nigeria’s agriculture sector generates one-third of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs two-thirds of the workforce. Its recent growth dominates Nigerian non-oil economic growth. Small-scale, semi-commercial farms, settled agricultural households and transhumant pastoralists dominate production. Livestock is the second largest agricultural subsector and features 16.43 million cattle, 34.69 million sheep, 55.15 million goats, 7.18 … Continue reading
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative for the United Nations, is looking for feedback on their draft report ‘Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems’ from organizations, academics, researchers, civil society, the private sector, government officials and the general public. The SDSN’s Thematic Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems released a … Continue reading
A look back at ILRI’s blog coverage of the sixth Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), organized by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), and held in Accra, Ghana, 15-20 July 2013. Don’t underestimate the African farmer I am greatly impressed by what I see as I walk from booth to booth at the … Continue reading
Smallholder food producers in the developing world are most at risk of global warming. A World Bank report, Turn down the heat, released 19 Jun 2013, says Africa and Asia, home to most of the world’s poorest of the poor, will bear the brunt of widespread food shortages, unprecedented heat waves and more intense cyclones if … Continue reading
Entrance to FARA’s 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), in Accra, Ghana, 15-20 Jul 2013 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). The following remarks were noted by members of the delegation of 22 staff of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) who participated in the sixth Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), ‘Africa Feeding Africa’, organized by the … Continue reading
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) collaborates with the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus (Denmark) to support the Climate Food and Farming (CLIFF) Research Network. CLIFF invites applications from PhD students in developing countries for short-term scientific training and research stays at CGIAR centers or affiliated research institutions. Applications are … Continue reading
The U.S. Department of Agriculture invites applications for the 2014 Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program. The program offers opportunities for training and collaborative research to scientists, researchers, and policymakers from 28 eligible countries. Fellows work with a mentor at a U.S. university, research center, or government agency — usually for … Continue reading
Livestock fodder on road between Chitwan District and Pokhara, Nepal. An ILRI-CSISA (Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia) project on the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Chitwan District, in south-central Nepal, began in Sep 2010. Project staff are introducing residue-based feeding strategies supplemented with green fodder and concentrates to increase cattle and buffalo milk production (photo credit: ILRI/Susan … Continue reading
Oscypek, a ‘must taste’ when visiting Polish mountains, is the most famous cheese in Poland today; it is made from salted sheep milk, smoked and formed in traditional wooden forms (photo credit: Tom Karas/PolishFoodInfo.com). In 2011, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, a geochemist at the University of Bristol, UK, found signatures of abundant milk fats — evidence that early farmers, … Continue reading
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