livestock

By Nancy Moss

"Fewer but better fed animals can make livestock production more efficient." This was said by Mario Herrero at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi. Herrero was speaking on 13 November 2012 in the fourth of a series of science seminars organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The presentation was live-streamed to an online audience of 220 people in front of a live audience of 40.

Herrero, an agricultural systems analyst at ILRI, gave an up-to-date overview of ways the livestock sector in developing countries can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions."We face the challenge of feeding an increasing human population, estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050, and doing so in ways that are socially just, economically profitable and environmental friendly," he said. Read more »

edited by Cecilia Schubert

Pastoralists on the Borana Plateau of Ethiopia are tirelessly dealing with extended and more frequent droughts, occurring at a scale they have seldom witnessed before. At the same time, they have to adapt to population growth, land use changes and unreliable climate patterns, in the midst of the ongoing struggle against dried up pastures. The common perception among the pastoralists is that droughts are increasing, in severity, and duration. They also feel that increased cropping and town sprawl have captured much of the fertile pastures, leaving little left for animals to graze on. In the light of these environmental and social changes, how are pastoralists, non-governmental organizations and government responding? Which responses are likely to be most successful and how will the various initiatives interact?

Video poster: Climate Risk Adaptation Strategies of Boran Pastoralists

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Last week, we shared the news that cattle herders in Kenya had received their first payments as part of an innovative livestock insurance scheme, partly set up by our partners the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Now, we share a farm-level view of the scheme, courtesy of Neil Palmer (republished from the CIAT blog).

What hits you when you get out of the truck at Ginda Village, in Northern Kenya, is the smell.

Farmer Haro Sora’s land is littered with the carcasses of cattle and donkeys that have keeled over following an intense, prolonged drought. A skull here; half a ribcage there. In some places there are whole animals slumped on the roadside. Some have died in the last few days, and the wind does little to clear the air.

Ginda, in Marsabit District, has been affected by the now infamous Horn of Africa drought, which triggered a food crisis affecting around 13 million people in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. After more than a year, the rains finally returned to Ginda a fortnight ago.

The fact that the food crisis in the Horn was the result of a livestock crisis has been well documented. A major pastoralist zone, when vegetation for grazing began to dry-up and livestock started to die, the knock-on effects on farmer livelihoods became strikingly clear.

Now, whatever your gut reaction to the principle of a financial institution selling insurance to already cash-strapped smallholder farmers to protect them against the risk of drought, there are 650 livestock keepers in Marsabit this year who are delighted to be receiving their first payouts. Read more »

Le récent rapport Prospective sur l'avenir de l'alimentation et l'agriculture fournit une riche base de référence pour orienter les décisions actuelles qui assureront l'alimentation et l'agriculture dans les décennies à venir. Néanmoins, un message frappant qui se dégage de ce rapport est le fait qu’une science solide ne suffit pas á orienter la politique.

L’examen détaillé d’une seule de la centaine d’études de référence montre en effet á quel point, si bien l’évidence technique peut informer, elle peut substituer un consensus sociétal.

L’article de Tara Garnett Où se trouvent les meilleures opportunités pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre dans le système alimentaire (y compris la chaîne alimentaire)? est l’un des rares qui répond à la question posée dans le titre. Les mesures visant á une amélioration du stockage de carbone, une plus grande efficacité, et des  changements des modes de consommation représentent les meilleures d'options, mais à condition qu’elles soient abordées conjointement. Pas de quoi se surprendre, tout est dans le détail.

Dans les pays à haut revenus, les émissions totales tout au long de la de la chaîne alimentaire sont réparties 50:50 entre les activités pré-récolte - principalement l'agriculture, ainsi que la fabrication d’intrants comme les engrais - et les étapes post-récolte comprenant la transformation, le conditionnement, le stockage, la distribution et la préparation des aliments. L’article de Garnett ne considère pas l’évidence bien plus rare relative aux pays à faible et moyens revenus, or une analyse récente de l'Inde estime que seulement 13% du total des émissions proviendrait de ces stades post-récolte, et ce en raison du transport et la réfrigération bien moins importants.
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