Monthly Archives: November 2014

FAO sustainable feed survey shows far reaching demand for greater use of food waste in animal diets

The need to minimize water pollution, enhance biodiversity and exploit food waste for feed use are seen as critical by respondents to an FAO global survey, run as part of a project to develop more sustainable animal feed production and … Continue reading

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Gut health, rumen functionality and natural antioxidants – Cargill reveals additives strategy

We anticipate the expansion in this segment will come about mainly through organic growth but we will remain open to all opportunities that will arise over the next five years and would not rule out moving in the direction of … Continue reading

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Nigeria sets target for 2017 cassava production

Akinwunmi Adeshina, Nigeria’s minister of agriculture, said, “In 2014, 38mn metric tonnes of cassava was produced in Nigeria. Our target for 2017 is to reduce the cost of production and this varies with locations within Nigeria. We want to reduce … Continue reading

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Food safety must accompany food and nutrition security : The Lancet

Food safety needs concerted global effort. WHO has long collaborated on several joint activities with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health to ensure food safety at all stages of the food chain. Source: … Continue reading

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What Does Warsaw Mean for Agriculture?

Agriculture needs to take center stage when all national governments discuss climate change. The ever-increasing demand for food cannot be met by a shrinking capacity to produce food. The poorest people have the least amount of responsibility for climate change, yet … Continue reading

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What are the conditions for successful large-scale land interventions? – Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog

Large-scale land interventions are on the rise. Whether through restoration projects such as the new 20×20 initiative and the Bonn Challenge, or foreign direct investment in huge swaths of land, investors are seeing big opportunities in large land projects. Join … Continue reading

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Thirteen Reasons to Establish a Home Permaculture Food Garden – Open Permaculture – Permaculture Design Course

#Permacultura http://t.co/H4orIjtcfG Source: http://www.openpermaculture.com See on Scoop.it – Agriculture, Climate & Food security

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Tropical forage-based systems for climate-smart livestock production in Latin America

Originally posted on CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish:
Writing in the November 2014 issue of Rural 21, Livestock and Fish researchers from CIAT argue that tropical forage grasses and legumes as key components of sustainable crop-livestock systems in…

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FAO: ‘Countries must do more to prevent avian influenza’

A new bird flu strain detected in Europe which is similar to strains reported to be circulating in 2014 in Asia poses a significant threat to the poultry sector, especially in low-resourced countries situated along the Black Sea and East … Continue reading

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What Does Warsaw Mean for Agriculture?

Originally posted on Food (Policy) For Thought:
Well, the Warsaw summit on climate change has turned out to be a major disappointment, with many prominent NGOs walking out prematurely to signal their protest at governmental inaction and last-ditch agreements remaining…

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Organic Farming and Climate-Smart Agriculture – A Complicated Relationship

Originally posted on Food (Policy) For Thought:
When working in international politics, you realize that efforts to improve (or, I daresay, save) the world revolve around buzzwords. Clearcut visions and concepts are required to form alliances, formulate action plans and (most…

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Monkey malaria on the rise among humans in Malaysia

The disease is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium knowlesi, transmitted by mosquitoes which usually feed on monkeys’ blood. Source: m.scidev.net "Once only monkeys were suffering — now people are getting sick too. Monkey malaria, which is three times more … Continue reading

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Contribute to a consultation to set priorities for international agricultural research for development

Originally posted on CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish:
The Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the CGIAR Consortium have launched a consultation to get feedback from key partners on the priorities for publicly funded international research on…

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FAO – News Article: Globally almost 870 million chronically undernourished – new hunger report

Africa was the only region where the number of hungry grew over the period, from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the past four years. The prevalence of hunger, although reduced over the entire period, … Continue reading

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PAEPARD: Unlocking Africa’s potential for Growth and Prosperity

Source: paepard.blogspot.com "….Africa is not a poor continent, it just happens to have a lot of poor people. We must transition the poor into wealth and create economic ladders of opportunities. We must therefore, not only improve the private capital … Continue reading

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Invitation: The role of agribusiness and PPPs in advancing African agriculture 25/11/2014

Originally posted on Kalu Samuel's Blog:
As part of the Brussels Briefings organized by CTA, the ACP Secretariat, the European Commission (DG DEVCO/DGAGRI) and Concord. The African Union Commission and BMZ/GIZ join us as partners.  The Briefing will take…

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Speculative Investment and the Global Food Crisis

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
There’s been a great deal of discussion in recent weeks about the recent spike in global food prices. Nearly all agricultural crops—from cotton to rice, from wheat to cocoa—are near 30 year highs. The…

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Advancing African Agriculture needs sound policies and effective partnerships

Originally posted on Brussels Development Briefings:
Speaking at the second Brussels Development Briefing on 17 October, Sir John Kaputin, Secretary General of the ACP Secretariat helped to set the stage, contextualising the initiative and the role of agriculture in ACP…

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Next Brussels Briefing: Global food systems, local impact: the role of agribusiness and development partnerships in advancing African agriculture

Originally posted on Brussels Development Briefings:
The next Brussels Development Briefing on “Global food systems, local impact: the role of agribusiness and development partnerships in advancing African agriculture” will take place Tuesday 25th November 2014 (9h-13h) at the ACP Secretariat…

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Could Africa Feed the World?

Africa was the only region where the number of hungry grew over the period, from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the past four years. The prevalence of hunger, although reduced over the entire period, … Continue reading

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Could Africa Feed the World?

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
South African Farm (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko) As Americans set off for the Thanksgiving holidays, few will likely pause to reflect on the global inequality surrounding access to food. A estimated one billion people worldwide…

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Framing African Hunger

Originally posted on Global Food Politics:
Saturday Night Live last week screened a devastating critique of the charity industry, highlighting so many of the problems associated with these types of initiatives: the Western expert; the helpless “African;” the placeless “Africa;”…

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Small-scale farms mixing livestock and crops are the way to feed the world—Kenya newspaper

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Small-scale farms mixing crops and livestock, such as this one in India, will feed a growing world population (photo credit: CCAFS/Vishwanathan). An article published this week (18 Nov 2014) in the online edition of Kenya’s…

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About MCMi > Immunology of Protection from Ebola Virus Infection

The purpose of this workshop is to discuss important aspects of Ebola virus and vaccine immunology in order to inform future clinical, scientific and regulatory decision-making related to vaccines against Ebola. Source: http://www.fda.gov See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, … Continue reading

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Dairy Camel ~ Transforming from Desert Ecosystem to Modern Farming

The old world camels (Dromedary and Bactrian) are well adapted to the harsh (both cold extreme and hot extreme) and hostile (deserts with scarce water and feed availability) ecosystems of the north… Source: camel4all.wordpress.com See on Scoop.it – Agriculture, Climate … Continue reading

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PAEPARD: Expert consultation on the future of Agricultural Knowledge Resource Centres in ACP regions

Knowledge is increasingly online and digital, making connectivity essential; and offline explicit knowledge invisible. Getting their own hidden knowledge online and visible is a number one task for institutional KRCs. It also makes sure that knowledge seekers are more likely to find more of … Continue reading

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Leventis Foundation Agricultural Schools Training Programme in Modern Agriculture

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New project to examine potential farm to landscape impact and adoption of forage technologies in Tanzania

Originally posted on CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish:
The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has just approved a small grant to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) for a project entitled the ‘potential farm…

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Kenya, hotspot for aflatoxin poisoning, opens aflatoxin lab and ‘aflasafe’ facility for biocontrol of this fungal toxin

The plant will be expected to produce 15 tons of the aflasafe in a week, with the initial target being to produce sufficient amounts to treat about 100, 000 hectares. The facility will also serve in making aflasafe for local … Continue reading

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National Geographic weighs in on (several) inconvenient truths and (several different sides) of the ‘beef debate’

There’s a new feature article in National Geographic this month titled: Carnivore’s Dilemma. Written by Robert Kunzig and photographed by Brian Finke, the feature asks, and attempts to answer, the … Source: clippings.ilri.org See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, … Continue reading

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National Geographic weighs in on (several) inconvenient truths and (several different sides) of the ‘beef debate’

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Georgia O’Keefe, Cow’s Skull: Red, White and Blue, 1931 (via Metropolitan Museum of Art). There’s a new feature article in National Geographic this month titled: Carnivore’s Dilemma. Written by Robert Kunzig and photographed by Brian…

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Value chain seminar shares lessons, tools, approaches to African dairy development

Originally posted on CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish:
In September 2014, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) organized a dairy value chain seminar with support from the…

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Researchers and partners critique framework to assess environmental impacts of livestock

Originally posted on CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish:
For the past year, researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute, other research institutes and national partners have been working on a framework to carry out a ‘Comprehensive Livestock Environment…

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White House Garden Harvests Vitamin-A Rich Orange Sweet Potato

Originally posted on Database of Press Releases related to Africa – APO-Source:
White House Garden Harvests Vitamin-A Rich Orange Sweet Potato The sweet potato was chosen to highlight its role in improving the nutrition and health of millions of children…

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Semen Collection Using Phantom in Dromedary Camel

“Conclusion; Phantom could be considered as a suitable approach to collect semen due to simplicity, safety, and lack of specimen contamination in dromedary camel.” Findings

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International Foundation of Science (IFS) call for individual research grants

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Providing early-career support to promising young developing country researchers has been the mandate of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) for many years. Building on this experience, the new IFS Strategy 2011-2020, launched in 2011, emphasizes three approaches:…

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First-ever Global Nutrition Report provides comprehensive narrative on levels of malnutrition across the world | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The GNR will contribute to country-led efforts to strengthen accountability, share learning about what is working, and highlight bottlenecks to progress and how they may be overcome,” said Lawrence Haddad, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research … Continue reading

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2014 Global Hunger Index—Facts and Findings for Africa South of the Sahara | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Displaced populations and their host communities face a high risk of food insecurity, malnutrition, and epidemics. The security situation in northern Mali improved due to international efforts, but violence has increased in northern Nigeria. An exodus of people from northern … Continue reading

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Think we can’t end global malnutrition by 2030? Think again | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Source: http://www.ifpri.org See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, Security & Safety

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GM agricultural technologies for Africa: A state of affairs | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The adoption of agricultural biotechnology, and specifically genetically modified (GM) crops, by many African countries has been quite limited to date, however. To further inform the debate over agricultural biotechnology, this report collects current information on the status of biotechnology … Continue reading

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Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

Diets link environmental and human health. Rising incomes and urbanization are driving a global dietary transition in which traditional diets are replaced by diets higher in refined sugars, refined fats, oils and meats. Source: http://www.nature.com See on Scoop.it – Food … Continue reading

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Postdoctoral Fellowships on Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions

Originally posted on Food Governance:
Call for Applications:  Postdoctoral Fellowships on Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA Fellowships) (led by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University) Download the Call Objective: To accelerate the…

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High-profile ILRI conference discusses the future of livestock research for healthy animals and people

‘ILRI research has contributed to appropriate health management systems leading to healthy animals, people and ecosystems and increase animal-source food and income for all’. Source: aghealth.wordpress.com See on Scoop.it – Sustainable Livestock development

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Chicken Plant Spreading Salmonella, Agriculture Department Powerless to Stop Them

A 2001 court decision crippled the federal government’s ability to shut down food plants that are sickening people. Source: http://www.alternet.org See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, Security & Safety

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly = Decoding the GMO Food Fight in Washington State – Cornucopia Institute

The Cornucopia Institute has updated the infographic detailing supporters and opponents of Washington state’s historic November 5 vote on the labeling of GMO food ingredients, known as I-522. Source: http://www.cornucopia.org See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, Security & Safety

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MANUAL ON LIVESTOCK DISEASE SURVEILLANCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The FAO has always been concerned with agricultural development and food security. Recent disease epidemics, in both developing and industrialised countries, have once again focussed attention on livestock disease and their potential to harm development. In the context of developing … Continue reading

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A value chain approach to animal diseases risk management: Technical foundations and practical framework for field application

Classical risk assessment approaches for animal diseases are influenced by the probability of release, exposure and consequences of a hazard affecting a livestock population. Once a pathogen enters into domestic livestock, potential risks of exposure and infection both to animals … Continue reading

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FAO’s Animal Production and Health Division

Protecting livestock against diseases and preventing their spread is one of the keys to fighting hunger, malnutrition and poverty. The Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) was established by FAO’s Director General in 1994. … Continue reading

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Your Food Is Poisoning You

Despite being treated like Bigfoot believers by their opponents, pesticide ascetics are inching their way toward credibility. Introduced by Monsanto in the early 1970s under the trade name Roundup (and used primarily back then as a weed killer), glyphosate is … Continue reading

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Yet Another Reason to Avoid GMOs | Natural Grocers

The industry assures us it’s safe, but new research has found that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s popular herbicide Roundup®, is more insidious to human health than previously thought.   Research published in the journal Entropy found that glyphosate interferes with … Continue reading

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Future of food… Trick or Treat?

Source: gx196.infusionsoft.com See on Scoop.it – Precision Agriculture

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Here’s Why Pasture-Raised Turkeys Are So Expensive

And here’s why you should buy them…. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com See on Scoop.it – Precision Agriculture

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School garden yields more crops than imagined

At Walter Bracken STEAM Academy, they still teach the three Rs: radishes, rhubarb and rutabagas. Source: http://www.reviewjournal.com See on Scoop.it – Precision Agriculture

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ZipGrow towers vs. Soil Gardening

The Whartons want a garden, but don’t have much space in their backyard. Here are the results of their ZipGrow towers vs. Soil Gardening experiment. Source: brightagrotech.com See on Scoop.it – Precision Agriculture

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Why smallholders should be involved in research

“If farmers are the implementers of these technologies, then obviously they should be involved in their design and development.” Gilbert Nakweya Source: m.scidev.net See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, Supply, Security & Safety

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SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems) Guidelines

The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) Guidelines were developed for assessing the impact of food and agriculture operations on the environment and people. The guiding vision of SAFA is that food and agriculture systems worldwide are characterized … Continue reading

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FAO – News Article: Strengthening links between industry and agriculture to build sustainable food systems

Supporting farmers to add value to the food chain goes beyond the monetary dimension of increasing their incomes, Graziano da Silva argued, saying: “It means more nutritious and healthy foods, produced sustainably.” Source: http://www.fao.org See on Scoop.it – Food Policy, … Continue reading

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Who Gets To Decide What Is “Organic”?

What “organics” is, how it should be defined, and how it should be regulated is a hot topic right now from Brussels to Berlin. The reason? The European Commission has proposed a new legislative framework, and was met with broad … Continue reading

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Utilization of fruit and vegetable wastes as livestock feed and as substrates for generation of other value-added products

By 2050 the world will need to feed an additional 2 billion people and will require 70 per cent more meat and milk. The increasing future demand for livestock products, driven by increases in income, population and urbanization will impose … Continue reading

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Conference Insects to feed the world

The conference “Insects to feed the world” organized by the FAO/WUR, that took place last May in The Netherlands was a milestone in the recognition of the professional insect industry. Feed industry leaders, insect breeders, universities, NGO’s and other stakeholders … Continue reading

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