On 19 December 2014, a policy dialogue on ‘mainstreaming models for dairy-based livelihood improvement in Uttrakhand’ was organised by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Himmotthan Society, the nodal agency of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust & the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust. Continue reading
Category Archives: South Asia
Pakistan media report on ILRI four-day training on Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST)
Pakistan’s Daily Times and Technology Times Online recently reported on a livestock feeds training held in Islamabad on 6-9 November 2014. Continue reading
Community services to support goat production in India
Originally posted on imGoats:
Goat rearing is an enterprise that is both suitable for poor households who own little or no land, and is resilient to climate change. Goats largely browse shrubs which are more tolerant of rainfall variations than the grasses eaten more by sheep, cattle and buffalo. The project, Small ruminant value chains…
Innovation platforms as a route to dairy development in India
Originally posted on Feeding innovation:
In the hills of Uttarakhand climate change is leading to reduced water from snow-melt being availability for irrigation and more extreme weather events. This is making crop production difficult and some crop land is being abandoned. Men are migrating to find work and many of the women remaining in the…
Producing green fodder from wheat helps animals and people in India’s Uttarakhand State
In the hilly areas of Uttarakhand, a typical farming household has one or two cows, one buffalo and a bullock, and cultivates cereals and vegetables on tiny terraced plots. Livestock make important contributions to livelihoods but providing sufficient feed for them continues to remain a challenge, especially during the winter months.
Improving access to breeding and animal health services in remote hilly areas of Uttarakhand, India
Livestock are important to the livelihoods and food and nutritional security of small scale farmers in remote hilly areas of northeast India. As demand for milk and milk products rises, poor livestock keeping households can improve their incomes by shifting from subsistence to market-oriented production. Continue reading
Prevention of classical swine fever – an impact narrative from northeast India
Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is a highly contagious, potentially fatal viral disease caused by positive sense RNA virus affecting pigs of all ages It is endemic in Northeast India. Continue reading
Local livestock service providers help improve access to animal health services in Nagaland, India
Pigs are an important component of livelihoods and food and nutritional security in Nagaland, Northeast India. Intensifying pig production to increase income and other outcomes, however, requires an integrated approach that addresses needs for better pig housing, nutrition, health and genetics. To address the heal challenges, a new model for the delivery of animal health services has been developed and tested as part of a Tata-ILRI partnership program in Nagaland. Continue reading
Improving pig nutrition using local resources for market oriented production in Nagaland
In Nagaland, Northeast India, pigs are the preferred livestock species and most families rear one to three pigs either for household consumption or for selling or for both. Demand for pigs and pork is growing rapidly and currently outstrips local supply. Intensifying pig production systems and shifting from subsistence to more commercially-oriented production could significantly improve local livelihoods and increase cash income for farmers. The main constraint faced by farmers is proper feeding of their pigs. Continue reading
ELKS publishes knowledge attitudes and practice baseline report for Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Nagaland
This report – Enhancing livelihoods through livestock knowledge systems (ELKS) in Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Nagaland: Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) baseline report 2013 – by Pamela Pali, Harrison Rware, Jane Poole, Sapna Jarial and V. Padmakumar was recently released by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The survey was conducted to assess the current level … Continue reading