Examines the productivity of East African pastoral systems in terms of animal protein & energy production, milk offtake and livestock production parameters such as calving percentage, calf mortality and herd structure; compares the productivity of East African pastoral systems to those of commercial ranches and to pastoral systems in other parts of the world.

This book is the product of a Satellite Symposium on the Role of Livestock in Developing Communities: Enhancing Multifunctionality, held as part of the 10th World Conference on Animal Production (WCAP) in Cape Town, 22 – 28 November 2008. The Symposium, jointly organised by the University of the Free State (UFS) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) aimed to stimulate critical thinking on the role of livestock in livelihood strategies for the poor in the developing world as a contribution to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The study investigates the role of contract farming in improving access to credit for smallholder cattle producers, cattle finishers and traders in Swaziland. The contracts are verbal or informal and involve smallholder cattle producers, cattle finishers and traders on the one hand and other stakeholders in the value chain on the other.

The attitudes of farmers in relation to the importance of different people as information and opinion sources (InfS) for different phases of the decision-making process were studied in 91 Costa Rican dairy farmers. The InfS studied were: Family members, Other farmers, Technical advisors, Farm staff and Commercial agents, while the phases were: Problem detection, Seeking for problem solutions, Seeking for new practices and Seeking for opinion. A Multidimensional Preference Analysis (MDPREF) was used to obtain a two-dimensional map of preference of the farmers.

Background: ‘Climate-smart agriculture’ (CSA)—agriculture and food systems that

sustainably increase food production, improve resilience (or adaptive capacity) of farming

systems, and mitigate climate change when possible—has quickly been integrated into the

global development agenda. However, the empirical evidence base for CSA has not been

assembled, complicating the transition from CSA concept to concrete actions, and

contributing to ideological disagreement among development practitioners. Thus, there is an

The global livestock sector is diverse, undergoing rapid change and frequently

misunderstood. Livestock impact issues of major global concern, including food security,

poverty alleviation and environmental and human health. But these impacts differ greatly

across the globe, depending on factors such as the levels of wealth or poverty in a

country/region, the livestock commodity, consumer demands, the policy environment and

the livestock production system. This paper explores global trends in the livestock sector in

Recommendations for preservation and improvement of sub-Saharan rangelands, and for training people in range management and animal production.