| Livestock’s long shadow : Environmental issues and options |
| | This report aims to assess the full impact of the livestock sector on environmental problems, along with potential technical and policy approaches to mitigation. The assessment is based on the most recent and complete data available, taking into account direct impacts, along with the impacts of feed crop agriculture required for livestock production.
The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.
Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency. Major reductions in impact could be achieved at reasonable cost. |
| Codex Alimentarius Commission |
| | The main purposes of this Programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations
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| FAOSTAT |
| | FAOSTAT, the FAO statistical database, is an on-line multilingual database currently containing over 3 million time-series records from over 210 countries and territories covering agriculture, nutrition, fisheries, forestry and food aid |
| Food for the Cities |
| | The task of feeding the world's cities adequately constitutes an increasingly pressing challenge, requiring the co-ordinated interaction of food producers, transporters, market operators and a myriad of retail sellers. It also requires constant improvements in the quality of transport and distribution systems. Not least, it involves a shared understanding among city officials and national and international development agencies of the common problems and the potential solutions faced when seeking to feed cities on a sustainable basis.
Jacques Diouf
FAO Director-General
(FAO: The State of Food and Agriculture 1998)
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FAO has been monitoring the world's forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946. The Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA) are based on data that
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FAO has been monitoring the world's forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946. The Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA) are based on data that countries provide to FAO in response to a common questionnaire. FAO then compiles and analyses the information and presents the current status of the world’s forest resources and their changes over time. FAO worked closely with countries and specialists in the design and implementation of FRA 2005 - through regular contact, expert consultations, training for national correspondents and ten regional and subregional workshops. The outcome is better data, a more transparent reporting process and enhanced national capacity in data analysis and reporting.
The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005) is the most comprehensive assessment of forests and forestry to date - not only in terms of the number of countries and people involved, but also in terms of scope. It examines the current status and recent trends for about 40 variables covering the extent, condition, uses and values of forests and other wooded land, with the aim of assessing all benefits from forest resources. Information has been collated from 229 countries and territories for three points in time: 1990, 2000 and 2005. The results are presented according to six thematic elements of sustainable forest management.
Like the last assessment (FRA 2005) FRA 2010 will provide a comprehensive picture of the extent of forests and other wooded land, their condition, management and uses; this time covering all the seven thematic elements of sustainable forest management.
Vanda Ferreira dos Santos
Forestry Information Officer
Published: 25/05/09
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Thank you for your query
This is indeed a good idea. You can use for local chicken and especially for young chicks, utilise the left-over from the
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Thank you for your query
This is indeed a good idea. You can use for local chicken and especially for young chicks, utilise the left-over from the kitchen, and few grains, the termites and warms are a good way to bring proteins to the chicken.
Please find here eletronic address of the "small scale poultry production" with a lot of ideas on poultry feed.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/y5169e/y5169e00.pdf
Best wishes
E.GuerneBleich
Livestock Officer
Sub Regional Office for Eastern Africa
FAO/SFE Addis Ababa
Published: 25/05/09
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Launch of the Global Forum on Food Security and NutritionThe FSN Forum will be launched on the World Food Day with an e-discussion on Promoting food s
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Launch of the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition The FSN Forum will be launched on the World Food Day with an e-discussion on Promoting food security and nutrition information for improved decision making and response, facilitated by Mr. Mark Smulders, coordinator of the Food Insecurity Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS).
The FSN Forum is a global on-line community whose members exchange experiences, information and resources to find collective solutions to food security and nutrition (FSN) issues.
The Forum is driven by the needs and involvement of its members, and coordinated by a Secretariat in FAO's Agricultural Development Economics Division.
It provides on-line discussions and solutions for members' queries and problems; databases and other sources of FSN information; news about opportunities for collaboration and capacity development,; an one-stop venue for FAO work on FSN; and monthly newsletters and an annual CD-ROM of key resources. A group of eminent resource people from the international FSN community provides valuable inputs to these services. You are invited to join the FSN Forum and take part in the online discussion by registering on the Forum Web-site http://km.fao.org/fsn/ For more information about the FSN Forum please visit the Forum Web-site or contact Ms Huyen Tran, FSN Forum Moderator.
Published: 16/10/07
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In 2000, FAO produced the FAO Statement on Biotechnology (an accompanying press release is available here). This document recognizes the potential tha
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In 2000, FAO produced the FAO Statement on Biotechnology (an accompanying press release is available here). This document recognizes the potential that GMOs offer, but recommends" a cautious case-by-case approach to address legitimate concerns for the biosafety of each product or process prior to its release". FAO recognizes that the subject of GMOs is controversial and Member countries and their citizens have to make up their own minds, whether this is for planning, investment, or marketing. FAOs role is to help them to do so by providing balanced information for scientists, government planners, farmers, NGOs and citizens in general. This matter is rapidly evolving, yet the FAO statement is still valid as the FAO Government bodies have not revised or updated it. For more information about the FAO stance on GMOs, please see the FAO Biotechnology Web site. This is a source of neutral, science-based information about biotechnology.
Published: 30/08/07
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Conservation agriculture (CA) can increase or decrease soil acidity, depending on a range of factors. Conservation agriculture increases the amount of
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Conservation agriculture (CA) can increase or decrease soil acidity, depending on a range of factors. Conservation agriculture increases the amount of organic matter and changes the balance of mineral soil nutrients. This in turn can alter the exchange capacity of the soil and the pH. In some cases, after several years of conservation agriculture, there is a slight increase of pH (from a moderate acidic soil). However, a sodic soil may reduce its pH with conservation agriculture, depending on the origin of the degradation. For normally behaving soils that require occasional liming to keep their pH in the desired range, conservation agriculture would not change this. Less lime is required over time, because leaching and acidisation are reduced due to the change in water flows in the soil. Lime is also transported by the organic acids released by organic matter in the soil, so that the mechanical incorporation of lime is not necessary. In general, it is easier to keep the pH in the desired range with long-term permanent conservation agriculture, than conventional farming. More information is available on the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department's Conservation Agriculture page.
Published: 12/04/07
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