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Contact:
Dr. Gavin Thomson: gavin@tadscientific.co.za
tel/fax: +27 12 348 6891
cell: +27 82 33 66 088
Dr. Marylou Penrith: marylou@teledata.mz
tel: +25 8 213225431
cell: +258 827 180 560
Livestock production is of crucial importance in many developing countries. Particularly in arid and semi-arid regions it is often one of the few sources of food and income for rural communities. In and around the rapidly growing cities, livestock production, especially of short cycle species such as pigs and poultry, is assuming ever-greater importance both for food security and in providing the income necessary to integrate recently migrated peri-urban populations into the urban consumer community. The need to support and develop livestock production in order to reduce poverty is widely recognized, but the task of formulating animal health and production policies that will achieve this objective while also ensuring that global standards for public health, environmental protection, and animal welfare is challenging. Further challenges include delivery of cost effective livestock services to poor owners, especially those in remote areas, and providing access to markets for animal products. TADS has wide experience in this field in Southern, Eastern, Central and Western Africa. Accommodating wildlife-based activities into land-use policies, especially where commercial agriculture, traditional rural communities and the conservation lobby have conflicting interests, is an area where we have practical experience. In particular, the animal health implications relating to areas where wildlife and domestic livestock interface is an area of specialization. We also have experience in the application of participatory approaches that are increasingly successful in providing solutions to formerly intractable problems.
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