Highlights of the Indian dairy scenario and its projected growth in the twenty-first century are presented on the Internet through the home page of Dairy India, a 900-page compendium with more than 70 technical articles and reports supported by 260 statistical tables, graphs and charts.
While detailing the scope of foreign investment in dairying, it also
emphasizes the emergence of India as a dairy megamarket of the twenty-first century. Vast
opportunities and rewards await the enterprising.
Among the topics dealt with are: Operation flood; The dominating role of the buffalo as
"India's milking machine"; The impact of GATT on Indian dairying; Asian dairy
scene; Modernization of traditional milk products; and Innovations in dairying
The website address is: http://www.infozech.com/dairyind
For more information contact: P.R. Gupta, Dairy India Yearbook, A-25 Priyadarshini Vihar,
Delhi 11092, India.
Tel.: +91 11 2243326; fax: +91 11 2243039; e-mail: [email protected]
The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) was launched in 1976 as an essential means to make FAO's specialized competence more readily available to Member Nations for the solution of their most pressing development problems in the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and rural development.
Through TCP, FAO allocates limited but identifiable and assured
resources to fulfil one of its key constitutional functions, i.e. to furnish such
technical assistance as governments may request. It is an integral part of the
Organization's Regular Programme, financed from the assessed budget. In particular, TCP is
the instrument that enables FAO to respond rapidly to urgent needs for technical and
emergency assistance in member countries and to contribute to their capacity building. The
programme does not operate in isolation, but is closely associated with other normative
and field activities of the Organization. It contributes in its own right to major Regular
Programme objectives.
The main features of TCP are its unprogrammed and urgent character; its flexibility in
responding to new technical issues and problems; speed in approval; clear focus; limited
project intervention with a short duration; low costs; practical orientation; and
catalytic role. By design and in practice, TCP meets unforeseen needs, fills crucial gaps,
complements other forms of assistance and promotes resource availability for technical
cooperation in the above fields, whether channelled through FAO or otherwise.
The focus of the programme is on increasing food production and raising the income and
nutritional standards of small farmers and rural workers. It gives priority to the least
developed countries (LDCs), to the low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) and to the
small-scale producers and workers.
Requests for technical assistance under the programme may be presented by governments of
member countries which qualify for development assistance under the UN system and by
intergovernmental organizations of which such countries are members, and are recognized as
such by the UN system, including FAO. They may also be submitted by national
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), if endorsed by the government concerned.
Projects under TCP are implemented with the fullest possible involvement of beneficiaries
and the maximum utilization of their personnel and resources and, where feasible and
appropriate, recourse to the modalities of Technical Cooperation among Developing
Countries (TCDC) and Tech-nical Cooperation among Countries in Transition (TCCT).
More information on this programme can be obtained from the website
http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/tcd/default.htm
To many of our readers BEDIM (Bureau for Exchange and Distribution of Information on Mini-Livestock) is already well known. For many years this group has been active worldwide in the controlled development of mini-livestock, i.e. African and South American grasscutters, guinea pigs, frogs, giant snails, termites, butterflies, capybaras and other rodents.
Since the end of 1996 this informal group, previously based at the
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, has been registered under Belgian law as
an international association with a scientific and training mandate devoted to
mini-livestock.
BEDIM produces and publishes a Semestral Information Bulletin on Mini-Livestock
with the financial support of the FAO Animal Production and Health Division.
The association wishes to enrol all those who are interested, either professionally or
through scientific curiosity, in mini-livestock. A range of fee categories are envisaged
and reductions may be accorded to members from developing countries.
For further information please contact: BEDIM Secr�tariat, Unit� de zoologie
fondamentale et appliqu�e, Facult� universitaire des sciences agronomiques, Passage des
d�port�s 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgique. Fax: +32 81 622312; e-mail: [email protected]
Animal Production and Health Division - Division de la production et de la sant� animales - Direcci�n de la Producci�n y Sanidad Animal
The Technical Institute for Goat Dairy Products (ITPLC) held a meeting in Niort (Charentes-Poitou region, a leader in goat milk production in France) in November 1996 on the nutritional qualities of goat milk. It appeared that the current demand in France is lower than production, and producers and processors are urgently seeking new outlets. UHT goat milk appeared on the shelves in French supermarkets less than one year ago, and two large dairies have started exporting to various European countries. The use of goat milk in infant diets was identified as another promising outlet, since it is more digestible and less allergenic than cow milk. Results of clinical trials on the use of goat milk as a substitute for cow milk in the treatment of bovine lacto-intolerance have revealed the biochemical, nutritional and immunological properties of goat milk. However, because of possible immunological cross-reactivity, the interest in the use of goat milk by hypersensitive infants is still controversial. While the test results are encouraging, with a success rate of 40 to 70 percent among allergic newborn babies, they must be carefully analysed in relation to the latest progress made on specificities of goat milk.
In all, there are very interesting prospects for urban and peri-urban areas of developing countries where goats are commonly raised as backyard animals and where small breeders - mainly women - have very limited outlets because of the limited cheese consumption. The creation of a modern independent goat dairy sector, backed by scientific recognition of the nutritional and dietetical value of goat milk, could provide them with a new source of income and thereby improve household living standards. FAO, through the dairy section of the Animal Production and Health Division, has a valuable role to play in the promotion of small-scale production of goat milk and cheese. In fact it has developed a special programme on small ruminant milk production and processing, particularly of goats and ewes. In Morocco, a project financed by FAO's Technical Cooperation Programme has enabled the establishment of a small model goat cheese processing unit in the mountain areas in Chechaou�n. In Jordan, FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) have implemented the installation of four ewe cheese factories for traditional cheese production with improved quality and presentation.
FAO has recently released a radically revised version of the Livestock Development Planning System (LDPS2), a PC-based planning and training tool designed for livestock development planners to assist them in decision-making.
LDPS2 helps to:
LDPS2 has been developed as an EXCEL 5/7 workbook for ease of use and trans-parency. Its main features are:
Three main calculation routines
Feed resource inventory. The feed resource inventory defines the types and extent of available feed resources. These can be allocated to different production systems either by the user or automatically, using default values.
Sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis tests the results by looking at the impact of key parameter values.
Calculation routines. LDPS2 has calculation routines for dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, goats, buffaloes, pigs and poultry, and up to four production systems can be modelled for each species. The user can apply LDPS2 at both the farm level and the national level.
Both English and French versions are available now. The Spanish version will be released soon. For more information, please contact the Animal Production and Health Division,FAO, Rome. Fax: +39 6 52255749; e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
In 1993, a dialogue took place between FAO and IFAD concerning the creation of an animal health programme in the Near East and North Africa region, where a successful screwworm eradication campaign was previously implemented (in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and surrounding countries). The aim of the programme is to set up a preventive risk-reducing activity against future screwworm reinfestation and establish a disease surveillance activity for at least four animal diseases deemed to be of major economic importance for this region - foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants and brucellosis.
Later, other countries from the region found the idea attractive and
joined in. At present, 29 countries, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Islamic
Republic of Iran, have subscribed to the programme. The implementation phase of the
Regional Animal Disease Surveillance and Control Network (RADISCON) was initiated in June
1996 under project GCP/REM/059/IFA, funded by IFAD and executed by FAO in collaboration
with the participating countries.
A common problem to the countries in the region is the inadequate epidemiological
surveillance and reporting systems. The concept underlying RADISCON is the systematic
characterization and explanation of patterns of animal diseases and the use of this
information in solving animal health problems. The objective of RADISCON is to achieve
effective data gathering and analysis for decision-making purposes in the field of animal
disease control. Applied to a region, this concept will be implemented in a systematic
manner in each country and built into a network linking the countries of the region as a
whole so that accurate information on animal health and disease can be generated and
exchanged and disease control activities coordinated. The map shows the geographic
distribution of the four subregions included in RADISCON. These are North Africa/the
Sahel; the Horn of Africa; the Near East; and the Gulf countries.
The main activity of this network is to gather animal health and disease data concerning
the aforementioned diseases, transform them into information through analysis and
interpretation and disseminate the information produced, inter alia, in the form of
regular electronic bulletins (News@RADISCON). Currently the project is providing countries
with data processing units including microcomputers and appropriate software (Windows 95,
MS Office, Epi Info, Epi Map, HandiSTATUS). One veterinarian from each country was
designated and trained in veterinary epidemiology with focus on disease surveillance. They
are now acting as national liaison officers (NLOs). Furthermore, technical support is
being provided for the establishment of the network, consisting of electronic
communication between the countries and with FAO and assistance in the design and
operation of each National Animal Health System.
A central unit is planned to be installed at FAO headquarters in Rome to receive data from
national units and analyse and disseminate processed data to the participating countries.
The project will be operated in support of the Emergency Prevention System for
Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES) to strengthen its early warning
component within the concerned countries.
The project is reviewed annually by an elected steering committee composed of a
representative from each of the four sub-regions in addition to representatives from FAO
and IFAD, plus observers such as the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development
(AOAD).
For further information please contact Dr A. Benkirane, Infectious Diseases Group, Animal
Health Service, Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Rome. Fax: +39 6 570 53500;
e-mail: abdelali.benkirane@ fao.org or [email protected]
In September 1996, the Iraqi Veterinary Services sent specimens to the FAO Collaborating Centre on Myiasis-Causing Insects at the Natural History Museum in London. Six samples were identified as Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae). This was the first record of this species from Iraq. Chrysomya bezziana had previously been recorded in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, more recently, also in (the Islamic Republic of) Iran. The present status of infestation in these countries is unknown. In addition to the mobility of the insect itself, it is probably the movement of infested livestock that causes the spread of Old World screwworm (OWS).
Mild weather conditions up to February 1997, coinciding with seasonal
lambing, resulted in an unprecedented increase in myiasis in Iraq. At that time almost 14
000 cases were recorded, and infestations in humans had also been diagnosed. However, a
six-day cold spell in early February considerably reduced the number of new cases,
although from available evidence it appeared that the fly population, and thereby OWS, may
have been overwintering. The latest report from Iraq in early July was of 16 300
cumulative cases of myiasis in livestock.
FAO, together with the AOAD, has made provisions to strengthen the infrastructure and
capabilities of national staff for OWS control, both in Iraq and in the subregion.
However, Iraq still has a severe shortage of chemicals for the protection and treatment of
livestock for which a solution has to be found. FAO is also organizing an international
training workshop to support risk analysis and strategy development to cover the whole of
the Arabian peninsula.
In 1994, FAO obtained the mandate to establish a priority programme - the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases, known by the acronym EMPRES. The livestock diseases component of EMPRES aims at strengthening FAO's role in the prevention of, and immediate response to, emergencies caused by major epizootic diseases of transboundary importance. The primary focus is the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP).
The vision for EMPRES is to promote the effective containment and
control of the most serious epidemic livestock diseases as well as newly emerging diseases
by progressive elimination on a regional and global basis through international
cooperation involving early warning, early/rapid reaction, enabling research and
coordination.
From 14 to 16 July 1997, FAO convened an expert consultation of eight external specialists
in infectious diseases from Australia, Kenya, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom (2) and the United States to review the progress being made by member countries
towards the objective of GREP by the year 2010 and to advise on measures for consolidating
the concept of emergency prevention and preparedness at the national level. This
consultation examined the functions of EMPRES in the context of the World Food Summit Plan
of Action, of which Commit-ment 3 calls for effective prevention and progressive
control of transboundary animal diseases such as rinderpest and foot-and-mouth
disease.
With respect to GREP, the expert consultation reviewed the progress made by member
countries in keeping to the agreed timetable - known as the Blueprint - adopted in 1996.
The review found that many countries had fallen behind the Blueprint schedule and they
were strongly encouraged to re-establish their position. Where appropriate, countries
should make provisional declarations of freedom from disease to the OIE and their
neighbours.
To meet the objective of the relevant part of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, the
expert consultation recommended that member countries should set up National Animal
Diseases Emergency Committees as a component of their national plans to deal with natural
disasters. The executive arm of these committees should be the national EMPRES unit within
the national veterinary services responsible for:
FAO will act as a catalyst in the adoption of EMPRES at the national
level by assisting in the development of "clusters" of countries within a region
that have similar disease problems to encourage close cooperation in their disease
prevention and control programmes.
For further information on EMPRES Livestock, please contact Dr Mark Rweyemamu, Senior
Officer, Infectious Diseases-EMPRES Group, FAO. Tel.: +39 6 570 56772; fax: +39 6
57053023; e-mail: [email protected]; Internet:
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FaoInfo/Agricult/AGA/AGAH/EMPRES/EMPRES.HTM
The breakdown of civil veterinary services, for whatever reasons, invites the re-emergence and reinvasion of animal diseases, thus necessitating early warning and reaction measures. Restoring the delivery of essential basic animal health services and tasks is often a vital step in national rehabilitation and needs to be taken at an early stage in order to protect public health and increase local food production following the initial emergency.
Restoring the animal health services in Afghanistan has been a true success story. Since 1988, two of FAO's technical divisions, the Special Relief Operations Service (TCOR) and the Technical Cooperation Programme Unit (TCDT), have been cooperating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) and the European Union (EU) as well as numerous international and Afghan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to establish community-based veterinary field units in 219 out of a total of 325 districts. These units are staffed by over 2 000 Afghan animal health providers and supported by five regional offices and a project headquarters. UNDP has been financing this project together with a sister crops project since the late 1980s. In 1992, the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan, an international NGO, entered the scene as one of the Implementing Partners for the veterinary programme. As part of its work, it surveyed the impact of the veterinary programme following three years of operation in seven districts. These seven districts, each with a community-based veterinary field unit, were compared with seven neighbouring districts which had not received any formal animal health inputs for more than ten years. The survey results, as depicted in the Figure, show that adult and young stock mortality was reduced by 22 to 60 percent in the districts having continuous access to appropriate basic veterinary services. The financial benefit from decreased mortality averaged US$120 000 per district and the calculated benefit-cost ratio of the project was 4.8 or nearly 500 percent per annum. The network of veterinary field units, staffed with trained personnel who deliver an obviously valuable veterinary service and for which livestock owners pay the full cost of services and medicines and partly for vaccines, will be sustainable and will complement those public veterinary service responsibilities when re-established by the national government.
Impact of veterinary services on livestock mortality in Afghanistan
The Ethiopian tanning industry has long complained of a declining proportion of high-grade small ruminant raw material, resulting in a decline of high-grade processed skins and the danger of losing international markets through its inability to supply the quantity and quality of skins required. The Ethiopian hides and skins export industry earned nearly US$65 million in 1995/96. Data from six out of eight commercial tanneries for the same period indicate that 20 to 24 percent of purchased sheep and goat skins were rejected, which resulted in a loss of US$6.9 million. The predominant cause for downgrading sheep (and goat) skins was said to be "ekek", a term meaning itch. Ekek in sheep is manifested by itching and sometimes loss of wool or fleece. To the tanning industry, ekek has become a "catch all" word used to downgrade skins in the early processing stage. The conventional wisdom in the tanning industry is that ekek is due to ectoparasites affecting sheep and goats.
In December 1995, Ethiopian veterinary researchers, with assistance from
an FAO Technical Cooperation Project (TCP), investigated the causes of parasitic skin
diseases in sheep, including the effects these parasites have on processed skin quality
and grading, and have carried out field treatment trials to control parasites and thus to
evaluate the reduction of damage to skins. The results of this work are summarized below
and provide information for policy decision-making.
Ethiopian veterinary researchers at the National Animal Health Research Centre have
confirmed that biting lice and sheep keds, parasites which cause itching, are common in
sheep in the highlands. Tannery graders and skin histology tests have determined that
sheep harbouring these parasites have in fact ekek lesions in their processed skins. Both
treatment with the organophosphate parasiticide diazinon, a relatively safe compound
registered worldwide, and shearing eliminate lice and keds for a period of 60 to 120 days.
Moreover, they have significantly reduced the histological evidence of ekek in processed
skins. However, routine tannery grading still severely downgrades histologically ekek-free
skins, citing the justification as ekek, and this is causing much concern.
The conclusions to date are that methods to eliminate skin parasites in sheep as described
above are known, have been tested and found to be effective in the Ethiopian highlands,
and also that they are efficacious in eliminating skin lesions. On the other hand,
however, it should not be ignored that, at the tannery level, treated ekek-free sheep
skins are still heavily downgraded either because of other non-parasitic causes or because
of misuse of the term ekek.
It is clear from the above that, in order to improve the overall supply and quality of
Ethiopia's export sheep skins, the parasitic diseases affecting live sheep need to be
controlled along with changes in the post-slaughter harvesting and preserving techniques.
Since approximately 9.5 million sheep skins are supplied to tanneries yearly, treating
large numbers of sheep and correcting existing handling practices in the field are no
major matters.
The solutions lie in: i) raw skin pricing incentives to livestock raisers to produce
quality skins; ii) an effective extension programme for improving raw skin handling and
preservation practices by intermediaries; iii) a redefinition of skin grading standards;
and iv) additional research to elucidate the multifactoral causes leading to the
down-grading of skins. These requirements open avenues to a fundamental restructuring of
the hides and skins industry, particularly its extension system, and the liberalization of
veterinary remedy distribution and animal treatment by livestock owners, community-based
animal health workers or veterinarians. A dialogue among concerned government ministries,
the tanning industry and veterinary remedy distributors, as a minimum, is urgently called
for. Opportunities for funding agencies to invest in the tanning industry and livestock
sector could be developed based on this dialogue.
The control of gastro-intestinal worms has so far relied almost entirely on the use of chemicals (anthelmintics) but this approach is at risk because of the widespread occurrence of anthelmintic resistance of these worms. In some parts of the world this is approaching catastrophic proportions, to the detriment of the sheep and goat industry.
There is therefore an urgent need to develop alternative sustainable
control systems which do not rely on anthelmintics alone. Among the most promising options
available, the following should be mentioned: i) breeding for resistance against
helminths; ii) the use of biological control agents; iii) a better understanding of the
pharmaco-kinetics of existing anthelmintics; iv) grazing management; and v) development of
vaccines. FAO is actively supporting the development of several of these options for use
in alternative control strategies.
Among the biological control agents, the fungi that exhibit anti-nematode properties have
attracted most attention. They consist of a great variety of species which include types
of fungi trapping the free-living stages of the worms. Laboratory testing has been very
successful and it has been demonstrated under experimental conditions that a daily
supplement of barley containing the fungi can considerably lower the larval contamination
of pastures, reduce parasitism and increase productivity of grazing sheep and cattle. FAO
in collaboration with the Danish Centre for Experimental Parasito-logy, an FAO
collaborative centre on helminthology, therefore organized a hands-on training workshop
for the transfer of the technology of isolating, identifying and mass-producing the fungi.
The workshop was held at the Veterinary Research Institute, Ipoh, Malaysia, from 5 to 12
October 1997. The workshop included invited participants from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,
Paraguay, Kenya, South Africa, India, Malaysia and Indonesia with instructors from
Australia, Denmark and Malaysia.
In addition, through its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), FAO is also involved in
the field testing of the fungi as a suitable biological control agent in the tropics. A
project has just been approved for an initial trial in Brazil, and it includes the
development of integrated sustainable strategies in areas with widespread anthelmintic
resistance.
Esta ponencia fue preparada por tres oficiales de J.C. Chirgwin, M. S�nchez y R. Sansoucy, y fue expuesta en el V Seminario-Taller Internacional sobre Sistemas Sostenibles de Producci�n Agropecuaria que se llev� a cabo en Cali, Colombia del 31 de julio al 3 de agosto de 1997. Esta reuni�n organizada conjuntamente por FAO y la organizaci�n no gubernamental colombiana CIPAV, cont� con la presencia de participantes extranjeros venidos de m�s de diez pa�ses (y cuatro continentes) adem�s de m�s de doscientos participantes nacionales.
Actualmente los sistemas de producci�n agropecuaria han evolucionado mucho, pasando de un enfoque de producci�n mixta que inclu�a b�sicamente huertos, bosques, cultivos para la alimentaci�n humana y animales como fuente de alimentos, trabajo y esti�rcol, a un enfoque muy especializado que persigue generar altos niveles de un producto �nico. Los sistemas especializados han logrado �ptimos rendimientos gracias a un proceso de intensificaci�n que involucra tambi�n consumos y servicios. Si bien la producci�n intensiva permite altos niveles de producci�n, es tambi�n responsable de un gran derroche y de un uso poco eficaz de recursos, de una creciente contaminaci�n ambiental y de un mayor nivel de desempleo. Limitaciones como capital, capacitaci�n, asistencia t�cnica, mercadeo, como tambi�n reservas de recursos no renovables impiden el acceso a estos sistemas, de muchos peque�os productores del mundo. Afortunadamente existen v�as alternativas para retomar el compromiso de un desarrollo equilibrado, equitativo y sostenible, que requieren t�cnicas que puedan optimizar la polivalencia de los sistemas productivos, fomentar la integraci�n de sus actividades y promover una nueva escala de valores �ticos que logren resolver los crecientes problemas de desigualdad y aislamiento.
Donkeys play an important role as work animals in the semi-arid and mountainous areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition to their traditional role as pack and riding animals, donkeys are increasingly used for light cultivation tasks, threshing, drawing water and carting. Nevertheless, relatively little has changed with respect to the generally poor image and institutional neglect of the donkey. Therefore, it is clear that there is an urgent need to exchange information on systems of donkey use and on ways in which their management and utilization can be improved. The International Workshop on Improving Donkey Utilisation and Management (5-9 May 1997, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia) was organized by the Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (ATNESA) in association with the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Research, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Farm-Africa, Norwegian Church Aid, Oxfam Canada, Selam Vocational Centre and World Vision, with financial help from FAO. ATNESA was formed in 1990 to improve information exchange and regional cooperation relating to work animals. The network aims to unite researchers, manufacturers, development workers, institutions and the users of work animals in the region. The workshop brought together a total of 120 national and international specialists involved in research, development and extension relating to the utilization of donkeys. During the meeting regional field experiences and overviews on the current state of research, development and extension were presented. In addition, the workshop offered an ideal forum to review present and future needs for improving the utilization and management of donkeys. As a results of these discussions, various strategic plans on training, extension, health care, management and nutrition were drawn up. To prevent a duplication of efforts, several working groups were established to expand on the agenda adopted during the meeting. It was also decided to produce various state-of-the-art publications on issues such as harnessing and donkey carts and implements. These and other future outputs of the working groups will be of great value to Animal Production and Health Division (AGA) activities on the dissemination and testing of donkey technology, carried out under the FAO Regular Programme.
FAO has launched an international control programme against the tsetse fly which, according to the Organization's estimates, infests about one-third of Africa, or approximately 9 million km2. FAO member countries decided to launch the Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis (PAAT) during the Organization's biennial governing conference last November.
Among humans the fly transmits sleeping sickness, of which more than 300
000 cases are recorded each year in central Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO)
warns that the number of people affected, many of whom suffer from fever and eventually
die, may reach the epidemic proportions last witnessed in the 1930s.
In animals the bite of an infected tsetse fly causes trypanosomiasis, leading to high
levels of abortion, fever and weakness. The disease has grave consequences for food
production because fewer animals are available for draught power and for producing manure.
In areas where the flies are numerous, land cannot be used for cultivation. It is
estimated that around three million animals die from the disease every year and that the
direct losses to Africa's cattle population alone amount to between US$600 million and $1
200 million annually.
The effects of sleeping sickness in humans and trypanosomiasis in animals may have a
significant negative effect on food security and rural poverty, as capacities to cultivate
crops are reduced. In Ethiopia, for example, FAO maintains that crop production could be
doubled if the tsetse fly were eradicated from infested areas.
The new control programme, PAAT, is a concerted effort by FAO, WHO, the Organization for
African Unity and the Joint Division of FAO/International Atomic Energy Agency. It serves
to coordinate international research, governments programmes, donors' investments and
activities carried out by non-governmental organizations. FAO estimates that about US$200
million are currently being spent annually by governments, farmers and researchers on
tsetse control, and PAAT aims at investing these funds more efficiently.
The European Union supports PAAT and plans to mount three large-scale regional programmes
for trypanosomiasis control in about 23 countries across East, West and southern Africa.
The United Kingdom has offered US$300 000 to allow FAO to develop a PAAT disease
information system.
For more information please refer to the following page on FAO's Internet site:
http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/agricult/aga/agah/pd/vector.htm
K. Becker, P.R. Lawrence and E.R. Orskov, eds. 1995. Institute for Animal Production in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany. 190 pp. Price: US$17.00.
This publication contains papers and posters presented during a one-day symposium on Small-scale Ruminant Production in Tropical Areas. The four main themes dealt with, each introduced by a lead paper, are compensatory growth; feed intake; fodder trees and shrubs as ruminant feed in semi-arid regions; and the energetic efficiency of draft animals. In addition, the proceedings contain a miscel-laneous selection of papers dealing with issues from the economic assessment of feeding strategies to the physio-pathological effects of atrazine. Although few of the papers actually address the issues connected with the title of the publication, the majority of the lead papers present a good overview of the current knowledge in their particular subject matter. The additional papers and posters related to the main themes also provide a useful overview of current research efforts. A further merit of the publication lies in the fact that it has provided a forum for young scientists from developing countries to present their work. The editors' wish that this publication will, to some extent, stimulate interest and creative thinking may therefore well be granted.
J.D.
Office international des �pizooties (OIE). 1996. Paris. 800 pp. ISBN 92-9044-423-1. Price: F 800/US$160 plus air freight.
The purpose of this manual is to contribute to the harmonization of methods of surveillance and control of important animal diseases. Standard methods are described for laboratory diagnostic tests and the production and control of biological products (principally vaccines) for veterinary use in laboratories across the world. The availability of such standards should increase the effectiveness of measures undertaken to improve animal health worldwide.
The manual complements the International Animal Health Code in that
standard methods are given for the diagnostic tests and for the control of biological
products referred to in the Code. The manual has been written and revised by experts of
established international standing and is unique since each chapter has been approved by
the Veterinary Services of all the OIE member countries (143 in June 1996).
The introductory section of the manual contains general information on sampling methods,
good laboratory practice, validation of diagnostic assays, sterility tests, laboratory
safety, vaccine production and biotech-nology. Each of the subsequent chapters is devoted
to a single disease but may refer to closely related diseases and includes a summary
intended for veterinary officers and other readers who require a general overview of the
tests and vaccines available for the disease. This is followed by text for laboratory
workers, giving details of diagnostic tests and, where appropriate, the requirements for
vaccines or other biological products. Bibliographical references are listed at the end of
each chapter.
Volumes I, II and III of the manual were published in 1989, 1990 and 1991, respectively,
and a combined volume (the second edition) was released in October 1992. This third
edition contains essentially the same information. It includes detailed descriptions of
all prescribed tests required by the Code for the screening of animals before they are
transported internationally. All the OIE Lists A and B diseases (excluding fish diseases)
are presented in this volume, together with a few additional diseases of importance for
international trade.
The manual has been designed for practical use in the laboratory; it has a plastic cover
and is firmly bound and stitched. It is available in English only. However, French and
Spanish translations of the most important texts (those prescribed by the OIE
International Animal Health Code for international trade in animals and animal products)
appear in a supplementary booklet available with the manual.
The manual can be obtained from: Office international des �pizooties (OIE), 12, rue de
Prony, 75017 Paris, France. Tel.: +33 1 44 15 18 88; fax: +33 1 42 67 09 87; e-mail:
[email protected]
International Dairy Federation. Special issue 9701. 1997. 142 pp. ISBN 92 9098 025 8.
The current monograph is the fourth in a series of IDF publications on chemical residues in milk and milk products which commenced as early as 1968.
In the meantime some background aspects have changed; some are new, but
the rationale of the issue has remained the same. Despite the fact that milk is advertised
as a natural, wholesome staple food, the production of milk still occurs in an environment
significantly shaped by humans. The need for more food for a growing human population and
higher standards for both the quantity and quality of commodities, including food of
animal origin, have led to the increased, but principally safe, use of chemicals in
agriculture.
The influence of such production aids on milk and milk products cannot be ignored but must,
under all circumstances, be kept within the limits of food safety. Thanks to the
media, consumers' increased awareness of the growing "chemicalization" of their
daily food supply challenges the dairy industry to ensure the total confidence of
consumers regarding the wholesomeness and safety of milk and milk products.
Through the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which
came into force on 1 January 1995, the World Trade Organization is concerned with the
application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations. The new scientific
approaches to food safety include the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
system, which is expected to relieve, or at least complete, the end product testing
executed so far.
These and some other related criteria form the background to this 1997 update of a
traditional IDF activity which carries with it the obligation of future confirmation and
amendments. This publication is not a scientific paper. Its scientifically based content
is addressed to the dairy industry, interested members of the public and all those who
take part in the production and preservation of milk and milk products.
This publication can be obtained from the International Dairy Federation, 41 Square
Vergote, B-1030 Brussels, Belgium. Tel.: +32 2 733 98 88; fax: +32 2 733 04 13; e-mail:
[email protected]
Office international des �pizooties (OIE). 1996. Paris. ISBN 92-9044-406-1 and 92-9044-406-6. Price: F 500.
World Animal Health, published annually, presents a panoramic view of the health status of livestock and control methods applied throughout the world as they relate to those diseases given priority by the OIE. It provides data concerning the monthly incidence of List A diseases, given by country, in particular for foot-and-mouth disease; the status of List A and B diseases in each country and control measures (in codified form) currently in force; and major epidemiological events which have occurred during the year and are under study and comprehensive analysis by the OIE Central Bureau. Also covered are topics of particular interest to each country with regard to animal health control strategies and results obtained.
The originality of its content, combining clarity and abundant
documentation on the epidemiology of animal diseases worldwide, including major zoonoses,
makes World Animal Health an indispensable reference work for all professions which
interact with the world of animal health.
The publication can be obtained from the Publications Department, Office inter-national
des �pizooties (OIE), 12, rue de Prony, 75017 Paris, France.