Six experts from different parts of the world answer this question in interviews with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Veterinary services have been privatized - drugs are too expensive”, says Thomas Loquang (left), a Ugandan livestock keeper and representative of the pastoralist community of Karamoja in Uganda. The community depends very much on indigenous knowledge for taking care of their livestock, including animal health and production. Thomas urges for support in conserving Karamoja’s indigenous breeds and strengthening livestock keepers' rights through better infrastructure and veterinary services. Patrick Mulvaney of British NGO Practical Action says that livestock keepers' rights are needed to protect livestock and livelihoods. Click here to listen to all six interviews.

A new coalition called "No Patents on Seeds" www.no-patents-on-seeds.org has called for a global ban on patents on seeds and farm animals. The coalition includes Greenpeace, SwissAid and Coldiretti (the biggest Italian farmers' organization) , and is supported by more than 30 farmers' organizations and hundreds of other organizations worldwide. pdf 18 kb

Susanne Gura's groundbreaking 2007 study on "Livestock genetics companies: Concentration and proprietary strategies of an emerging power in the global food economy" is now available in Spanish. Click here to download: English 267 kb, 30 pages Español 282 kb, 31 pages<

The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development is a founder member of Drynet, a project focusing on: Desertification, drylands and land degradationCommunities living in affected areas and their coping strategiesEfforts to combat desertification and land degradation due to unsustainable practices and climate change. This European Union-funded project, launched on 17 June, the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification, aims to strengthen civil society networks, such as farmers' collectives, indigenous groups, women's organizations, trade unions and non-governmental organizations with knowledge and visibility to influence dryland development policies in affected countries. The League's Indian partner, Rajasthan-based Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, is also a founder member of Drynet. Other partner organizations are from Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mauritania, South Africa, Senegal, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and France. BothEnds, an organization based in the Netherlands, coordinates the project. Click here to access the Drynet website. Click here for more information. 17 kb Questions? Send an e-mail to drynet@bothends.org or contact Danielle de Man at the Both ENDS office: +31 (0)20 623 0823