The Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia are characterised by extensive livestock production in response to the area?s natural characteristics - aggregate mean rainfall ranges between 300 and 900 mm per annum with high seasonal and inter-annual variability. Though traditionally transhumant pastoralists, the Boranas have recently increased their reliance on crops, with evidence of communal pastures becoming either privatised, or accessible to only a small sub-group of individuals or households.

? The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II

(RDCP) was estimated to have resulted in a

strong decrease in the GHG emissions intensity

of milk production, defined as the GHG

emissions per unit (liter) of milk produced.

Extensive cattle production systems reduced

their GHG emission intensity by an estimated -

4.11 tCO2e per 1000 l of milk (-60%), while

intensive production systems reduced their

intensity by an estimated -1.7 tCO2e/1000 l (-

47%). The decrease in GHG emission intensity

high tech approach to livestock identification and tracking to protect cattle and manage grazing resources in Botswana and Kenya.

This report summarizes the proceedings of the workshop “Scaling Up Climate
Services for Farmers in Africa and South Asia,” held in Saly, Senegal on December
10-12, 2012. The workshop brought together more than 100 experts from 30 countries
and roughly 50 institutions to grapple with the challenge of supporting vulnerable
farming communities through the production, communication, delivery and evaluation
of effective agrometeorological information and advisory services; and to identify
practical actions to address those challenges at scale.

Eighteen plants traditionally used for the treatment of human and animal helminthiasis in Africa were screened for anthelmintic activity using the Nippostrongylus - rat model. Aloe barteri, Terminalia avicennioides, Annona senegalensis, Cassia occidentalis, Anogeissus leiocarpus and Diospyros mespiliformis showed significant activity, giving deparasitizations of 92, 89, 75, 69, 60 and 58% respectively compared to untreated controls.

This report presents lessons learned from 18 case studies across Africa and South Asia that have developed and delivered weather and climate information and related advisory services for smallholder farmers. The case studies and resulting lessons provide insights on what will be needed to build effective national systems for the production, delivery, communication and evaluation of operational climate services for smallholder farmers across the developing world.