The Mediterranean area shows a great diversity of livestock systems, depending on local resources and traditions, but also on the networking space where informational resources are available for producers. During the last decades, a lot of innovations have been conceived or introduced in the Mediterranean area, allowing livestock systems to remain competitive. The book looks at two main issues: firstly, it gives an updated review on the main innovations that significantly changed the activities of livestock production in the Mediterranean area in the recent past. Secondly, the focus lies on the extent to which these innovations improve the efficiency, ensure the socio-cultural basis or reduce the environmental impact of livestock systems. One major finding is a new vision of innovating systems based on the distinction between regulated innovation (when aims are fixed) and innovative design (when aims are questioned). Innovations reported in the book are dealing with a set of concerns. They concern the production techniques, the work organization, the equipment and infrastructures, the collective features for selection, reproduction, feeding or sanitary devices. They also concern the local organization such as product labelling, new dynamics around local breeds, collective rules for supply basin or approaches of new products for new markets. More recently, some innovations focus on environmental impacts of livestock production, due to an increasing consciousness of those kinds of problems. In the final part of the book, a round table copes with a crucial question: are traditions in Mediterranean livestock activities to be considered an obstacle or a source of innovation? This book provides a set of updated information and knowledge useful for researchers, students, extension services and policy-makers in the field of animal science.

Addressing principles associated with breeding animals for enhanced health and resistance to specific diseases, this book provides a review of the field illustrated with examples covering many diseases of importance to livestock production, across all major livestock species. Authored by experts in the field, this updated edition covers techniques and approaches, viruses, TSEs, bacteria, parasites, vectors, and broader health issues seen in production systems, including metabolic diseases. The book will be an essential reference for professionals in the field, scientists and researchers, students, breeders, veterinarians, agricultural advisors and policy makers.

Policy concepts; Identification of policy issues; Production systems, supply and demand; Market, price and trade policies; Marketing and distribution systems; Budget and manpower planning; Land tenure police for the livestock sector; Policy analysis report writing and communication; Livestock production and marketing in alphabeta - a case study.

This volume contains 44 papers and 2 abstracts from a international conference on African small ruminants research and development. eleven papers and 1 abstract deal with the importance of small ruminant production systems and economics. Another 11 describe and analyse feed resources and feeding systems and there are 6 papers on reproductive problems and their solutions. Seven papers and 1 abstract review the prevalent health problems under various management systems and present the solutions to these production constraints. The last 9 papers deal with breeds, breeding systems and breed improvement.

This Open Access book presents feedback from the ‘Territorial Agroecological Transition in Action’- TATA-BOX research project, which was devoted to these specific issues. The multidisciplinary and multi-organisation research team steered a four-year action-research process in two territories of France. It also presents: i) the key dimensions to be considered when dealing with agroecological transition: diversity of agriculture models, management of uncertainties, polycentric governance, autonomies, and role of actors’ networks; ii) an operational and original participatory process and associated boundary tools to support local stakeholders in shifting from a shared diagnosis to a shared action plan for transition, and in so doing developing mutual understanding and involvement; iii) an analysis of the main effects of the methodology on research organisation and on stakeholders’ development and application; iv) critical analysis and foresights on the main outcomes of TATA-BOX, provided by external researchers.