Meet Us at the Joint Seminar of the FAO CIHEAM Networks on Pasture and Forage Crops and on Sheep and Goat Nutrition, 27–29 September 2022, Catania, Italy

Seminar name: Joint Seminar of the FAO CIHEAM Networks on Pasture and Forage Crops and on Sheep and Goat Nutrition
Date: 27–29 September 2022
Place: Catania, Italy
Link: https://faociheam2022.org/

The Mediterranean Basin is highly affected by climate change, while certain countries still need to increase livestock production in order to achieve food self-sufficiency. Producing better is an urgent issue.

In this respect, ruminants have an asset: they can be fed on plants, plant parts, and agroindustrial byproducts that are not directly recoverable for humans.

Mediterranean landscapes are composed of an agro-silvo-pastoral mosaic, which offers opportunities for interactions between livestock production, agriculture, and natural areas. Mediterranean grasslands are an important source of forage; cultivated forage, possibly associated with perennial or annual crops, provides high-quality feed for periods of high nutrient requirements; agroindustry produces a variety of typical byproducts which may be included in ruminant diets.

This joint seminar on ruminant nutrition and Mediterranean pastures and forage crops subnetworks aims at exploring various opportunities in terms of novel or underexploited local feed resources, which could be valued better in the future and used to secure small ruminant feeding systems and boost animal production. Joining these two subnetworks gives the opportunity to consider the question from two complementary points of view, thus encouraging system approaches.