The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organizes from 18 until 21 February the Farmers’ Forum in Rome. This forum brings together all international and local stakeholders in the field of rural development and poverty reduction. During this event, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Europa will present its latest study on climate change and small-scale livestock farming.

Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium warmly welcomes the recent expressed opinion of Bill Gates about foreign aid in the media. Foreign aid programmes do matter and certainly if they address poor farmers - the majority of people in developing countries. But VSF Belgium would like to stress that livestock is often forgotten, although it is one of the most sustainable and economically viable ways of living in arid and semi-arid lands. These areas constitute almost half of the African continent and have been affected most by the recent food crisis in the Horn of Africa.