DAP1101 Livestock Environment Interaction and Sustainable development

The course introduces students to ecological principles and systems and eco-health concepts; the principles of sustainable agriculture and the place of livestock production in ecological crises. The course also emphasizes the scale and nature of interaction between livestock production and environment and the fact that these interactions should be seen in the context of human and animal welfare as well as natural resource utilization. Concepts of ecosystem health; Plant diversity; Ecosystem water use efficiency; livestock and climate change; Environmental assessment tools for improvement of livestock production systems. Laws/legislation governing environmental conservation and solid and liquid waste management through biogas production. 

Course Objectives

• To introduce students to the principles and dynamics of ecosystems
• To explore the interactions between livestock and their environment and its effects on the environment
• To provide understanding of concepts of sustainable agricultural undertaking

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, learners should be able to:

• define ecosystems and classify
• describe effects of farming on the ecosystems
• assess the health status of an ecosystem
• suggest and implement ways to undertake environmentally sustainable agricultural enterprises