Last month, FAO jointly with ICARDA (International Centre for Research in Dry Areas) and University of Chile organized 9th International Congress on “Cactus pear and cochineal” in Coquimbo, Chile. At this congress FAO and ICARDA released a document entitled “Crop ecology, cultivation and uses of cactus pear”. From mainly the animal feed perspective, this short article aims to provide a brief summary of this document and also presents salient points that emerged from the International Congress. Against the backdrop of ongoing climate change, frequent and long droughts, and land degradation, cactus has a special place in future sustainable food production systems in dry areas. Among various cacti, cactus pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica) has drawn extensive attention because of its multi-uses and being free of spines (thorns). Furthermore, it is highly resilient, and has high water use efficiency and capability to grow in poor and degraded soils where other plants fail to grow (Figure 1). Mexico is considered as the centre of cactus origin. Cactus is vegetatively propagated and cladodes are used for this purpose. This method of propagation preserves the genetic characteristics of the plant.
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