Monthly Archives: March 2012

Burkina Faso / Chad / Drought / Drylands / Food security / Mali / Niger / PA / Pastoralism / Senegal / Vulnerability / West Africa

Oxfam on the West African food crisis that is building

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Goats are rounded up for a vaccination program run by Oxfam in Saraf, Guera Province, Chad (picture credit: Andy Hall/Oxfam, 9 Feb 2012). In 2012, countries across the Sahel are once again facing a serious food crisis as the rains have failed to come. This ecologically fragile region is becoming even more vulnerable as grazing areas … Continue reading »

Agriculture / Climate Change / Food security / PA / UK

CGIAR report says farming needs ‘climate-smart’ revolution to feed the world–BBC

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Cattle grazing field in Nicaragua. A new report from CGIAR warns that changes are needed in agriculture and food consumption around the world if future generations are to be adequately fed (photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT). A Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, which is an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture … Continue reading »

Agriculture / Article / Climate Change / Drylands / East Africa / Kenya / Livelihoods / LivestockFutures / PA / Pastoralism / PLE / Vulnerability / Women

Women playing key role in pastoralist livelihood diversification

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Maasai women in Kenya. Women are playing a key role in pastoralists’ diversification (picture credit: Konrad Glogowski on Flickr).  A feature story carried by IRIN this week highlights how women are playing an increasingly important role in pastoralist livelihoods diversification in Kenya. ‘Along a small seasonal stream in Ewaso Nyiro village in Narok, southwestern Kenya, Leleseina … Continue reading »

Agriculture / CRP5 / Food security / Launch / Water

Worldwide research initiative launched to tackle global crises in water, food and the environment

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Today, at the Planet Under Pressure conference in London, an ambitious new research program was launched by the world’s largest consortium of agricultural researchers. It aims to address some of the world’s most pressing problems related to boosting food production and improving livelihoods, whilst simultaneously protecting the environment. The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land … Continue reading »

Agriculture / Bangladesh / Dairying / East Africa / India / Kenya / South Asia / Value Chains

Scaling sustainable and equitable agri-food and livestock value chains

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In April 2012, the ‘Seas of Change’ international learning workshop will be held in the Netherlands.To help guide the workshop, the organizers of the initiative have collated a number of case studies pointing to successes in scaling inclusive agri-food market development. Several livestock and dairy examples are included in the case studies: Bangladesh, dairy and livestock … Continue reading »

Canada / CRP4 / East Africa / Epidemiology / Event report / Farming Systems / Food security / Geodata / ICT / Livestock / Poultry / Seeds / Uganda

New consortium to investigate environmental changes spreading diseases between animals and people in Africa

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Malawi crop-and-livestock farmer (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). One of the drivers of disease in Africa, a continent with a particularly heavy disease burden, are environmental changes that help to spread infectious pathogens between animals (both wild and domestic) and people. That is why the start of a new research program, in which the International Livestock … Continue reading »

Africa / Directorate / Drylands / Environment / ILRI / PA / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Livestock herding and resource management: Good (natural, rangeland) bedfellows

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Livestock herding in Niger (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). Pastoralism—herding cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminant animals to find new grazing grounds—should be recognized as a key sector in resource management, said experts meeting at a Brussels Development Briefing on Pastoralism held on 22 Feb 2012. ‘Recurring drought and land disputes have recently placed nomadic pastoralists … Continue reading »

Africa / Agriculture / Climate Change / Food security / Opinion piece / PA / Rwanda

Can smallholder farmers take a leading role in addressing the twin challenges of food security and environmental sustainability?

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A farmer in Himachal Pradesh, India. Smallholder farmers can contribute to the search for climate solutions (photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT). Paul Kagame, the president of the Republic of Rwanda, says experience from that country shows that smallholder farmers can contribute to the search for climate-smart solutions and climate talks should bring smallholder agriculture into the … Continue reading »

Africa / Animal Production / East Africa / Kenya / Livestock / Markets / Pastoralism / Value Chains

Learning route on innovative livestock marketing in Kenya

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Participants in a ‘learning route’ on Innovative Livestock Marketing just completed their trip through Kenya. Organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the PROCASUR Corporation, the route is a participatory practitioner-to-practitioner training to increase awareness about channels and strategies to diversify livestock production and marketing. Read stories from the route … How … Continue reading »

Climate Change / CRP7 / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food security / ILRI / Kenya / LivestockFutures / Opinion piece / PA

Are ILRI warnings of continued maize failure in Kenya’s drylands coming true?

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Maize plants in Kenya (photo on Flickr by Vanessa Meadu). ‘There has been a lot of talk, research, and policy documents on climate change and what this portends for the country’s food and even national security. ‘However, not much has been done on the ground to mitigate the effects of climate variability despite the knowledge. … Continue reading »