To harness genetic diversity to improve goat productivity in Africa, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is testing the open data kit (ODK) in Ethiopia as a tool to collect baseline data on production systems and phenotypic characterization of goats. It will also be tested in Cameroon. The project is led by the Biosciences eastern … Continue reading »
Overcoming the threats to agriculture and food security in a changing climate requires a strong scientific evidence base to both help smallholder farmers choose resilient strategies and to guide development policy and investments. Building on a Bioversity and CCAFS systematic review of the role of diversification in agricultural systems, the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research is … Continue reading »
Serengeti tree (photo credit: Jeff Haskins). ‘In the great plains of northern Tanzania, close to the world-famous Serengeti National Park, a bitter row has broken out over an attempt to designate 1,500sqkm of Loliondo District as a game-controlled area. ‘The Maasai herdsmen in the area say their cattle cannot survive without access to traditional dry-season … Continue reading »
Although livestock play a central role in rural development in West Africa, traditional livestock systems are in general characterized by high mortality rates, low reproductive rates and low offtake rates. Furthermore, the presence of trypanosome-infected tsetse flies in the subhumid and humid areas seriously holds back the potential for livestock production. The region’s endemic ruminant … Continue reading »
Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, is given a tour of the ILRI Forage Genebank, located in Addis Ababa, by its manager, Alexandra Jorge, in January 2013 (photo credit: ILRI\Zerihun Sewunet). The Global Crop Diversity Trust and the CGIAR Consortium have announced a new agreement which will bring financial stability to 11 international genebanks of … Continue reading »
Buffalo calf in Rajasthan, India (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). ‘Scientists are conducting intriguing — and counterintuitive — experiments at several sites in Germany: Bringing back long-lost herbivores, such as water buffalo, to encourage the spread of native plants that have fared poorly in Europe’s human-dominated landscape. ‘. . . Rössling is a project manager with … Continue reading »
Ethiopian woman churning butter the traditional way (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). A new study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations argues that to succeed, livestock breed conservation efforts must empower women. ‘Women livestock keepers worldwide must be recognized as the major actors in efforts to arrest the decline of indigenous breeds, … Continue reading »
This report on Sustainable management of globally significant endemic ruminant livestock in West Africa: Estimate of livestock demographic parameters in Senegal was released by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in August 2012. Authored by Maria Ejlertsen, Jane Poole and Karen Marshall, it describes the results of a 12-month survey to estimate livestock demographic parameters of endemic … Continue reading »
The wildlfie-rich rangelands of Kitengela, outside Nairobi, Kenya (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). Scientists at the Nairobi, Kenya, headquarters of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are this week hosting a regional inception workshop on a new CGIAR Research Program on dryland agriculture. Three livestock-based models likely to be discussed at this week’s dryland agriculture workshop … Continue reading »
Kenya safari (photo on Flickr by Shawna Nelles). ‘Afrikas Bevölkerung wächst rasch. Das bedroht einzigartige Ökosysteme. Sind Löwe, Gnu & Co. noch zu retten? ‘Doch außerhalb der Schutzgebiete, und das ist der größte Teil der Mara-Region, verschwinden die großen Wildtiere beängstigend rasch. Besonders betroffen sind die Büffel, Warzenschweine und Wasserböcke, Elen-, Topi- und Kongoni-Antilopen, Gnus, … Continue reading »
