Biotechnology / Food security / Livelihoods / Research / Agriculture / PA / Nutrition (human) / USA / Policy / Presentation

‘Nothing improves an economy as efficiently as agriculture’–Bill Gates to US Senate

Bill Gates visits a site of the East African Dairy Development project, which is funded by his foundation; researchers based in Nairobi at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), a CGIAR centre, provide technical and other backstopping to this project, which is led by Heifer International (USA) (photo on Flickr by EADD). ‘Investing in agriculture … Continue reading »

Climate Change / Event / Food security / Nutrition (human) / PA

Hunger-nutrition-climate: Can the ‘centre’ hold? Is ‘climate-smart’ agriculture the answer?

Rain clouds over a farming village near Iringa, Tanzania (photo on Flickr by United Nations /Wolff.) A Hunger-Nutrition-Climate Justice Conference is in its second day of deliberations today (16 Apr) in Dublin. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, head of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), in southern Africa, and chair of the board of … Continue reading »

Agri-Health / Article / CRP4 / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Food Safety / Health (human) / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / MarketOpps / Nutrition (human) / PA / Policy / Report / Zoonotic Diseases

Keeping cows in the city, chickens under the bed: ‘The Atlantic’ magazine explores Africa’s urbanization

Butcher shop in a slum in Kawangare, Nairobi, Kenya (picture on Flickr by Brad Ruggles). It’s not only people who are rapidly urbanizing in Africa: people migrating from rural areas are bringing their livelihoods with them, which in Africa largely means their cattle, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs. A scientific report from researchers based in … Continue reading »

Article / Event / Film and video / Food security / Ghana / Health (human) / Nutrition (human) / PA / USA / West Africa / Women

Got milk? (or meat or eggs)? The missing ingredients in global nutritional security

Hidden Hunger from Bob Caputo on Vimeo. Watch this handsomely made film (with superb writing as well as videography), produced in 2010 by National Geographic‘s Bob Caputo (run-time: 26 minutes). ‘Malnutrition does not make headlines the way famine does. But it is far more widespread and deadly. Globally, it affects more than a billion people. It is … Continue reading »

Africa / Australia / BecA / Directorate / Event / Food security / ILRI / Nutrition (human) / PA / Presentation

Livestock for Africa’s food security: Sydney launch of Australian International Food Security Centre

Cattle in Africa (photo on Flickr by Jeff Haskins). Last November (2012), Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), took part in a conference, Food Security in Africa: Bridging Research and Practice, held in Sydney, Australia, to launch the Australian International Food Security Centre (AIFSC). At the conference, the AIFSC announced an … Continue reading »

Dairying / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food security / Health (human) / Nutrition (human) / PA / Pastoralism / Report / Vulnerability

Dry-season milk supplies to pastoral children improves their nutrition, development and health

Fresh camel milk from Somali youths (photo on Flickr by G A Hussein). The Feinstein International Center, at Tufts University (USA), has published a report of a study on the impact of dry-season livestock support on milk supply and child nutrition in Somali Region, Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s Somali Region is the easternmost of Ethiopia’s 9 ethnically … Continue reading »

Agriculture / Ethiopia / Food security / Ghana / Nutrition (human) / PA / Presentation / Tanzania

President Obama: Sustaining commitments, speeding things up, for African food security

Last week at the 2012 G8 Summit in the USA, Oxfam International asked world leaders to join smallholder farmers and developing countries to fight hunger by delivering on their previous pledges and recommitting for the future by joining its Grow Campaign (image credit: Oxfam International). Last week, on 18 May and the eve of the 2012 … Continue reading »

Africa / BecA / Food security / HIV-AIDS / ILRI / Nutrition (human) / PA / South America / Tanzania

Guinea pigs for African tables? A ‘Cavy Innovation Platform’ is set up in Cameroon

Cavies (aka guinea pigs) in a special pig pantry off the side of a kitchen in Peru (photo on Flickr by Emile Hardman/QuintanaRoo). Could guinea pigs be a new protein source in Africa? In a special report  on ‘Solutions for a hungry world’ by AlertNet, Emma Batha describes how the raising of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), also called … Continue reading »

Books and chapters / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Goats / Health (human) / Nutrition (human) / PA / Pastoralism / Small Ruminants / Uganda / Vulnerability

Milk matters are serious matters in northeastern Uganda

Karamojang woman and child in Kotido, Uganda (photo on Flickr by Courtney Chance). An interesting report on ‘milk matters’ has been produced by the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University, USA, in collaboration with Save the Children. It looks at milk in children’s diets and household livelihoods among the Karamojang, a pastoral tribe in northeastern … Continue reading »

Africa / Agri-Health / Asia / Consumption / CRP4 / Film and video / Food Safety / ILRI / MarketOpps / Nutrition (human) / PA / Project

Safe food, fair food: Making milk and meat safe and affordable for the world’s poor

Demand for milk and meat continues to rise in developing countries (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). The New Agriculturist recently reported on a Safe Food, Fair Food Project led by scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ‘Rising demand for livestock products is providing opportunities to improve the livelihoods of smallscale livestock farmers across Africa. … Continue reading »