Asia / China / Climate Change / Drylands / East Africa / Environment / Food security / ILRI / India / Kenya / LivestockFutures / PA / Pastoralism / Policy / Report / South Asia

Reframing the pastoral narrative: Ancient mobile herding strategies to make a comeback in a hotter world

Fulani boy in Niger herds his family’s animals (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). Mobility to unlock scattered food, feed, water and other scarce and scattered essential resources is a human strategy as old as humankind itself—and one that remains key for pastoral livestock herders the world over. As the world warms and its natural resources become ever scarcer, it would … Continue reading »

Africa / PA / Pro-Poor Livestock / Report / Research / South Asia

Huge scope for livestock sector to reduce world poverty–New research brief from Asia commission

Distribution (density) of poor livestock keepers based on the international US$2.00/day poverty line in 2010 (published in a research brief by J Otte and R Leslie, Animal Health and Production Commission for Asia and the Pacific [APHCA], Jan 2013). ‘. . . [A]mong largely agrarian economies, which are home to the majority of the world’s … Continue reading »

Event / ILRI / Intensification / MarketOpps / Markets / PA / Pakistan / Partnerships / South Asia / Value Chains

ILRI and Lahore livestock institute talk collaboration for development of Pakistan’s livestock sector

A farmer herds his cattle in Sindh Province, Pakistan. Some 30–35 million rural Pakistanis are engaged in livestock raising, with families typically keeping 2–3 cattle or water buffalo and 5–6 sheep or goats, which help them to generate 30–40% of their household income from livestock; find this and more recent information on Pakistan’s livestock sector here (photo … Continue reading »

Dairying / Drylands / Feeds / ILRI / Intensification / Launch / PA / Pakistan / Pastoralism / Project / Small Ruminants / South Asia

Four-year US$30-million Agricultural Innovation Project launched in Pakistan

A flock of Makhi Cheeni goats near Hasilpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (photo credit: ILRI/M Sajjad Khan). ‘The US Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) launched a new project to expand the use of modern technologies in Pakistan’s agriculture sector. ‘PARC Chairman Dr … Continue reading »

Animal Production / Animal Products / Buffalo / ILRI / India / Markets / PA / South Asia / Value Chains

Small-scale buffalo-keeping in India goes big time–With exports a quarter of world’s beef market

Buffalo in a village homestead in the Himalayan foothills of northern India (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). ‘Alas for the sacred cow: Beef exports from India are expected to surge 30 per cent this year, giving this country a quarter of the world market. ‘This is a good-news story in a lurching economy. Livestock industries, from eggs … Continue reading »

Climate Change / CRP7 / India / PA / South Asia

India fights curbs on livestock-generated greenhouse gas emissions at Doha

Girdhai Lal Jat herds his cattle through the village of Nagar, in Tonk District, Rajasthan, India, to water (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). ‘At the United Nations climate talks in Doha this week, India opposed any move that would require developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. ‘With an estimated 485 million cattle, goat, … Continue reading »

Buffalo / Cattle / Dairying / Directorate / Event report / ILRI / India / PA / South Asia

India’s livestock development trajectory ‘exemplary’–Not only huge in aggregate but also small in scale and sustainable in nature

 ILRI’s Sapna Jarial translates a speech delivered by a village council president on field visit in Haryana, India, on 4 Nov 2012, made by ILRI management and board (photo credit: ILRI/Nils Teufel). Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, a German livestock researcher and activist ‘for socially responsible and ecologically sustainable livestock development’, asks in a recent blog post, ‘Whose … Continue reading »

Crop-Livestock / Directorate / Event / ILRI / India / Markets / PA / Partnerships / PPR / South Asia

Lessons from India’s smallholder dairy successes can help developing world–ILRI’s Jimmy Smith

On 4 Nov 2012, an ILRI delegation of 28 visited the village of Araipura, in the Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana, where they held discussions with dairy farm families. The ILRI management team and board of trustees also visited the National Dairy Research Institute. (Photo credit: ILRI) ‘Operation Flood in Gujarat is … Continue reading »

Animal Feeding / Asia / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Event / Feeds / Fodder / Research / South Asia

Using crop by-products to intensify and sustain food production: Livestock live talk at ILRI on 26 September 2012

On  26 September 2012, animal nutritionist Michael Blümmel with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) presented an ‘livestock live talk’ on Using crop by-products to intensify and sustain food production at the ILRI campus in Nairobi. View the presentation:   ‘Livestock live talks’ is a seminar series at ILRI that aims to address livestock-related issues, mobilize … Continue reading »

Africa / Animal Production / Asia / CRP11 / Drylands / Event / Goats / ILRI / India / Innovation Systems / Knowledge & Information / Livestock / MarketOpps / Mozambique / South Asia / Southern Africa

Innovation platforms: Documenting experiences from the imGoats project and beyond

Innovation platforms are a complex and some would say a not-so-straightforward approach. Nevertheless, ILRI, other CGIAR centers and other partners are using this approach in various projects such as the Nile Basin Development Challenge, IMGoats and the recently-completed Fodder Adoption and Fodder Innovation projects. What are innovation platforms exactly? This poster gives some ideas.   … Continue reading »