On 6 November 2009 the World Bank released its World Development Report 2009: ‘Reshaping Economic Geography’. See: http://bit.ly/HHDHS (The world bank) Continue reading
Author Archives: ILRI Communications
Drought / East Africa / Markets / Nutrition / Pastoralism
Drought: Kenya’s own banking crisis
The drought which has hit East Africa is wreaking havoc among the region’s pastoralists. Their herds of livestock have been decimated. Even the hardy camels are dying. Turkana District in northwest Kenya is a harsh environment at the best of times. Driving along the sandy roads with temperatures tipping 40C, the air coming through the … Continue reading
Foot and mouth disease not such a big deal—in Namibia
Farmers in nothern Namibia are kept from accessing international markets because of an irrational fear surrounding foot and mouth disease (FMD), said Dr Gavin Thomson, representative of the SADC FMD project in Botswana. Speaking at the 46th annual Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO) Congress, Thomson said foot and mouth disease is a manufactured plague. Read more: (Namibia … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Diseases / Cattle / East Africa / ECF / Livestock / Tanzania
Fighting East Coast Fever in cattle in Tanzania
Thousands of Tanzanian families could be saved from poverty thanks to a much-needed vaccine being mass-produced in a bid to protect cattle from the deadly East Coast fever. East Coast Fever is a tick-transmitted disease that kills one cow every 30 seconds with one million a year dying of the disease in Africa. Calves are … Continue reading
GCARD summary of Africa e-consultation available
The Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) has posted the results of a summary of an e-consultation on the future of agricultural research in Africa. Four regional e-consultations were conducted in preparation for a 28-31 March 2010 physical meeting in Montpellier, France. The summary of the African e-consultation, organized and summarized by the … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Diseases / Cattle / ECF / Tanzania
Tanzanian cattle to be protected from killer disease
THOUSANDS of Tanzanian families could be saved from destitution thanks to a much-needed vaccine being mass-produced in a bid to protect cattle from the deadly East Coast fever. This is a tick-transmitted disease that kills one cow every 30 seconds with one million a year dying of the disease in Africa. Calves are particularly susceptible … Continue reading
Drought / East Africa / Food Security / Kenya
A profile of what could become the country’s irreversible tragedy
A profile of what could become the country’s irreversible tragedy Kenya’s worst drought in living memory has been overshadowed by political and economic crises and the destruction of the Mau Forest. Now, with 10 million people short of food, the drought has captured national attention. Read more (Daily Nation) Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Cattle / East Africa / ECF / ILRI / Livestock / Tanzania
Firm takes private route to fight cattle deaths
A private charity has renewed the fight against cattle deaths with the introduction of a new distribution channel for vaccine in the Kenyan market. Commercialisation of the vaccine is targeted at combating East Coast Fever, a livestock disease that kills millions of animals every year. “We are exploring ways of transferring the production and distribution … Continue reading
Drought / East Africa / Environment / Kenya
A catastrophe is looming
The drought cycle in east Africa has been contracting sharply. Rains used to fail every nine or ten years. Then the cycle seemed to go down to five years. Now, it seems, the region faces drought every two or three years. The production of Kenyan maize, the country’s staple, is likely to drop by one-third, … Continue reading
Greenhouse revolution: New farming methods take suburbs by storm
…David Nkedianye, a researcher at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kabete, said greenhouses are threatening to edge the pastroalists out of their traditional lands. “The water issue is a very controversial one. How do you extract so much water for greenhouse agriculture in an arid area where one of the key concerns is … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 