Educated third-world girls will be healthier and will improve lives of others to create economic change, report says Jessica Leeder Unlocking the economic potential of hundreds of millions of girls and young women in the developing world through education and investment will make a major dent in global poverty, according to a new report released … Continue reading
Author Archives: ILRI Communications
Fertilizers may not help crops of poorest African farmers
Researchers have linked poverty in sub-Saharan Africa with poor soil health, but two new Cornell studies find that the recommended practice of applying more fertilizer may not help the poorest farmers. Two new studies by Chris Barrett, the Steven B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell, and Paswel Marenya, … Continue reading
Drought / Kenya / Livelihoods
Drought wipes out Kenyan pastoralists’ livelihood
Garrisa town is the headquarters of North Eastern Province, Kenya, the heart beat of Kenya’s pastoralists’ community who are crying lot following the worst country’s’ drought in decades. Livestock among the pastoralists accounts for more than 70 per cent of household income that means they source more than half their food from the market since … Continue reading
Can Nike and Wal-Mart save the Amazon?
An ambitious commitment by some of the world’s largest companies not to buy beef or leather products from the Brazilian Amazon may falter if a strong monitoring system isn’t put in place. Sao Paulo, Brazil – A recent decision by a group of multinational companies that include Nike, Adidas, and Timberland to boycott beef and … Continue reading
The last nomads: Drought drives Kenya’s herders to the brink
In the isolated border lands between Kenya and Somalia, families have always clung to a precarious existence. Now a decade of droughts has tested their endurance Hawa Hassan comes leading three donkeys, accompanied by two female relatives and a handful of the family’s smallest children. They have walked out of the drought-withered acacia scrub, travelling … Continue reading
Kansas farmers attempt an Ethiopian staple
A new “it” grain is blooming in the fields of northwest Kansas. Teff has a ready-made market of Ethiopian expatriates hungering for a taste of home with virtually no supply of the grain for their beloved injera bread. Teff packs more protein per pound than wheat. And because it produces gluten-free flour, it could open … Continue reading
Kenya missing as Obama listens to Africa’s needs
Several African leaders briefed President Barack Obama about their countries’ needs at a luncheon on Tuesday from which Kenya was excluded. Prime Minister Raila Odinga was initially invited to attend the event at New York’s posh Waldorf Astoria Hotel, but was subsequently disinvited by the US State Department. The heads of State of two of … Continue reading
Herders hard hit as skies refuse to open up
When Mzee Tompo ole Ngolia drove his emaciated animals to Mt Kenya forest in June, he hoped the desperate move would save them. But for three months, he has watched in anguish as one animal after another succumbs to diseases associated with the harsh climate in the region. When he arrived at Gathiuru forest with … Continue reading
Roster of experts on pro-poor livestock development
The Community of Practice for Pro-poor Livestock Development (CoP-PPLD) is an on-line sharing network for practitioners, managers, researchers and other actors involved in pro-poor livestock development that want to exchange experiences, innovative approaches, best/next practices and other knowledge (including tacit) for the CoP-PPLD’s mutual learning. It is building an Online Roster of professionals with extensive … Continue reading
Africa / East Africa / Ethiopia / Innovation Systems / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / Pastoralism
Pastoral innovation systems: Perspectives from Ethiopia and Kenya
Ian Scoones and Andrew Adwera of the Future Agricultures Consortium report from a March 2009 meeting of over 50 pastoralists from across southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Gathered in the Borana lowlands at the ‘University of the Bush,’ they debated key pastoral development issues and the question of innovation in pastoral systems. Meeting in several languages, participants … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 