January’s Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) was the venue for a panel session on sustainable livestock organized as part of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock. The session was run as a facilitated discussion, engaging both a panel of five experts and the 80 or so participants attending. Following panelist interventions, the discussion … Continue reading
Author Archives: Peter Ballantyne (ILRI)
ASSP / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / PIL / Policy / Report / Research
Innovation platforms to shape national policies in agriculture
Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. This second brief explains and illustrates ways that innovation platforms contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies. Continue reading
ASSP / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Report / Research
What are innovation platforms in agricultural research?
Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. This first brief explains what innovation platforms are and how they work, and it describes some of their advantages and limitations. Continue reading
Animal Feeding / Article / ASSP / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / Feeds / LIVESTOCKFISH / South Asia
Field Crops Research special issue on dual-purpose maize for food and feed
The inability of livestock keepers to feed their animals adequately throughout the year remains the major technical constraint in most livestock systems, particularly in smallholder systems in emerging countries. Meeting the demand for meat and milk in a way that poor livestock keepers benefit more from their animal assets will require sustainable production of more … Continue reading
Mainstreaming livestock value chains: Conference to discuss bridging research gaps between households and policies
Research into developing country livestock systems is primarily micro-economic and sectoral with limited interaction with formal multi-market and macro-economic models. This results in analysis and advocacy that are frequently not linked to broader formal policy models nor to the workings of public policy and the international trading environment. On 5 and 6 November 2013, the … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Production / Event / Kenya / Livestock
Africa’s animal agriculture focus of All Africa livestock conference
Nairobi, 27-30 October 2014 hosts the 6th All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture. The theme of the conference, ‘Africa’s Animal Agriculture: Macro-trends and future opportunities’ will be addressed in several sessions: Future of smallholder livestock systems in Africa Market access: domestic and regional trade for livestock and their products Market access: high value international markets … Continue reading
Genetics, genomics and gene modification: What does the future of animal production hold?
Professor David Hume of The Roslin Institute recently reflected on the challenge to meet global demand for animal products whilst at the same time reducing the overall environmental impact. Writing on the Global Food Security blog, he explains how productivity in the livestock sector has massively increased, ‘through a combination of genetic improvement and better … Continue reading
Agriculture / FTA / PIM / Value Chains
Guiding value chain development: Comparing approaches
Value chain development (VCD) is increasingly seen as a way to stimulate economic growth, combat rural poverty and engage smallholders in agricultural development. It aims to facilitate the building of mutually beneficial links between smallholders and other chain actors, such as processors, exporters and retailers, who interact in the production and marketing of a given product. … Continue reading
Extension and advisory services delivery models – examples needed
Farmers throughout the world benefit greatly from having access to extension and advisory services (EAS). The EAS landscape in most countries is diverse and typically described as “pluralistic”: not only are there many different types of providers (public sector, private for profit, NGOs and CSOs, farmer-based organizations , …) but also different models and approaches … Continue reading
E-conference to take stock and prioritize research on sustainable grasslands
Grasslands are versatile and multifunctional landscapes, providing a range of ecosystems goods and services for human benefit. To further develop grassland-based models, together with the broader spectrum of grasslands research interests, a stocktaking of the current state of grasslands knowledge is desperately needed. From 2-30 September 2013, FAO convenes an E-Conference on Sustainable Grasslands. One … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 