As an Indian (I underline Indian) environmentalist I would not advocate vegetarianism for the following reasons. Continue reading
Author Archives: Susan MacMillan
Local wars and bad water—the real killers threatening 20 million people in not 1 but 4 drought-hit countries
For the first time since anyone can remember, there is a very real possibility of four famines—in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen—breaking out at once, endangering more than 20 million lives. Continue reading
Bacteria pose bigger risk than chemical contamination of Vietnamese pork—New research
‘Forty eight out of 108 (44 per cent) cut pork meat samples collected at wet markets in Hưng Yên Province were found to contain the disease-causing bacteria Salmonella. . . .
‘The researchers determined that the probability of pork eaters in northern Hưng Yên Province becoming ill with salmonellosis from consuming infected pork in a given year is 18 per cent. . . .. However, this risk can be avoided,” Nguyễn Việt Hùng, representative for East and Southeast Asia and a senior scientist in eco-health and food safety at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) told Việt Nam News. Continue reading
‘Leakey pipeline’ for women scientists stands the test of time
The report by the publisher Elsevier found that despite their moderate advances, women still published fewer articles than men, and were much less likely to be listed as first or last authors on a paper. Citation rates, however, were roughly equal: although female authors were cited slightly less than male authors, work authored by women was downloaded at slightly higher rates. Continue reading
New analysis reports we don’t need to double world food production by 2050
Do we really need to double food production? In an analysis published in BioScience, my coauthors and I offer a recalibrated vision of sustainable intensification. We conclude that food production does not need to double by 2050, which would require unprecedented growth, but instead needs to continue increasing at roughly historical rates. . . . Continue reading
No exit strategy: More than 100 Somali’s, mostly young and old, have died of hunger and disease
More than one hundred vulnerable people of the South—most of them old and young—have died from lack of food and water-borne diseases in a 48-hour period in the rural Bay administrative region of southwestern Somalia. This hot and semi-arid southern region is devastated by drought as well as by the operations of a militant Islamist group known as Al-Shabaab. Continue reading
Kenya’s leading role in ‘One Health’ strategies controlling diseases transmitted between animals and people
‘Prof Eric Fèvre, a researcher of veterinary infectious diseases at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi told the Business Daily the close interaction between people and animals worsened the situation. Continue reading
Transforming pastoral pursuits into profitable livestock enterprises in southern Africa
At the Ezwilini Conference, experts were trying to find ways to unlock the livestock value chain, finances and access to credit for rural farmers. They probed issues to do with improving the livelihoods of livestock smallholder farmers and other value chain actors through value addition and marketing. Continue reading
New USAID grant to asses projects aiming to reduce poverty and the need for food aid in Kenya’s drylands
A new grant funds a project, recently launched by UC Davis researchers in northern Kenya, that will use a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of combining programs that offer training, support and aid with affordable insurance to reduce chronic poverty.
The new project is led by Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UCD, and Andrew Mude from the International Livestock Research Institute, or ILRI, in Kenya. The researchers hope the project will help create a pathway out of poverty and reduce the need for aid, which Kenya’s government provides each year, even without drought. Continue reading
CGIAR integrated systems research for sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong—New book
The CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics) was an agricultural research for development program that aimed for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems to improve the livelihoods of farm households. The Central Mekong Action Area was primarily focused on the complex of rice and non-rice farming systems (plus areas with other land uses) in the non-flood-prone lowlands, uplands and highlands. The Action Area covered six countries (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Continue reading