‘. . . [T]he UK’s Royal Society has published detailed study of how the world will look when it is 4 °C warmer. . . . ‘Most of sub-Saharan Africa will see shorter growing seasons, according to Philip Thornton of the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, and colleagues. As a result, average maize … Continue reading
Author Archives: Susan MacMillan
Connecting the dots at Cancun
Delegates arrive at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen, Denmark, one year ago, in December 2009 (photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT). Kenyan environmentalist, tree planter and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai writes in the Guardian today that the latest meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16), being held … Continue reading
Africa / CCAFS / Climate Change / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / ILRI
Climate change scientists warn of 4-degree global temperature rise
Dryland in Marsabit District, northern Kenya; 80 per cent of Kenya’s lands are dry or semi-dry; some of these drylands are predicted to get drier still in this century as a result of climate change (photo credit: ILRI/Mude). Philip Thornton, an agricultural systems analyst with the International Livestock Research Institute, is quoted in the Guardian … Continue reading
Africa / Central Africa / Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Rwanda
World Bank group supports ILRI livestock insurance project in northern, pastoral Kenya
ILRI is working with insurance companies to train livestock herders in Kenya’s northern drylands in the benefits and costs of a new index-based livestock insurance first made available in Marsabit District in 2010 (photo credit: ILRI/Mude). ‘IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today signed agreements with three partners to expand access to insurance … Continue reading
UN meeting gives developing countries incentives for protecting their biodiversity
‘A mandate created by the 193 participating nations, of which the United States is not a part, has ensured that countries will now have full jurisdiction over their genetic resources, and the resulting profits. ‘Countries will be able to collect compensation or royalties on any product made from a genetic resource within their borders. ‘This … Continue reading
Africa / Asia / CCAFS / Climate Change / Latin America
Poor countries need more support to adapt to climate change
Preparing land for sowing seeds in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). ‘A report published Wednesday [17 November 2010] says developed nations are not fulfilling the financial promises they made at a United Nations conference last year aimed at helping poor countries deal with climate change. ‘At a U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen last … Continue reading
Animal Feeding / Asia / Crop residues / India / South Asia
India’s new sorghum varieties feed animals as well as people
‘Throughout the tropics, a lack of feed keeps farm animals underweight and underproductive, thereby preventing some 600 million poor farmers and herders from meeting fast-rising global demand for milk and meat. But thanks to a partnership between India’s National Research Centre for Sorghum (NRCS), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and … Continue reading
Soldiers of misfortune (or ‘the dark side of virtue’)
In a recent article in the New Yorker, writer Philip Gourevitch asks: Can you provide humanitarian aid without facilitating conflicts? He and the author of the book he is reviewing, The Crisis Caravan: What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?, by Dutch journalist Linda Polman, think not. This book review should be mandatory reading by all who enter … Continue reading
Africa / Asia / CCAFS / Climate Change / Research / South Asia
New scientific body to address ‘Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security’
Sahelian sheep look for food before the mosque at Djenne, in Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). A new research program on ‘Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security’ (CCAFS) was launched this week. It will link much of the best climate-related agricultural research for development work going on at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and 14 … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Feeding / Asia / Fodder / Forages / India / Innovation Systems / Insurance / Livestock Systems / Nigeria / South Asia / West Africa
Improving smallholder fodder through better knowledge as well as technologies
Busy fodder market in Hyderabad, India; farmers transport their fodder to this market, where it is bought by urban dairies (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). The magazine Farming Matters ran a feature on a Fodder Innovation Project funded by the UK Department for International Development and conducted since 2003 by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 