A cow grazes in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region of Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Kettema Yilma). More than a thousand delegates are attending the International Grassland Congress in Sydney, Australia, this week, a meeting that only takes place every four years. Giving the opening keynote presentation on Mon 16 Sep 2013 was Jimmy Smith … Continue reading
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
I have just come back from Sapa, Vietnam, where I helped facilitate the launch meeting for the situational analysis of the CGIAR Humidtropics Research Program in northwest Vietnam. After the meeting, and to get a better idea of the situation of the farming systems we will be studying with our local research and development partners, I … Continue reading
On 15 and 16 August 2013 the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) organized the launch meeting for situational analysis work in northwest Vietnam of the CGIAR Humidtropics research program. Jo Cadilhon represented the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in the meeting and helped facilitate the process. He reports on the outcomes. Humidtropics aims to help poor farm families, … Continue reading
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
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative for the United Nations, is looking for feedback on their draft report ‘Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems’ from organizations, academics, researchers, civil society, the private sector, government officials and the general public. The SDSN’s Thematic Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems released a … Continue reading
A look back at ILRI’s blog coverage of the sixth Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), organized by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), and held in Accra, Ghana, 15-20 July 2013. Don’t underestimate the African farmer I am greatly impressed by what I see as I walk from booth to booth at the … Continue reading
Smallholder food producers in the developing world are most at risk of global warming. A World Bank report, Turn down the heat, released 19 Jun 2013, says Africa and Asia, home to most of the world’s poorest of the poor, will bear the brunt of widespread food shortages, unprecedented heat waves and more intense cyclones if … Continue reading
Entrance to FARA’s 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), in Accra, Ghana, 15-20 Jul 2013 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). The following remarks were noted by members of the delegation of 22 staff of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) who participated in the sixth Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW6), ‘Africa Feeding Africa’, organized by the … Continue reading
Oscypek, a ‘must taste’ when visiting Polish mountains, is the most famous cheese in Poland today; it is made from salted sheep milk, smoked and formed in traditional wooden forms (photo credit: Tom Karas/PolishFoodInfo.com). In 2011, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, a geochemist at the University of Bristol, UK, found signatures of abundant milk fats — evidence that early farmers, … Continue reading
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