Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Latin America

Round-up of first news clippings on ILRI-CCAFS ‘hotspots’ of climate change and food insecurity study

Below is a round-up of some of the first news clippings generated by the 3 June 2011 launch of an ILRI-CCAFS report, Mapping hotspots of climate change and food insecurity in the global tropics, by Polly Ericksen, Philip Thornton, An Notenbaert, L Cramer, Peter Jones and Mario Herrero 2011. CCAFS Report no. 5 (advance copy). CGIAR Research Program … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Latin America

Time Magazine and CGIAR say small poor farms + big climate change = ‘A PERFECT STORM’

Time Magazine‘s Bryan Walsh reports this week on report and series of maps detailing where climate change and hunger are likely to intersect in future, with possibly devastating results unless the world’s agricultural researchers manage to help small-scale farmers ‘climate-proof’ their crops and livestock in the coming (drying, flooding) decades. The study was led by scientists … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Burkina Faso / Caribbean / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Latin America / Mali / Niger / South Africa

Climate change threatens ability of the poorest people to feed themselves

Number of malnourished children per square km, from the advance copy of ‘Mapping Hotspots of Climate Change and Food Insecurity in the Global Tropics,’ by ILRI scientists Polly Ericksen et al., published on 3 June 2011 (map credit: ILRI/CCAFS). The BBC reports on a new study saying that some areas in the tropics face famine … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Latin America

Guardian blogs about ILRI-CCAFS ‘hotspots’ study

The Guardian‘s Poverty Matters Blog writes today of a research study launched today that indicates that climate change in the tropics poses a food threat to the world’s poor. Blog writer John Vidal cites the report, developed by scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / Climate Change / Epidemiology / Farming Systems / Laos / Latin America / NRM / WLE

Invest in small-scale ‘renewable’ farming: Good for the poor and good for the planet

A homestead in Thachock Village, Laos (photo credit: Flickr photostream of MAG [Mines Advisory Group]). . . . [P]olicy-makers think they have to choose between feeding the world and protecting the environment—a straight choice. Does it have to be this way? No. To the contrary—we can and must achieve both, or we will fail on … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Ethiopia / Extension / ILRI / Innovation Systems / IPMS / Livestock / Markets / Value Chains

Market-oriented agricultural development central to Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan

Speech by Edmalem Shetaye on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture at the opening of the IPMS experience-sharing workshop held at ILRI on 2 and 3 June 2011. Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a privilege and honor to welcome you all to this workshop entitles ‘Market-oriented smallholder Development in support of the … Continue reading

Agriculture / Biodiversity / Indigenous Breeds / Seeds

‘Farms are not museums’–Cary Fowler

In the forage genebank on the Addis Ababa campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust (left), and Jean Hanson (middle), a geneticist who headed ILRI forage diversity work for two decades and now consults for ILRI, and a member of ILRI’s forage diversity team … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / Latin America / USA

‘Helping farmers become self-sufficient is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty and hunger’–Gates and Shah

Fatima Kagenda, 53-year-old maize, potato and cassava farmer, as well as dressmaker and church treasurer, in the village of Khulungira, in central  Malawi, with hoe, crutches and knitting (photo credit: ILRI/CGIAR/Mann). The international development website Devex reports this week that billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Rwanda / Uganda

Constraints to the use of artificial insemination services for dairying in East Africa

This brief from the East Africa Dairy Development Project highlights key results of a baseline survey to analyze the level of preference for and use of artificial insemination (AI) in different project sites, and identifying constraints or problems hindering the optimal use of the service and possible solutions. Download the paper The East Africa Dairy … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Animal Products / Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Rwanda / Uganda

Livestock disease challenges and gaps in the delivery of animal health services in East Africa

This brief from the East Africa Dairy Development Project highlights key results of a baseline survey to assess gaps in the delivery of animal health services in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Specifically, the survey assessed the main animal health problems; preventive and curative measures used to control animal diseases; livestock farmers’ access to veterinary and … Continue reading