A4NH / Canada / East Africa / Epidemiology / Event report / Farming Systems / Food Security / Geodata / ICT / Livestock / Poultry / RVF / Seeds / Uganda / Zambia / Zimbabwe

New consortium to investigate environmental changes spreading diseases between animals and people in Africa

Malawi crop-and-livestock farmer (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). One of the drivers of disease in Africa, a continent with a particularly heavy disease burden, are environmental changes that help to spread infectious pathogens between animals (both wild and domestic) and people. That is why the start of a new research program, in which the International Livestock … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Production / Canada / Capacity Strengthening / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Markets / Project / Value Chains

Canadian parliamentarians see how markets work for Ethiopian farmers

Members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association on their visit to Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet). On 10–11 October 2011, six members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association (4 parliamentarians and 2 senators) visited Ethiopia. At the request of the Canadian Embassy, the CIDA-funded IPMS project at ILRI organized a field visit to Ada’a District—one of the project’s … Continue reading

Animal Breeding / Biotechnology / Canada / Environment / Fish / Food Security / North America / Pigs / Research

Eco-friendly GM pigs under development in Ontario

Min piglets at the experimental station at the Institute for Animal Science, in Beijing, China (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). Jeremy Cooke of the BBC reports in this video on a genetically modified pig, dubbed ‘Enviro-Pig’, being developed in Ontario that may be among the first of GM farm animals developed for human consumption. (Salmon genetically modified … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / BecA / Biotechnology / Canada / Capacity Strengthening / Central Africa / Directorate / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Research

Kenya President Mwai Kibaki officially opens state-of-the-art biosciences facilities at ILRI’s Nairobi campus

(Left to right): Knut Hove, chairman of the board of trustees of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); Carlos Seré, director general of ILRI; His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki; Bruce Scott, director of Partnerships and Communications at ILRI; Segenet Kelemu, director of the BecA Hub; and Gertrude Ngeleshi, training officer at ILRI, await the President … Continue reading

Canada / Cattle / Climate Change / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / USA

Kenya to use satellites to fight climate change

Satellite-based insurance for livestock has been developed in Kenya to measure the country’s “greenness,” safeguarding herders against droughts and other effects of climate change. Slated to begin in early 2010, Kenya will be the first developing nation to set up a satellite insurance mechanism. Specialists will study satellite images measuring the greenness of vegetation in … Continue reading