Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Environment / Food Security / Kenya / Pastoralism / Presentation / Vulnerability

New presentations on pastoral issues in the Horn of Africa

The following three slide presentations were presented this August (2011) by scientists working at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya, on topics related to sustaining pastoral production systems in the Horn of Africa. In light of the drought ravaging Kenya’s north and the drylands of other countries of Africa’s Horn, the results … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Research for resilience: Helping the Horn’s food producers better absorb climate shocks

Lloyd Le Page (left), chief executive officer of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, and Namanga Ngongi, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, at a news briefing convened by the Consortium at the Nairobi campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on ‘Research options for mitigating drought-induced food crises’ … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Problems in the Horn of Africa ‘ought not to be’–KARI’s David Mwangi

Consortium media briefing held at ILRI on 1 Sep 2011 on drought in the Horn: Panelists from left to right, Jeff Hill, director of policy in the Bureau of Food Security at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); David Miano Mwangi, assistant director for animal production at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI); … Continue reading

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

East Africa can–and should–help livestock herders cope better with drought

Dasanech nomadic homes near Omorate, in southern Ethiopia (photo on Flickr by Carsten ten Brink). Cathy Majtenyi of Voice of America reported on meetings in Nairobi this week to look at options for mitigating drought-induced food shortages. They say pastoralism is the best land-use practice in the region’s drylands and are looking at ways to help … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

‘It’s not drought, but vulnerability to drought, that’s eroding food security in the Horn’–USAID’s Jeff Hill

Jeff Hill, Director of Policy at the Bureau of Food Security, at the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), speaks at a news briefing on ‘Research Options for Mitigating Drought-induced Food Crises,’ 1 Sep 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Samuel Mungai). Mark Tran reports in the Guardian‘s Poverty Matters Blog on yesterday’s meeting of experts on … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

‘The food crisis in the Horn is essentially a livestock crisis’–Lloyd Le Page, CEO of the CGIAR

Voice of America’s Cathy Majtenyi interviews CGIAR CEO Lloyd Le Page at the CGIAR News Briefing on ‘Research Options for Mitigating Drought-induced Food Crises,’ 1 Sep 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Katy Migiro summarizes on Alertnet four ways to prevent famine in the Horn of Africa raised by experts meeting at the opening in Kenya … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

News conference today on Horn’s food crises: Participate via a live video link and chat channel

The CGIAR Consortium is holding a live interactive panel today on challenges and solutions to the Food Crisis in the Horn of Africa. The Daily Kos also reports that Chris Funk, who leads a Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net), says that FEWS Net gave early warning of the drought-related hunger facing the Horn … Continue reading

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Mobile herding remains a productive and sustainable use of drylands

A Dinka cattle camp at sunset in Abyei, Sudan; the Sudanese Dinka people migrate north with 5,000 of their cattle from Warrap State to Abyei when floods hit their grazing area (photo on Flickr by UN/Tim McKulka). Migratory herding is one of the most productive uses of drylands, says the Kenyan newspaper the Daily Nation. The … Continue reading

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Report / Vulnerability

Free livestock movements and viable livestock markets help pastoralists cope with droughts in Horn

Watering camels in a makeshift trough on the road from Wajir to Garissa, in northeast Kenya; herders are taking advantage of the rains to water their livestock after a long period of drought (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). The New Agriculturist this month reports on a recent study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) … Continue reading

Drought / East Africa / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Food Security / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Where people are starving, and where they are not, reflects more on African leaders than on the climate–Mark Malloch-Brown

The landscape of Tigray, Ethiopia, which was the centre of famine in that country 25 years ago but is now managing to remain food secure due to years of agricultural and other investments (photo on Flickr by hhesterr). Mark Malloch-Brown is in good, and candid, form in an opinion piece in Reuters published yesterday. ‘. … Continue reading