Better livestock policies in Africa offer a pathway out of poverty
Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Article / Breeds / Cattle / Indigenous Breeds / Intensification / Kenya / Policy / Poverty / Pro-Poor Livestock

Better livestock policies in Africa offer a pathway out of poverty

Boran cattle in Yabello, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/ Camille Hanotte). By Thumbi Mwangi, Washington State University A majority of rural households in Africa keep different livestock species. But only a small proportion can afford to keep good quality livestock. This is mainly due to a combination of low government funding and the poor policies of external … Continue reading

AGRF session on transforming dairy value chains in Africa: Pathways to prosperity
Africa / Animal Health / Animal Production / Dairying / Event / Kenya / LIVESTOCKFISH / Markets / PIL / Vaccines / Value Chains

AGRF session on transforming dairy value chains in Africa: Pathways to prosperity

Originally posted on ILRI policies, instititions and livelihoods program:
On 8 September 2016, the International Livestock Research Institute and partners hold a working session at the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum on transforming dairy value chains in Africa: Pathways to prosperity. Speakers from ILRI, GALVmed, Land O’Lakes and Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries…

Food prize puts Kenyan researcher on global map—Kenya’s ‘Business Daily’ newspaper
Article / Award / Communications / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Resilience / SLS / Staff / USA / Vulnerability

Food prize puts Kenyan researcher on global map—Kenya’s ‘Business Daily’ newspaper

Even with the Tuesday announcement that he had won the award, Andrew Mude, who holds a doctorate in economics, remains a modest man committed to resolving the dilemma that pastoral communities, especially in northern Kenya, have endured for decades. When he was named winner of the 2016 World Food Prize’s Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application this week, he could barely hold back his emotions, as the reality of his achievement hit home. Continue reading

Breaking the devastating impacts of drought in the Horn of Africa—Kenyan wins global agricultural research award
Article / Award / CCAFS / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Staff / Vulnerability

Breaking the devastating impacts of drought in the Horn of Africa—Kenyan wins global agricultural research award

Kenyan scientist Andrew Mude won the 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application on Tuesday for developing livestock insurance, using state-of-the-art technologies, for herders in East Africa’s drylands. Continue reading

Greenhouse gas emissions from African cattle excreta less than estimated
Article / Cattle / CCAFS / Climate Change / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Mazingira / SLS

Greenhouse gas emissions from African cattle excreta less than estimated

Using the state-of-the-art laboratory established in 2015 in Nairobi called the Mazingira Center, scientists are measuring greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in Africa, key to improving the accuracy of emissions data for both national reporting and mitigation. Already, scientists found that Tier 1 emission factors established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) overestimate both methane and nitrous oxide emissions from cattle excreta, given typical smallhoder practices in Eastern Africa. Continue reading

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Animal Production / AVCD / Dairying / Disease Control / ECF / Kenya / LIVESTOCKFISH / PIL / Project / Vaccines / Value Chains

Protecting cattle against East Coast fever to boost dairy production in western Kenya

Since early 2016, AVCD dairy has been working to facilitate farmers’ awareness on the availability and access to ECF vaccines. ILRI has partnered with the county government to expand the distributional reach of the vaccine and improve vaccine delivery. Continue reading

Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Animal Products / AVCD / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Kenya / Livelihoods / LIVESTOCKFISH / PIL / Project / Value Chains

Easing bottlenecks to uptake of dairy farming in western Kenya

Through the recently launched Feed the Future Kenya Accelerating Value Chain Development (AVCD) Program, ILRI has partnered with county governments and other actors to promote dairy production in western Kenya. Continue reading