Flawed global food systems–not drought–cause of African famines

Posted on 30 Jan 2012 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Foods of Khulungira Village, in central Malawi (clockwise from top left): nsima (maize meal porridge), kachewere wophika (boiled potatoes), nkhuku yophika (chicken stew), nkhwani ndi phwetekere (pumpkin leaves with tomato), kachewere wokazinga (fried potatoes), and kholowa ndi phwetekere (sweetpotato leaves with tomato) (photo credit: CGIAR/Stevie Mann). All names in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language; translations by Christopher … Continue reading →

Benin / Burkina Faso / Burundi / Ethiopia / Mali / Mozambique / Niger / Report / Rwanda / Tanzania

Battle against global poverty making headway–United Nations

Posted on 8 Jul 2011 by Susan MacMillan • 1 Comment

Residents of Barack Obama’s families village of Kogelo, Kenya, celebrate his inauguration (photo by Zoriah on Flickr). The United Nations reports that the war against poverty is progressing well in some places. ‘Some of the world’s poorest countries have made impressive gains in the fight against poverty, but the least developed countries still lag in … Continue reading →

Africa / East Africa / Film and video / ILRI / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Niger / PIM / Policy / Project / Research / Tanzania / Uganda / West Africa

Improving livestock data in Africa–Policy perspectives

Posted on 29 Jun 2011 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

The ‘Livestock Data Innovation Project’ is a three-year project to pilot and develop ways to identify, collect and analyze livestock data in three countries: Uganda, Tanzania and Niger. In its second year, representatives of several partners in the organization share their video perspectives on livestock data and its management. Here Kristin Grote from the Bill … 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

Posted on 4 Jun 2011 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

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 / Drought / East Africa / Environment / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Niger / Women

Could Acacia trees solve Africa’s hunger problems?

Posted on 31 Dec 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

Decades of food delivery and ‘miracle’ seeds haven’t addressed underlying causes of hunger. But new efforts to replicate Africa’s original ecosystems are generating impressive, sustainable results Faith-based aid groups in Africa have a long and mostly admirable history of working to alleviate hunger. Too often, however, faith groups have focused their relief solely on food … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Directorate / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / Mozambique / Niger / South Asia

Backing smallholder farmers today could avert food crises tomorrow

Posted on 14 Oct 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

The Guardian‘s Poverty Matters blog today (14 October 2010) published the following opinion piece by Carlos Seré, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ‘Agribusiness investment would not only transform the lives of farmers in south Asia and Africa, but boost global food security. ‘As food riots continue in Mozambique and food crises … Continue reading →

Chad / Food Security / Mali / Niger / West Africa

Food crisis in the Sahel: unlearned lessons?

Posted on 3 Aug 2010 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Women and livestock in a village in Niger (ILRI / Mann) What happens when the last of last year’s grain harvest runs out and the last animal is sold to buy emergency grain? ‘A catastrophe is about to unfold for millions of the world’s poorest people. It happened five years ago, and this time the … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Drought / Livestock / Niger / West Africa

Niger: Forced to sell cattle for a handful of dollars

Posted on 12 Jul 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Nigeriens are likely to take years to recover from selling their weakened livestock at a fraction of its normal value due to drought in the Sahel region. The drought threatens almost 70 percent of herds, according to rough estimates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “It can take up to 10 years … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Drought / Food Security / Livestock / Niger / Pastoralism / West Africa

Millions face hunger in arid belt of Africa

Posted on 1 Jun 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

At this time of year, the Gadabeji Reserve in Niger should be refuge for the nomadic tribes who travel across a moonscape on the edge of the Sahara to graze their cattle. But the grass is meager after a drought killed off the last year’s crops. Now the cattle are too weak to stand and … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Feeding / Fodder / Livestock / Niger / West Africa

Niger: Livestock herders plan ahead

Posted on 6 Apr 2010 by Dorine Adhoch • Leave a comment

HAMDALLAYE, Niger, Mar 31, 2010 (IPS) – The cows Djibo Hama looks after belong to someone else, but he is diligent. Anticipating a severe shortage of good grazing in 2010, he secured cattle feed for the 35 that remain. “I have purchased a large quantity of feed for my cattle, with the proceeds from selling … Continue reading →