Category Archives: Nigeria

The ‘big bet’ on chickens for Africa
ACGG / Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Article / Chickens / CTLGH / Ethiopia / Genetics / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Intensification / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Markets / Mozambique / Nigeria / Poultry / Tanzania

The ‘big bet’ on chickens for Africa

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The African Chicken Genetic Gains project is on a mission to bring ‘more productive chickens to African smallholders’. Led by ILRI, and backed by the deep pockets of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Chicken Genetic Gains project aims to improve the genetic makeup of African chickens. The initiative, which is initially being rolled out in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania, is part of what the Microsoft founder has called his ‘big bet’ on chickens, which also includes a promise to donate 100,000 of the birds to families and communities in the world’s poorest nations. . . . Continue reading →

If Africa learnt to feed its chickens, it could feed its people—Calestous Juma
ACGG / Africa / Animal Breeding / Article / Biodiversity / Breeds / Chickens / Ethiopia / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / Nigeria / Poultry / Tanzania

If Africa learnt to feed its chickens, it could feed its people—Calestous Juma

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‘Africa, which imports nearly 83% of the food it consumes, has a real chicken and egg problem. The continent is caught between pressure from imports in some countries and an inability to meet demand in others.’ Article by Calestous Juma republished from The Conversation. Continue reading →

Why Melinda and Bill Gates are betting big on chickens (hint: ‘the ATM of the poor’)
ACGG / Animal Breeding / Article / Chickens / Ethiopia / Film and video / Genetics / ILRI / Interview / LiveGene / Livelihoods / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nigeria / Opinion piece / Poultry / Pro-Poor Livestock / Tanzania / Women

Why Melinda and Bill Gates are betting big on chickens (hint: ‘the ATM of the poor’)

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Our foundation is betting on chickens. Alongside partners throughout sub-Saharan Africa, we are working to create sustainable market systems for poultry. It’s especially important for these systems to make sure farmers can buy birds that have been properly vaccinated and are well suited to the local growing conditions. Our goal: to eventually help 30 percent of the rural families in sub-Saharan Africa raise improved breeds of vaccinated chickens, up from just 5 percent now. . . . Continue reading →

ACGG / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Animal Products / Chickens / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / Gender / Indigenous Breeds / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nigeria / Nutrition / Research / Tanzania / West Africa / Women

Chickens from the ACGG project to the rescue of African women and families

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Women represent 70% of African smallholder chicken producers. Chickens can be a real way out of difficult livelihoods for these women and the households they attend to. A new project, SciDev.Net recently reported, is aiming at leveraging this potential in novel ways. Continue reading →

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Ebola: Three unpalatable truths

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The district of Kailahun, in eastern Sierra Leone, bordering Guinea, is home to this 88-bed largest Ebola treatment and isolation centre set up by Médecins Sans Frontières (photo on Flickr by ©EC/ECHO/Cyprien Fabre). This opinion piece is written by Eliza Smith ‘By now, it seems we’ve heard everything there is to hear about the mysterious … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Products / Burkina Faso / CGIAR / Chad / Drylands / East Africa / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Geodata / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Mali / Niger / Nigeria / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Report / Senegal / SLS / Somalia / South Sudan / Sudan / Tanzania / Uganda / West Africa

New analyses highlight the extent of livestock production in Africa’s drylands

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Typical long-horned goats of Abergelle Amhara, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet). ‘Quantitative information on the importance of livestock systems in African drylands is scarce. A new study by Tim Robinson, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Giulia Conchedda, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), helps to redress this. The study … Continue reading →