The Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub (BecA-ILRI) recently hosted Pelle Zettersten, a radio journalist from the Science department of Swedish National Radio. Zettersten was on a tour of East Africa to report recent scientific developments in the areas of agriculture, environment and energy, and the future plans by different countries as concerns science … Continue reading
Leonard Gitau, a small-scale livestock farmer in Dagoretti, Nairobi, speaks to journalists during a media tour of urban farmers in Nairobi on 21 Sep 2012 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). Sarah Ooko, special correspondent for the East African, reports that ‘animal to human diseases are on the rise’ in this region. ‘Zoonoses’ is the term used … Continue reading
A group of researchers and graduate students from Iowa State University, North Carolina State University and the University of Delaware, working on poultry genomics visited the ILRI Office in Kampala on 27 October 2012. The group was led by Dr. Max Rothschild, Director of the Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, and accompanied by Mr. Gideon … Continue reading
Last week a project to ‘enhance communities’ adaptive capacity to climate-change-induced water scarcity in drought-prone hotspots of the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia’ held a farmers’ field day at Kabe Watershed. More than 90 farmers, researchers, extension experts, staff of non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders met to share lessons on what farmers have practiced and benefited … Continue reading
On 4 Nov 2012, an ILRI delegation of 28 visited the village of Araipura, in the Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana, where they held discussions with dairy farm families. The ILRI management team and board of trustees also visited the National Dairy Research Institute. (Photo credit: ILRI) ‘Operation Flood in Gujarat is … Continue reading
Peter Greste, a journalist with Al Jazeera, recently accompanied veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert Delia Grace to the slums of Nairobi, to take a first-hand look at ‘urban farming’, livestock farming in particular. Grace works for the International Livestock Research Institute and leads a health component of a new multi-institutional CGIAR Research Program on … Continue reading
In 2011, Farm Radio International conducted a Participatory Agricultural Radio Series (PARS) related to two of the commodity value chains of the Improving the Productivity and Marketing Success (IPMS) project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The series focused on apiculture in the Tigray region, and on fruit tree production in Sidama region. The PARS … Continue reading
Leornard Gitau, a small-scale livestock farmer in Dagoretti, Nairobi speaks to journalists during a media tour of urban farmers in Nairobi on 21 Sep 2012 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). In the Nairobi suburb of Dagoretti, ‘Leonard Gichuru Gitau is a city dweller, but it doesn’t take a detective to see that he is also a … Continue reading
Cassava, potato and sweet potato trials at high altitude in Rwanda (photo credit: ILRI/Albert Mwangi). ‘Pressures from climate change and population growth are increasing the competition for grains as food or livestock feed in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. But sweet potato, which can grow in harsh climatic conditions with minimal inputs, can provide … Continue reading
Writing in Footsteps – a magazine of Tearfund, Nigel Poole argues there is ‘no simple answer’ to the question: are livestock a blessing or a burden? He suggests that the ‘type of livestock production practised and the ecological context both matter. But think about one of the most common livestock problems, which is this: if … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 