Rwandan agriculture growing–one cow at a time

Posted on 6 Jan 2011 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

An improved, crossbred, dairy cow made available in Rwanda by an East African Dairy Development project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Heifer International; the International Livestock Research Institute is a partner in this project (picture credit: ILRI/EADD). Uganda’s Independent recently carried an opinion piece extolling the good progress … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Biodiversity / Environment / Film and video / Ghana / Indigenous Breeds / Livelihoods / NRM / Southeast Asia / Trade / Vietnam / West Africa / WLE

Here be dragons–and lions: Agricultural growth and development in Asia and Africa

Posted on 2 Jan 2011 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Dragon head detail on a gate to the walled Citadel of Hué, the former, imperial, capital of Viet Nam from the 17th to 19th centuries and national capital until 1945. Located in the middle of the country along the Perfume River, Hué’s Citadel, like Beijing’s Forbidden City, housed only emperors and their concubines and closest … 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 / Cattle / East Africa / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock

In Kenya, generating wealth–one cow at a time

Posted on 30 Dec 2010 by ILRI Communications • 1 Comment

With mainstream banks and microfinance organizations mainly helping business startups in urban Kenya, a group called Juhudi Kilimo decided to focus on rural small-holder farmers. In the largely agricultural east African country of Kenya, many small-holder farmers need a way to start generating income. An organization called Juhudi Kilimo has stepped in with a new … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Markets

Commercialization of smallholders: Does market orientation translate into market participation?

Posted on 28 Dec 2010 by Meron Mulatu • Leave a comment

This working paper by Berhanu Gebremedhin and Moti Jaleta on Commercialization of smallholders: Does market orientation translate into market participation? was released on 15 December, 2010. It makes little distinction between market orientation (production decision based on market signals) and market participation (sale of output). It analyses the determinants of market orientation and market participation … Continue reading →

East Africa / Innovation Systems / Kenya / Research / Women

African huts far from the grid glow with renewable power

Posted on 28 Dec 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

For Sara Ruto, the desperate yearning for electricity began last year with the purchase of her first cellphone, a lifeline for receiving small money transfers, contacting relatives in the city or checking chicken prices at the nearest market. Charging the phone was no simple matter in this farming village far from Kenya’s electric grid. Every … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Feeding / Animal Products / Dairying / East Africa / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Uganda

Computers serving Ugandan cows

Posted on 20 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

A computer programme for feeding dairy cows has won the top prize in the 2009-2010 Africa-wide science competition held by CTA together with partner organisations. The Endiisa Decision Support Tool was developed by a team of scientists led by the National Livestock Resources Research Institute of Uganda. Team leader Dr Sarah Mubiru said the software … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / Animal Production / Asia / India / Livestock / Livestock Systems / South Asia

Demand led transformation of the livestock sector in India

Posted on 17 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

The South Asia Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank has produced its first assessment of the livestock sector in India since 1996. According to the report, a ‘livestock revolution’ has occurred on a large scale in India over the last couple of decades. Demand for all major livestock commodities (milk, eggs, meat) … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Disease Control / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / RVF / Tanzania

Traditional knowledge key to managing Rift Valley fever

Posted on 16 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

By assessing key risk factors and symptoms, such as an increase in rainfall and high abortion rates, Somali and Maasai herders accurately predicted the outbreak of Rift Valley fever in 2006/07 long before veterinary and public health interventions began, researchers have discovered. “Timely outbreak response requires effective early warning and surveillance systems,” say authors of … Continue reading →

Africa / Ethiopia / NRM / Research / Water / WLE

IWMI celebrates 25 years – Addis event focuses on its work in the Nile Basin and East Africa

Posted on 16 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) shares a campus in Ethiopia with ILRI – the International Livestock Research Institute. The two organizations are also close partners in a number of projects across the world – but especially in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. The event was kicked off by the Ethiopian State Minister for Water … Continue reading →