Boy in smallholder Kenyan dairy household drinking milk (credit: ILRI). ‘The Kenya dairy industry is making a turnover of over Ksh.17 billion (US$230 million), following a policy change six years ago. ‘A new report by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) suggests that the liberalization of informal milk markets has producers, vendors and consumers reaping … Continue reading
Category Archives: Countries
Don’t blame dairy cows for US greenhouse gas emissions–study
Baoshan Community Dairy Feeding Centre, Weishan County, Yunnan Province, China (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). ‘Forget all the tacky jokes about cow flatulence causing climate change. A new study reports that the dairy industry is responsible for only about 2.0 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions. ‘The study, led by the University of Arkansas in association … Continue reading
Africa: Continent ‘needs practical advice from climate scientists’
Addis Ababa — Scientists are failing Africa in its attempts to adapt to climate change, a conference was told this week. They spend too much time collecting data and attending conferences, and not enough time providing practical solutions that local people can implement, according to Anthony Nyong, manager of the Compliance and Safeguard Division at … Continue reading
Backing smallholder farmers today could avert food crises tomorrow
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
Telling their own story: Collaborative research using participatory video
One of the participating in the ‘AgKnowledge Africa’ Share Fair being held 18–21 at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is Beth Cullen, an anthropology PhD researcher from Durham University (UK). Cullen undertook collaborative research with members of the Karrayyu Oromo pastoralist community for 18 months using participatory video methods. The Karrayyu … Continue reading
The Guardian’s ‘Poverty Matters Blog’ matters
The Guardian newspaper, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hosts an interesting ‘Poverty Matters Blog’. Food for thought by 2050 Leading scientists say meat grown in vats may be necessary to feed 9 billion people expected to be alive by middle of century This blog posted an article two months ago on … Continue reading
Economic losses from Rift Valley fever greater than previous documented
‘Kenya’s livestock farmers were hardest hit as a result of the death of their animals from the Rift Valley fever disease outbreak in 2006/2007, with total economic losses from livestock deaths valued at over 7.6 million US dollars, researchers revealed. ‘According to the researchers at the Market Opportunities Theme of the International Livestock Research Institute … Continue reading
MDG Goals Summit says women and girls are ‘the answer to global development’
Widowed farmer Maria Ngove feeds a goat at her home in Lhate Village, in Gurue District, Zambezia Province, in Mozambique (photo ILRI/Mann). The UN Wire reports on 30 September 2010 the following among take-away messages from last week’s UN Millennium Development Goals Review Summit, the Clinton Global Initiative and the UN Week Digital Media Lounge: > … Continue reading
Wealthy landowners part of the problem–not the solution–for Pakistan flood victims
‘Like millions of other farmers across Pakistan, Abdur Razzaq of district Kot Addu lost the majority of his crops and livestock to the floodwaters that swept through the country in August. He estimates his financial loss this year around $3,000 – a huge blow given the poverty in rural Pakistan. ‘But his problems are compounded … Continue reading
Kenya receives Sh2.5b aid to boost food security
Kenya has received Sh2.5 billion from the US Government to boost the country’s food security and eradicate hunger. Part of the funds will be used to fund agricultural related activities and nutrition. Speaking on Wednesday during the signing ceremony of a Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Nairobi, US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger … Continue reading