For the first time since anyone can remember, there is a very real possibility of four famines—in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen—breaking out at once, endangering more than 20 million lives. Continue reading
Research on disease-resistant Napier grass forage for dairy cows is a joint collaboration between ILRI, KALRO and the national research institutes of Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda under the East African Productivity project. Continue reading
ILRI scientist Steve Staal (in blue) and Gregg Bevier (right) of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), take a close look at a cowshed typical of Kenya’s smallholder dairy sector (photo credit: BMGF/Lee Klejtnot). In its wisdom, an Inter-Agency Donor Group (IADG) on pro-poor livestock research and development agreed in 2013 to explore ways … Continue reading
On Wednesday 26 Jun 2013, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) hosts a ‘livestock live talk’ on Dairy hubs in East Africa: Lessons from the East Africa Dairy Development project. The talk by Isabelle Baltenweck, an agricultural economist at ILRI, and Gerald Mutinda, the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project’s regional manager in charge of … Continue reading
A Kenyan dairy farmer feeds her cow (photo on Flickr by eadairy). ‘A chilling tale of cows in Kenya shows how market access is key to impact investing. . . . ‘It started with a mid-term report I was handed called Milking for Profit. The report details a project that works to uplift subsistence dairy … Continue reading
Seyoum Leta, Bio-Innovate Program Manager, at the First Bio-Innovate Regional Scientific Conference at the United Nations Conference Centre, Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25–27 Feb 2013 (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). ‘Capacities in biosciences in various sectors are scarce and scattered in Africa, Bio-Innovate Program Manager Dr. Seyoum Leta said Monday in Addis Ababa at … Continue reading
An East African researcher holds handfuls of sweet potato roots and leaves, to be used as animal feed (photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT). ‘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 … 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
Milk, the ‘white gold’ of Kenya (photo on Flickr by eadairy, East African Dairy Development project). A booming market in milk in Kenya is enhancing the livelihoods of many poor people—from dairy farmers to milk processors to milk hawkers to the country’s tens of millions of daily consumers of fresh milk. ‘In recent months, milk … Continue reading
A farmer in Himachal Pradesh, India. Smallholder farmers can contribute to the search for climate solutions (photo credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT). Paul Kagame, the president of the Republic of Rwanda, says experience from that country shows that smallholder farmers can contribute to the search for climate-smart solutions and climate talks should bring smallholder agriculture into the … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 