On a frugal continent of ‘economic vegetarians’, consuming more meat means longer, healthier lives—The Economist
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On a frugal continent of ‘economic vegetarians’, consuming more meat means longer, healthier lives—The Economist

The Economist reports that the future of food lies in Africa. And why that’s a good thing. As Africans get richer, they will eat more meat and live longer, healthier lives. Continue reading

A4NH / Agri-Health / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Food Safety / FSZ / Guinea / ILRI / Nigeria / Opinion piece / Pigs / Senegal / USA / West Africa / Zoonotic Diseases

Ebola: Three unpalatable truths

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

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

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

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

African drylands: Livestock demand and supply

ILRI’s Tim Robinson maps the changing demand for livestock products and associated changes in production that will be required to meet future demand in African drylands. Continue reading

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Aflatoxins: New briefs disclose the threat to people and livestock and what research is doing about it

A damaged maize cob that, if harvested with clean cobs, can contaminate all the cobs with aflatoxins (photo credit: Joseph Atehnkeng/IITA). ‘The UN World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that billions of people in the developing world are chronically exposed to aflatoxin, a natural poison on food crops which causes cancer, impairs the immune system, inhibits … Continue reading

Burkina Faso / Chad / Mali / Niger / Senegal

It can be done: Perfecting the art of survival in the Sahel

Fishermen and Sahelian goats by the Niger River, in Segou, Mali (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). ‘The Sahel region, a vast arid stretch of land linking six countries in West Africa—Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal—is home to some of the most productive pastoralist communities in the world. And yet, assailed by a host … Continue reading

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Africa’s dryland agricultural systems research: When East meets West (and when it doesn’t)

I have been working for nine months as an agricultural economist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) headquarters, in Nairobi, Kenya. I have come to realize that there are not enough bridges between West and East African agricultural research communities. Is it a problem of history? Different languages? Or perhaps inter-African communication links are … Continue reading

Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / French / Gambia / Guinea / Innovation Systems / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Mali / Senegal / West Africa

ILRI publie un guide pour l’animation, le suivi et l’évaluation des plateformes d’innovation pour la gestion du bétail endémique

Un manuel intitulé les «Directives pour les plateformes d’Innovation: Facilitation, suivi et evaluation» a été publié par l’Institut international de recherche sur le bétail (ILRI) en mars 2013, en français comme en anglais. Ce manuel est le fruit du travail de  Pamela Pali et Kees Swaans, en collaboration avec Jemimah Njuki, Ranjitha Puskur, Abdou Fall, Nancy Johnson, Ndèye Djigal et … Continue reading

Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / Gambia / Guinea / Indigenous Breeds / Innovation Systems / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Mali / Senegal / West Africa

Innovation platform facilitation and assessment the focus of guidelines from ILRI

A manual by Pamela Pali and Kees Swaans on ‘Guidelines for innovation platforms: Facilitation, monitoring and evaluation’ was recently published by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Innovation platforms have recently gained ground as a mechanism to help stimulate and support multi stakeholder collaboration in agricultural research for development. Generally, they are a mechanism to enhance communication … Continue reading

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Management of globally significant endemic ruminant livestock in Senegal

This report on Sustainable management of globally significant endemic ruminant livestock in West Africa: Estimate of livestock demographic parameters in Senegal was released by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in August 2012. Authored by Maria Ejlertsen, Jane Poole and Karen Marshall, it describes the results of a 12-month survey to estimate livestock demographic parameters of endemic … Continue reading