Many virologists do not want to see a blanket ban on wet markets. Rather, they prefer a more nuanced approach and more narrow regulation to control their most dangerous aspects. To understand why, it helps to unpick what wet markets are, and their role in the feeding of billions of people. Continue reading
Category Archives: Uganda
Meat, milk and more for Africa: Four countries with successful livestock policy innovations to emulate
A newly published Malabo Montpellier Panel report, Meat, Milk & More: Policy innovations to shepherd inclusive and sustainable livestock systems in Africa, ‘highlights options for sustainably promoting growth in the livestock sector, drawing from what four African countries—Ethiopia, Mali, South Africa, and Uganda—have done successfully in terms of institutional and policy innovation as well as programmatic interventions. Continue reading
Guiding investments in climate-smart livestock systems in East Africa
New project aims to ensure that key actors in the livestock sector increase climate change adaptation and mitigation in farming practices, sector strategies and investment projects. Continue reading
Local wars and bad water—the real killers threatening 20 million people in not 1 but 4 drought-hit countries
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
Kenya’s leading role in ‘One Health’ strategies controlling diseases transmitted between animals and people
‘Prof Eric Fèvre, a researcher of veterinary infectious diseases at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi told the Business Daily the close interaction between people and animals worsened the situation. Continue reading
As another drought bites the Horn, 12 million face food shortages in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia
With as little as one-quarter of expected rainfall received, widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October–December rains, FAO said. Areas of greatest concern cover much of Somalia, northeast and coastal Kenya, southeast Ethiopia as well as the Afar region still to recover from El Niño induced drought of 2015/16, and South Sudan, which faces a serious food crisis due to protracted insecurity. Continue reading
The epidemiological search for Ebola’s hiding places
After the recent epidemic, Ebola disappeared. But this relief is only temporary: the virus is hiding somewhere—maybe in forest animals, maybe closer to home. Leigh Cowart joins the hunt. This article was first published by Wellcome on Mosaic and is reproduced here under a Creative Commons licence. Continue reading
Sweet success: Sweetpotato (and sweet livestock feed) take the limelight today at Iowa’s World Food Prize ceremony
This project is integrating sweetpotato feed into small-scale pig production systems, demonstrating to Uganda’s smallholder farmers three benefits of sweetpotato silage: increased pig productivity, affordable costs and labour savings. ILRI’s role in this project is to better understand pig feeding practices in Uganda, to investigate options for making sweetpotato silage, and to assess the economic viability of sweetpotato silage as pig feed, including the willingness of Ugandan farmers to pay for the silage. Continue reading
Local greenhouse gas estimates needed for local adaptation to climate change, say Kenya and Uganda
On 3–4 May 2016, policymakers from climate change departments of Kenya and Uganda met with scientists from CCAFS and ILRI for discussions on development of regional greenhouse gas inventories. Continue reading
Winners of the Humidtropics Innovation Platform Case Study Competition
Three projects on innovative farmers’ cooperatives, best farming practices in hilly areas and better marketing of milk were winners at recent awards for Innovation Platforms (IP) Case Study Competitions held in Kampala. Continue reading