Improving the N’Dama cattle breeding program of The Gambia

Posted on 18 Feb 2014 by Abenet Yabowork • Leave a comment

This document by Karen Marshall and Leo Dempfle was released by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in December 2013. The document is designed to assist countries involved in the project ‘Sustainable Management of Globally Significant Endemic Ruminant Livestock in West Africa’ (PROGEBE)’ to develop plans for N’Dama cattle within their breed improvement programs, following the 3-tier … Continue reading →

HUMIDTROPICS / Innovation Systems / Participation / Research

How participatory agricultural research changes us – researchers share personal journeys

Posted on 18 Feb 2014 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

This post was drafted by Terry Clayton based on conversations and interactions with people participating in the Participatory Agricultural Research: Approaches, Design and Evaluation (PARADE) workshop held in Oxford from 9-13 December 2013. We tend to be so preoccupied with how our research does or doesn’t, should or shouldn’t, can or could influence other people, … Continue reading →

ASSP / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Report / Research

Monitoring innovation platforms in agricultural research

Posted on 17 Feb 2014 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. This fifth brief explains what monitoring systems do for an innovation platform, who is involved, how it works, and what to do with the findings. Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / ASSP / Cattle / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Report / West Africa

Guidelines to plan animal breeding programs in West Africa

Posted on 14 Feb 2014 by Abenet Yabowork • Leave a comment

This ILRI project report by Karen Marshall is designed to assist partners of the project ‘Sustainable management of globally significant endemic ruminant livestock in West Africa (PROGEBE)’ in structuring the plans behind their national-level animal breeding programs. It, however, will also be useful to others documenting breeding plans for developing country livestock production systems, outside of this specific project. Continue reading →

ASSP / Ethiopia / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Report / Research

Understanding power dynamics essential to ensure impact of innovation platforms

Posted on 13 Feb 2014 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. To help document recent experiences and insights, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) recently published a series of short innovation platform ‘practice briefs’ to help guide the design and implementation of innovation platforms in agricultural research for development. This … Continue reading →

ASSP / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Report / Research

Innovation platforms and agricultural research interventions

Posted on 10 Feb 2014 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. This third brief focuses on interactions between research and innovation platforms – how researchers can engage with innovation platforms and how platforms can support research processes. Continue reading →

ASSP / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / PIL / Policy / Report / Research

Innovation platforms to shape national policies in agriculture

Posted on 6 Feb 2014 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Innovation platforms are widely used in agricultural research to connect different stakeholders to achieve common goals. This second brief explains and illustrates ways that innovation platforms contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies. Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Biotechnology / Directorate / Disease Control / ECF / ILRI / ILRIComms / ILVAC / LIVESTOCKFISH / Opinion piece / USA / Vaccines

Vaccine cliff-hanger (‘parasite page-turner’) on Gates’ blog

Posted on 5 Feb 2014 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation blog, Impatient Optimists, is running a piece about ‘an unusual story . . . unfolding in Africa, where the battle against a cattle-killing disease called East Coast fever is quickly becoming a cliff-hanger.’ The article is written by Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Diseases / Cattle / Disease Control / ECF / ILRI / ILRIComms / ILVAC / Kenya / LIVESTOCKFISH / Vaccines

New battle starts up against the ‘cancer/malaria’ of cattle in Africa

Posted on 4 Feb 2014 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

‘The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has launched the project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the fight against the disease that the agency says kills an animal every 30 seconds in East and Central Africa. Continue reading →

A4NH / Agri-Health / Event report / LIVESTOCKFISH

India discusses micronutrient initiative – a silent solution to hidden hunger

Posted on 4 Feb 2014 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

On 24 January 2014, India’s National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) organized a national-level experts’ meeting to discuss the issue of hidden hunger – a chronic lack of vitamins and minerals needed to survive, develop and live healthy and productive lives – and the ways of addressing this serious problem. Purvi Mehta, Head of International Livestock … Continue reading →