A4NH / Agri-Health / CCAFS / Climate Change / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Food Security / Kenya / RVF / Zoonotic Diseases

Healthy Futures project examines ways to understand vector-borne diseases, climate change and food security

Together with regional stakeholders, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) generated so-called ‘socio-economic scenarios’.  These scenarios aim to explore key regional socio-economic and governance uncertainties for food security, environment and livelihoods through integrated qualitative-quantitative descriptions of plausible futures to 2030. The CCAFS vision has been to use these scenarios with … Continue reading

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / CCAFS / Central America / Climate Change / Environment / Farming Systems / ILRI / Livestock Systems / Research

Livestock and global change: Livestock live talk at ILRI on 28 November 2012

Globally, the demand for meat products is growing at 1.8% per year due to increasing populations, economic growth and rapid urbanization. Agropastoral and pastoral systems cover 45% of the earth’s usable surface and supply 9% of global meat production, while mixed crop-livestock farming systems produce 54% of the total meat and 90% of the milk … Continue reading

A4NH / Animal Health / Cattle / Dairying / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Human Health / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

‘Crypto’ and other diseases we get from animals are on the rise in poor countries

Leonard Gitau, a small-scale livestock farmer in Dagoretti, Nairobi, speaks to journalists during a media tour of urban farmers in Nairobi on 21 Sep 2012 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). Sarah Ooko, special correspondent for the East African, reports that ‘animal to human diseases are on the rise’ in this region. ‘Zoonoses’ is the term used … Continue reading

East Africa / Event / ILRI / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pigs / Poultry / Uganda / Value Chains

Researchers and graduate students from three American universities visit ILRI Uganda

A group of researchers and graduate students from Iowa State University, North Carolina State University and the University of Delaware, working on poultry genomics visited the ILRI Office in Kampala on 27 October 2012. The group was led by Dr. Max Rothschild, Director of the Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, and accompanied by Mr. Gideon … Continue reading

A4NH / Agri-Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Film and video / Food Safety / Human Health / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Report / Zoonotic Diseases

Slum livestock = Food? Income? Disease? All three?–Al Jazeera reports on ILRI research

Peter Greste, a journalist with Al Jazeera, recently accompanied veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert Delia Grace to the slums of Nairobi, to take a first-hand look at ‘urban farming’, livestock farming in particular. Grace works for the International Livestock Research Institute and leads a health component of a new multi-institutional CGIAR Research Program on … Continue reading

A4NH / Agri-Health / Article / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Food Safety / Human Health / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Zoonotic Diseases

Cattle in the capital, managed well, can improve nutrition and health in Kenya’s slums

Leornard Gitau, a small-scale livestock farmer in Dagoretti, Nairobi speaks to journalists during a media tour of urban farmers in Nairobi on 21 Sep 2012 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). In the Nairobi suburb of Dagoretti, ‘Leonard Gichuru Gitau is a city dweller, but it doesn’t take a detective to see that he is also a … Continue reading

Agriculture / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Report

Farmers across the globe will have to switch to climate-hardy crops and farming–CGIAR report

Taking a young goat to market at Mieso, in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). Nature News reports on a new CGIAR study that says ‘One-third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture’ and advises farmers to abandon vulnerable crops in the face of climate change. ‘The global … Continue reading

A4NH / Agri-Health / Event / Research / Zoonotic Diseases

The deadly gifts of livestock: Livestock live talk at ILRI on 31 October 2012

On Wednesday 31 Octtober 2012, Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) gives a ‘livestock live talk’ on The deadly gifts of livestock at the ILRI campus in Nairobi. Grace’s presentation will focus on the socioeconomic and health impact of zoonoses (diseases transmitted between livestock and humans) … Continue reading

A4NH / Animal Diseases / Article / Bangladesh / Bird flu / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Film and video / ILRI / Kenya / Nigeria / Uganda / Zoonotic Diseases

Draconian bans on urban livestock in developing countries ‘not the answer’–Guardian on ILRI report

Customers at a milk bar in Ndumbuini in Kabete, Nairobi  (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). Mark Tran in the Guardian‘s Poverty Matters Blog warns us this week not to keep chickens under our beds. On the other hand, he infers, chicken bought on the street in poor countries may be safer to eat than that from … Continue reading

Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biodiversity / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Report / Senegal / West Africa

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