Category Archives: CRPs

CGIAR Research Programs

A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Asia / Capacity Strengthening / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / Livestock / South Asia / Southeast Asia / West Africa / Zoonotic Diseases

Strengthening laboratory capacity in response to emerging pandemic threats: FAO, OIE and WHO working together

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Early detection of zoonotic pathogens emerging in wild and domestic animal populations before they become a threat to human health is a priority for the public health and animal health sectors. An effective and credible laboratory service is an essential component of such early detection systems. As part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) … Continue reading →

CCAFS / Climate Change / Drought / East Africa / Film and video / Food Security / Insurance / Vulnerability

Reverse decline in agricultural development in drought-ravaged Horn of Africa–Jim Hansen

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Climate and food security expert Jim Hansen, based at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, at Colombia University, recently laid out some of the causes of food insecurity in drought-afflicted East Africa. Among the main reasons he cites is a decline, since the 1990s, in agricultural research and development in this region, a … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Report / Vulnerability

Free livestock movements and viable livestock markets help pastoralists cope with droughts in Horn

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Watering camels in a makeshift trough on the road from Wajir to Garissa, in northeast Kenya; herders are taking advantage of the rains to water their livestock after a long period of drought (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). The New Agriculturist this month reports on a recent study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Film and video / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Somalia / Vulnerability

ILRI scientist Andrew Mude interviewed on CNBC Africa television: ‘Increase investments in the pastoral livelihood’

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Andrew Mude of ILRI receives the best practice award for an Index-based Livestock Insurance project in northern Kenya that he leads (image from The Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network [PEGnet] conference in Midrand, South Africa, 2–3 Sep 2010). As hunger spreads among more than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa, a study … Continue reading →

East Africa / Pastoralism / PIM / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Vulnerability

Livestock ‘policy hubs’ in Africa’s Horn consolidate resources and sectors for poorest livestock keepers

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Livestock policies do not always benefit the poor. A Livestock Policy Initiative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is ambitious to change that. ‘A key aspect of the initiative is to improve the voice of poorer livestock keepers and women as policies are developed. “We have teams in each country, including around 40 people … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

What future of pastoralism in a changing climate?

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Pastoralism—a free-range livestock production system—is practised in all of Africa’s dryland regions, and in some communities it is the main source of food security and income. But will pastoralism survive in the changing climate? The August 2011 issue of Joto Afrika provides research findings, lessons learned and success stories from across Africa. Contents include: The future … Continue reading →

Africa / Camels / Cattle / CCAFS / Climate Change / Goats / ILRI / Kenya / Small Ruminants

Climate change causing plant and animal species to move poleward, away from equator

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These camels in northern Kenya are part of a large herd that will cover dozens of kilometres in search of water (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). USA Today reports on a new paper in the prestigious journal Science that increasing temperatures are pushing plant and animal species to move uphill and northward at much … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Ethiopia / Farming Systems / ILRI / ILRIComms / IPMS / Livelihoods / NRM / Report / Value Chains / Water / WLE

Market-oriented irrigated crop development improves farm incomes in Tigray

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A working paper by Gebremedhin Woldewahid, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Kahsay Berhe and Dirk Hoekstra on Shifting towards market-oriented irrigated crops development as an approach to improve the income of farmers: Evidence from northern Ethiopia was released on 5 May 2011. Rainfed crop production in Ethiopia’s semi-arid areas is associated with extreme rainfall variability which occasionally leads to complete crop … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Film and video / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Insured livestock keepers in Kenya may receive first insurance payments

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In Kenya’s drylands, drought has always been the greatest hazard faced by livestock herding families. Modern pressures are making this situation worse. This film tells the story of a research project started in 2007, which in 2010 introduced a new form of insurance to remote herding peoples who had never been provided with insurance before. … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Kenya / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Somalia / Vulnerability

‘Nothing works as well as pastoralism in dryland areas’–Simon Levine, ODI

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Nine-year-old livestock herder near Kitengela town, outside Nairobi, at the height of the 2008–2009 drought in this region; dryland peoples in East Africa are both restricted and marginalized (photo on Flickr by Jeff Haskins). Simon Levine says in an opinion piece in the New Agriculturist this month that the current famine in the Horn of … Continue reading →