Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, member of the ILRI Board of Trustees and CEO of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) (picture credit: ILRI). Lindiwe Majele Sibanda celebrates International Women’s Day today with the following message. ‘As we mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the economic, political … Continue reading
Category Archives: Food Security
Feeding the world: ‘Let them eat [CGIAR] research’ – Economist
Customers rush to buy bread, a staple in high demand in Mozambique, after it arrives at a bakery in the south of the country as wheat ran short and food prices rose in 2008 (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). A leader for a special report on feeding the world’s growing population, published in the Economist recently (24 February … Continue reading
Severe weather events are behind soaring food prices–Paul Krugman
Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman argues in the New York Times recently that it is severe weather events, exactly the kind of thing we’d expect to see with climate change, that have disrupted global agricultural food production, causing world food prices to hit a record high in January (2011). ‘We’re in the midst of a global food … Continue reading
Climate change pilot project launched in northern Kenya
A new study is looking at the effects of climate change on pastoralists’ communities in northern Kenya. A pilot project on mainstreaming climate change adaptation among the pastoralists of northern Kenya has been launched. The Ministry of Northern Kenya and Development of other Arid Areas through Arid Lands Resource Management Project with partners who include … Continue reading
World hunger best cured by small-scale agriculture: report
A move from industrial farming towards local food projects is our healthiest, most sustainable choice, says Worldwatch Institute The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture, according to a report from the Worldwatch Institute. The US-based institute’s annual State of the World report, published … Continue reading
Africa is getting serious about food
Working in a maize field in Malawi (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). IRIN, a United Nations humanitarian news service, says Africa should be in a better position to feed itself in another five years. ‘. . . Shortly after Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika became AU [Africa Union] chair in 2010, he announced a plan to make … Continue reading
National Geographic features global human population growth
National Geographic magazines (photo credit: Chris Nixon’s photostream on Flickr). The January 2011 issue of National Geographic has an informative feature article and photo gallery about the growth of world population, which is expected to reach seven billion before the end of this (new) year. ‘By 2050 the total number [world’s population] could reach 10.5 … Continue reading
Round-up of news reports of ILRI study on the impacts of a 4-degree-C increase on African food production
A farming household in the rainy season in Malawi; here, as in much of Africa, people’s livelihoods depend on the climate. This homestead is in Khulungira, a village of 150 families in central Malawi, 27 km from the nearest paved road and 50 km from the nearest town; there is no electricity and no running … Continue reading
Rwandan agriculture growing–one cow at a time
An improved, crossbred, dairy cow made available in Rwanda by an East African Dairy Development project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Heifer International; the International Livestock Research Institute is a partner in this project (picture credit: ILRI/EADD). Uganda’s Independent recently carried an opinion piece extolling the good progress … Continue reading
Challenges and potential for food security in Africa
Livestocks such as goats illustrate the complex vulnerabilities of farmers’ incomes during climate crises. Family farmers and their children are especially vulnerable to hunger (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). As of September 2010, there were 925 million people in the world going hungry, and 98% of them lived in developing countries. Chronic deficiencies of carbohydrates, proteins and … Continue reading