Head north from nairobi toward Mount Kenya and almost invariably you’ll hit weather. Fog, rain, hail, even snow, all unusual for the equator but a blessing for Mount Kenya’s farmers, who export coffee, roses, green beans and peas to Europe. Once you pass the mountain and descend onto the dusty Samburu plain, however, the weather … Continue reading
Category Archives: Food Security
Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI
‘Africa will be hardest hit by climate change’–experts
Farmer Celeste Sitoe tends to her maize and chickens on her subsistence farm in Lhate Village, Chokwe, Mozambique (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). ‘Africa will be amongst the hardest hit regions of the world as the climate heats up, threatening the continent’s food security, experts agree. If global temperatures rise 2.0 degrees C, southern Africa will warm … Continue reading
Food prices likely to rise with temperatures
‘If average global temperatures keep rising prices for vital food resources could rise by more than 130 percent, an analysis released in Mexico finds. . . . ‘A study by the International Livestock Research Institute concludes that if temperatures continue to rise, maize prices could increase by 131 percent within the next 40 years. ‘Philip … Continue reading
Climate, food security, and growth: Ethiopia’s complex relationship with livestock
In a recent report, New York-based public policy action tank Brighter Green questions whether Ethiopia is not in fact constraining its chances of coping with expected increases in drought and erratic weather as a result of global warming by expanding its livestock population and intensive animal-agriculture sector. Brighter Green’s research examines whether Ethiopia can industrialize … Continue reading
‘Gloomy’ future for agriculture in a much warmer world–climate change researcher Gerald Nelson
Farmer Celeste Sitoe with her maize harvest in Lhate Village, outside Chokwe, in Gaza Province, southern Mozambique (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). The Associated Press today broke a story that researchers are predicting a ‘gloomy’ future for agriculture in the face of greater and faster warming of the world than expected. ‘. . . [O]n our current … Continue reading
Africa / Asia / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Food Security / Latin America
‘Globe faces daunting task’–Climate change researcher Bruce Campbell
Science News reports this week that the prices of global food prices are rising along with global temperatures and that global warming may have already begun outpacing the ability of farmers to adapt. ‘Since summer, signs of severe food insecurity—droughts, food riots, five- to tenfold increases in produce costs—have erupted around the globe. Several new … Continue reading
Could rising temperatures overwhelm Africa’s adaptive capacity and resilience?
‘A new study warns of the potential problems Africa faces from rising temperatures. ‘The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) says the continent must learn to adapt to shorter growing seasons. The report was released as the U.N. Climate Change Conference is held in Cancun, Mexico. ‘Most warnings about climate change are based on a … Continue reading
Climate change may force many southern African crop-and-livestock farmers to migrate–ILRI director general Carlos Sere
‘The unsolved puzzle of what to do with people forced from their homes by the effects of climate change—a hot topic a couple of years ago—seems to have slid down the agendas of aid agencies, policy makers and the media. . . . [A] comprehensive international framework for dealing with environmental migrants is still a … Continue reading
Shorter growing season for sub-Saharan Africa – ILRI systems analyst Philip Thornton
‘. . . [T]he UK’s Royal Society has published detailed study of how the world will look when it is 4 °C warmer. . . . ‘Most of sub-Saharan Africa will see shorter growing seasons, according to Philip Thornton of the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, and colleagues. As a result, average maize … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Asia / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Directorate / Food Security / Latin America / Research / Vietnam
Multi-donor trust fund to spur multi-partner science tackling big food production problems in poor countries
From a new blog from the Fund Office of the Consultative Group on International Agriculutral Research (CGIAR), to which the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) belongs, comes this news about new funding for agricultural research for development. ‘In a powerful display of solidarity with the world’s poor, key donors and stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. … Continue reading
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