Category Archives: Food Security

No exit strategy: More than 100 Somali’s, mostly young and old, have died of hunger and disease
Article / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / Nigeria / Somalia / South Sudan / Vulnerability

No exit strategy: More than 100 Somali’s, mostly young and old, have died of hunger and disease

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More than one hundred vulnerable people of the South—most of them old and young—have died from lack of food and water-borne diseases in a 48-hour period in the rural Bay administrative region of southwestern Somalia. This hot and semi-arid southern region is devastated by drought as well as by the operations of a militant Islamist group known as Al-Shabaab. Continue reading →

New USAID grant to asses projects aiming to reduce poverty and the need for food aid in Kenya’s drylands
Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / News clipping / Pastoralism / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Vulnerability

New USAID grant to asses projects aiming to reduce poverty and the need for food aid in Kenya’s drylands

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A new grant funds a project, recently launched by UC Davis researchers in northern Kenya, that will use a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impacts of combining programs that offer training, support and aid with affordable insurance to reduce chronic poverty.

The new project is led by Michael Carter, a professor of agricultural and resource economics and director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access at UCD, and Andrew Mude from the International Livestock Research Institute, or ILRI, in Kenya. The researchers hope the project will help create a pathway out of poverty and reduce the need for aid, which Kenya’s government provides each year, even without drought. Continue reading →

As another drought bites the Horn, 12 million face food shortages in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia
Camels / Cattle / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / Goats / Kenya / Livelihoods / News clipping / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Somalia / South Sudan / Uganda / Vulnerability

As another drought bites the Horn, 12 million face food shortages in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia

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With as little as one-quarter of expected rainfall received, widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October–December rains, FAO said. Areas of greatest concern cover much of Somalia, northeast and coastal Kenya, southeast Ethiopia as well as the Afar region still to recover from El Niño induced drought of 2015/16, and South Sudan, which faces a serious food crisis due to protracted insecurity. Continue reading →

Small farms to the rescue—reducing hunger by increasing low yields
Africa / Agriculture / Article / Crops / Environment / Food Security / Intensification / Livelihoods / Nutrition / South Asia

Small farms to the rescue—reducing hunger by increasing low yields

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At the Global Landscapes Initiative in the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, our research focuses on increasing global food security while reducing harmful impacts from agriculture to Earth’s natural resources. We have found that one key strategy to combating food insecurity—lack of access to nutritious foods—is increasing food production on small farms. There are tremendous opportunities to increase yields throughout South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. . . . Continue reading →

Mission critical: Relentless upscaling of Africa’s agricultural production
Agriculture / Consumption / Food Security

Mission critical: Relentless upscaling of Africa’s agricultural production

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‘. . . [A]ccording to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, . . . [Africa] will . . . need to dramatically increase its agricultural efficiency. Right now, Africa imports 20% of its cereal needs, despite having a quarter of the world’s arable land. . . . With a population expected to expand by another 1.3 billion people by 2050, Sub-saharan African countries will have to import half of all needed cereals in the next 30 years, if drastic changes to agricultural methods aren’t taken, the study concluded. Continue reading →

First map of smallholder farms in the developing world: They produce more than half the planet’s food calories
Agriculture / Article / Food Security / Geodata / Policy / Vulnerability

First map of smallholder farms in the developing world: They produce more than half the planet’s food calories

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Researchers at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment have used household census data to map smallholder farms in developing countries. Despite the fact that smallholder and family farms are crucial to feeding the planet, little is known regarding the location and size of smallholder farms. This study attempts to fill this knowledge gap. Continue reading →

And in other news: Take a 3-min break this weekend to celebrate Africa’s climate heroes and change actions
Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Event report / Film and video / Food Security / ILRI / Insurance / Launch / Policy / Resilience / SLS

And in other news: Take a 3-min break this weekend to celebrate Africa’s climate heroes and change actions

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This video comes from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and its many partners, including ILRI, which is proud to work with CCAFS and its lead centre, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Continue reading →

Livestock institute leader Jimmy Smith makes the case for sustainable livestock development—Food Tank webinar
Animal Production / Animal Products / Communications / Consumption / Directorate / Event report / Food Security / ILRI / Interview / Livelihoods / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock

Livestock institute leader Jimmy Smith makes the case for sustainable livestock development—Food Tank webinar

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Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in a webinar today hosted by Food Tank, presented the case for sustainable livestock development in low- and middle-income countries helping the world achieve food and nutritional security. Continue reading →

The omnivore’s dilemma: ‘High-steaks’ livestock decisions at next week’s Committee on World Food Security (#CFS43)
Advocacy / Article / Climate Change / Consumption / Emerging Diseases / Environment / Food Security / FSZ / Nutrition / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Report / Research

The omnivore’s dilemma: ‘High-steaks’ livestock decisions at next week’s Committee on World Food Security (#CFS43)

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Ahead of the CFS43, SIANI spoke with Delia Grace—a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and a member of the HLPE livestock project team—about the so-called omnivore’s dilemma, the critical issues in livestock production around the world and a vision for policy-makers who will be implementing the HLPE’s recommendations. Continue reading →