Misuse of antibiotics and ‘factory farming’ of animals: Alarm bells sound

Posted on 18 Mar 2013 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

‘The Spoonful of Milk’ by Marc Chagall, 1912 (via WikiPaintings). ‘. . . It is estimated that about 70% of the world’s antibiotics are fed to farm animals: the precise amount used in agriculture is poorly recorded. But what seems sure — as the number of intensively farmed animals grows — is that their use increases too, … Continue reading →

Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Launch / LIVESTOCKFISH / Markets / Project / Tanzania / Value Chains

Dairy market hubs giving Tanzanian farmers better access to services given funding boost

Posted on 14 Mar 2013 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Irish Minister of State for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, signs the guest book at the MoreMikIT office launch in Morogoro, Tanzania, 12 Mar 2013; witnessing the event are ILRI’s Amos Omore and Stuart Worsley (second and third from left) (photo credit: ILRI/Amos Omore). ‘Ireland’s minister of state for Development and Trade Joe Costello earlier this … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / ILRI / Markets / Report

Africa’s food market could reach trillion dollars by 2030–World Bank

Posted on 13 Mar 2013 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

The Butcher Shop by Ferdnand Leger, 1921 (via WikiPaintings). ‘A World Bank report launched last week has suggested that Africa’s farmers and agribusinesses could create a trillion-dollar food market by 2030. ‘However, the pre-condition for such a development would be for agri-business SMEs to expand their access to more capital, electricity, better technology and irrigated … Continue reading →

East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Research

ILRI projects in Ethiopia: Getting the science right

Posted on 12 Mar 2013 by Ewen Le Borgne • Leave a comment

Taking advantage of the presence of John McIntire, Deputy Director General for Integrated Sciences on the ILRI Addis campus, a group of ILRI scientists and program managers (Iain Wright, Dirk Hoekstra, Azage Tegegne, Peter Thorne, Alan Duncan, Barry Shapiro and John McIntire) recently discussed the suite of projects that involve ILRI in Ethiopia: Improving the … Continue reading →

Dairying / Drylands / Feeds / ILRI / Intensification / Launch / Pakistan / Pastoralism / Project / Small Ruminants / South Asia

Four-year US$30-million Agricultural Innovation Project launched in Pakistan

Posted on 12 Mar 2013 by Susan MacMillan • 1 Comment

A flock of Makhi Cheeni goats near Hasilpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (photo credit: ILRI/M Sajjad Khan). ‘The US Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) launched a new project to expand the use of modern technologies in Pakistan’s agriculture sector. ‘PARC Chairman Dr … Continue reading →

Crop-Livestock / Diagnostics / Humid Tropics / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Intensification / Interview / Livelihoods / Research

ILRI in the Humidtropics research program: Interview with Alan Duncan

Posted on 6 Mar 2013 by Ewen Le Borgne • Leave a comment

The Humidtropics research program held a Strategic Research Theme (SRT) Meeting from 5 to 8 February, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. The main objective of this meeting was to develop a research framework for each of the SRTs. After the meeting, the five SRT Leaders were interviewed. We asked Alan Duncan, ILRI focal point for the program … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Biotechnology / East Africa / Event / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Research

Bio-Innovate’s next steps: Bio-Incubate, Bio-Communicate…

Posted on 4 Mar 2013 by Ewen Le Borgne • Leave a comment

The first Bio Innovate regional scientific conference (25-27 February 2013) ended last week with a focus on next steps and ‘big actions’ to come. On the last day, participants worked on three different strands: Crop productivity improvement and climate change adaptation Environmental management technologies Innovation incubation and value addition. The groups pondered bottlenecks in the enabling … Continue reading →

ILRI / ILRIComms / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Roundup

Livestock Matter(s): ILRI news ’roundup’, February 2013

Posted on 1 Mar 2013 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

We hope you enjoyed our first issue ofLivestock Matter(s), a monthly round-up of livestock development news, publications, presentations, images and upcoming events from ILRI and its partners. Produced on the first of each month, this round-up highlights what you may have missed. You can download a print version – or sign up to get Livestock Matter(s) in your mailbox each … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Animal Products / Buffalo / ILRI / India / Markets / South Asia / Value Chains

Small-scale buffalo-keeping in India goes big time–With exports a quarter of world’s beef market

Posted on 27 Feb 2013 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Buffalo in a village homestead in the Himalayan foothills of northern India (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). ‘Alas for the sacred cow: Beef exports from India are expected to surge 30 per cent this year, giving this country a quarter of the world market. ‘This is a good-news story in a lurching economy. Livestock industries, from eggs … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Burundi / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / ILRI / Kenya / Rwanda / Tanzania / Uganda

‘Bio-economy’ of East Africa boosted by Bio-Innovate research program

Posted on 27 Feb 2013 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Seyoum Leta, Bio-Innovate Program Manager, at the First Bio-Innovate Regional Scientific Conference at the United Nations Conference Centre, Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25–27 Feb 2013 (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). ‘Capacities in biosciences in various sectors are scarce and scattered in Africa, Bio-Innovate Program Manager Dr. Seyoum Leta said Monday in Addis Ababa at … Continue reading →