Category Archives: Livelihoods

Animal Production / Books and chapters / Consumption / Food Security / Human Health / Livelihoods / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Zoonotic Diseases

New FAO book spells out rationale, priorities for investing in livestock development to reduce poverty

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A new FAO study reports that more than 85 per cent of poor livestock keepers in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty; here, at a Toureg encampment near Fakara, in Niger, a boy herds a prized animal, and asset, of his family (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). A new book on the intersection of poverty reduction … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / East Africa / Event / Farming Systems / Food Security / Livelihoods / Southern Africa

New Australian International Food Security Centre seeks partnerships in Africa

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Mellissa Wood (4th left), of the Australian International Food Security Centre, and other members of the the Commission for International Agricultural Research on a visit to ILRI in March 2012 (photo credit: ILRI). A new initiative has been launched by the Australian International Food Security Centre to improve food security in Africa. The centre, which falls … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Article / Climate Change / Drylands / East Africa / Kenya / Livelihoods / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / Women

Women playing key role in pastoralist livelihood diversification

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Maasai women in Kenya. Women are playing a key role in pastoralists’ diversification (picture credit: Konrad Glogowski on Flickr).  A feature story carried by IRIN this week highlights how women are playing an increasingly important role in pastoralist livelihoods diversification in Kenya. ‘Along a small seasonal stream in Ewaso Nyiro village in Narok, southwestern Kenya, Leleseina … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Consumption / Food Safety / Food Security / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock / Markets / PIM / Policy / Report / Research / Trade / Value Chains

Livestock market opportunities for the poor: Smallholders can be competitive

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Steve Staal, Derek Baker, Karl Rich, Ayele Gelan, Acho Okike, Delia Grace, Mohammad Jabbar, Mohamadou Fadiga, Ranjitha Puskur, Lucy Lapar, Berhanu Gebremedhin, Amos Omore and Francis Wanyoike prepared a series of issue briefs on smallholder livestock producers, consumers, and development … View a presentation to the … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Burkina Faso / Crop-Livestock / Ghana / ILRI / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock / Livestock Systems / NRM / Opinion piece / Research / Water / West Africa / WLE

The triple challenge facing livestock research for development in Africa

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Tim Williams – Africa Director at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) reflects on ILRI’s livestock work in West Africa … Two key questions Back in 2000, two key questions occupied the minds of those of us who worked on the development of the ILRI’s Strategy–Livestock: … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Food Security / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Presentation / Somalia / Vulnerability

Livestock critical to livelihoods and life in Africa – USAID advisor

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Kenya cow bell, on loan from Gary K Clarke, of Cowabunga Safaris, for Africa Everyday Exhibit (image credit: Topeka & Shawnee Country Public Library). Livestock keeping means food security and livelihoods for the world’s poorest people. That’s the message delivered by Joyce Turk, senior livestock advisor at the United States Agency for International Development, at … 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 →

Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Event report / Food Security / Geodata / ILRI / Livelihoods / Report / Vulnerability

Climate change could devastate lives and livelihoods strongly linked to crop and livestock yields–Polly Ericksen

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ILRI scientist Polly Ericksen says that areas that will be hit hardest by climate change are areas where farmers are already struggling due to new weather patterns (image credit: ILRI/Anita Ghosh). Julio Godoy reported yesterday in Inter Press Service Africa (IPS) on the climate change meeting in Bonn, saying that climate change is putting African … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / Livelihoods / Trade / Value Chains

With the right investments, Africa’s small farms could make profits as well as food

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Mohamed Béavogui, director of the west and central African division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has the following to say in the Guardian‘s Poverty Matters Blog. ‘Africa’s smallholder farmers not only have the potential to produce enough food for export—and thereby contribute to food security worldwide—but to help lead the way to … Continue reading →