The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and the Kenya State Department of Livestock within the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation (MALFI) are organizing next year’s Joint 24th International Grasslands and International Rangelands Congress, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, 25–30 Oct 2020. Continue reading
Category Archives: NRM
natural resource management
Cleaning up assessments of livestock-environment systems in developing countries with CLEANED
CLEANED provides a rapid assessment that quantifies potential environmental impacts of planned livestock development interventions at multiple spatial scales. With a particular focus on developing countries, it requires participatory discussions with local communities to make sure that assessments are relevant to local agro-ecological landscapes and production systems. Continue reading
Can we sustainably meet the growing demand for meat in developing countries?—Yes, says Louise Fresco
The following argument for continuing to use livestock to use the planet’s full ecological potential is made by Louise Fresco, a Dutch writer and food and agricultural scientist specializing in sustainable tropical agriculture. President of the executive board of Wageningen University and Research, Fresco is a member of the World Food Prize Council of Advisors and holds many other distinguished appointments and honours. Continue reading
New analysis reports we don’t need to double world food production by 2050
Do we really need to double food production? In an analysis published in BioScience, my coauthors and I offer a recalibrated vision of sustainable intensification. We conclude that food production does not need to double by 2050, which would require unprecedented growth, but instead needs to continue increasing at roughly historical rates. . . . Continue reading
CGIAR integrated systems research for sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong—New book
The CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics) was an agricultural research for development program that aimed for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems to improve the livelihoods of farm households. The Central Mekong Action Area was primarily focused on the complex of rice and non-rice farming systems (plus areas with other land uses) in the non-flood-prone lowlands, uplands and highlands. The Action Area covered six countries (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Continue reading
‘Extreme declines’ in wildlife populations in Kenya over past 4 decades—New study
There have been disturbing declines in wildlife populations in Kenya in the past three decades, a study released this week revealed. Continue reading
Bio-Innovate project helps Uganda slaughterhouse turn waste into electricity for a ‘green’ future
An initiative by the Bio-resources Innovations Network for Eastern Africa (Bio-Innovate) Program is helping Uganda’s Kampala city abattoir generate power from biogas to meet its energy needs while conserving the environment. Continue reading
Northwest Vietnam situation analysis starting point for Humidtropics research in Central Mekong
The International Livestock Research Institute recently published a ‘situational analysis of agricultural production and marketing, and natural resources management systems in northwest Vietnam’ for the Humidtropics CGIAR research program. It is a starting point for the program’s work in one of the four geographical ‘Action Area Flagships’ where innovations are tested to meet the challenges of stakeholders. It paints a comprehensive and broad picture of the current systems that are key to tackling the problems faced in the target field sites. Continue reading
Eight principles for land and water management in the Nile Basin
The Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC) in Ethiopia distilled insights, findings and experiences into eight key messages which, taken together, contribute to new water and land management paradigm that enables poor smallholder farmers improve their food security, livelihoods and incomes while conserving the natural resource base. Continue reading
Beyond fetching water for livestock: A gendered sustainable livelihood framework to assess livestock water productivity
A sourcebook from the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food, entitled ‘Addressing Water, Food and Poverty Problems Together—Methods, Tools and Lessons’ presents more than 50 articles on how to improve ecological and social resilience. One of the articles looks at ‘A gendered sustainable livelihood framework to assess livestock water productivity’. Continue reading