Category Archives: Nutrition

Human nutrition

Agriculture / BecA / Biotechnology / CGIAR / Directorate / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Nutrition / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research

‘Livestock is the Cinderella of agricultural development’–An interview with Jimmy Smith

Posted on by • Leave a comment

A lengthy interview with ILRI’s new director general Jimmy Smith is the leading post on the home page of the Syngenta Foundation website in Nov 2011 (image credit: Syngenta Foundation; credit for photo of Jimmy Smith: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). ‘Jimmy Smith is the new Director General of [the International Livestock Research Institute] in Nairobi. He recently … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Food Security / Nutrition / Somalia

Barely breathing: The famine crisis in Somalia deepens

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Photo on Flickr by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation Turkey. Jeffrey Gettleman, the East Africa correspondent for the New York Times, reports that Somalia’s spreading famine and agony is testing the limits of aid. At Benadir Hospital, in Mogadishu, Gettleman watches children die. In Benadir, there is a room full of old blue cots, one after another, … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / ASF / Australia / BecA / Biotechnology / Capacity Strengthening / Directorate / Food Security / ILRI / Nutrition

Australia to set up Africa-focused International Centre for Food Security

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Gabrielle Persely at a March 2011 farewell seminar she gave at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), titled ‘Africa, science and agriculture: A 25-year perspective’ (photo credit: ILRI/Mungai). Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced a new initiative to share Australia’s world leading expertise in food production with the people of Africa. The Government will set … 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

Posted on by • Leave a comment

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 →

A4NH / Agri-Health / Directorate / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Food Safety / Food Security / Human Health / ILRI / Nutrition / Research / Staff / Zoonotic Diseases

Livestock veterinary research director to head new global research program on agriculture for improved nutrition and health

Posted on by • Leave a comment

John McDermott, currently deputy director general-research of the International livestock Research Institute has been appointed head of CGIAR Research Program 4, on Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) announced on 6 Sep 2011 that John McDermott has been named … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Famine has spread to 3 new areas of southern Somalia–situation likely to deteriorate further

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Projected food security situation in southern Somalia for August through December 2011 (map by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit for Somalia [FSNAU]). Two critical agencies—the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) and the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU)—reported this week (2 Aug 2011) that famine thresholds have been surpassed in … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / Kenya / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Fasting and famine: When praying turns to preying

Posted on by • Leave a comment

The new moon, which when sighted begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (photo on Flickr by On Being). As Ramadan begins this week, it is estimated that some 1.4 million Somalis are ‘internally displaced’, with an average of more that 12,000 people displaced every month this year due to drought. Most of these people … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Food Security / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Somalia / USA / Vulnerability

Washington Post coverage of Africa’s drought/hunger crisis–From advice on livestock herding to presidential offers of partnership

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Return to traditional agricultural approaches—William G Mosley A recent op-ed in the Washington Post, on the topic of the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, argues that ‘while reactions of grave concern over this unfolding tragedy are natural, its causes are not. . . . The semi-arid Horn of Africa and the entire Sahelian … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Kenya / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

When rains next fail to fall in the Horn of Africa, will we have failed again, too?

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Launch of the Humanitarian Appeal 2011 (photo on Flickr by United Nations Information Service / Jean-Marc Ferre). ‘Humanitarian agencies and donors agreed at an emergency meeting in Rome on 25 July that the response to the crisis must address the immediate needs of the desperate population and help build resilience to avert similar crises in the … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Vulnerability

Does Africa’s modernizing Horn no longer have room for 20 million drought-adapted livestock herders?

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Letting the herd down to water at the Omo River at Kangate, in southern Ethiopia (photo on Flickr by Carsten ten Brink). Helen de Jode, editor of Modern and Mobile: The Future of Livestock Production in Africa’s Drylands, argues in the Guardian last week that ‘underneath the high visibility famine in the Horn of Africa lies … Continue reading →