Brighter Green has just published a study on Ethiopia’s complex relationship with livestock. It uses climate change as entry point to explore the effects of the expansion and intensification of the livestock sector in Ethiopia for the country’s food security, resource use, and issues of equity and sustainability. In this policy brief, Brighter Green questions whether … Continue reading
Category Archives: Africa
Africa / Burkina Faso / Crop-Livestock / Ghana / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock-Water / NRM / Opinion piece / Research / West Africa / WLE
Water scarcity limits crop-livestock production in the Volta Basin
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Sabine Douxchamps reflects on her livestock-water work in West Africa … Rainwater management strategies (RMS) have been extensively studied and promoted in the Volta Basin during the last decades. However, water scarcity still limits the agricultural production of most of the smallholder crop-livestock farms of the … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Production / Canada / Capacity Strengthening / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Markets / Project / Value Chains
Canadian parliamentarians see how markets work for Ethiopian farmers
Members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association on their visit to Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet). On 10–11 October 2011, six members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association (4 parliamentarians and 2 senators) visited Ethiopia. At the request of the Canadian Embassy, the CIDA-funded IPMS project at ILRI organized a field visit to Ada’a District—one of the project’s … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Production / Animal Products / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Livestock / Markets
Livestock production and marketing in Ethiopia
Livestock is an important sub-sector within Ethiopia’s economy in terms of its contributions to both agricultural value-added and national GDP. Between 1995/96 and 2005/06, it averaged 24% of agricultural GDP and 11% of national GDP. At the household level, livestock are crucial to the lives of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and smallholder farm households; they help to … Continue reading
A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / ASF / Disease Control / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Livestock / Research / Southern Africa / Zoonotic Diseases
Animal health and emerging diseases a focus for CIRAD in East and Southern Africa
The Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) is a French research center working with developing countries to tackle international agricultural and development issues. It’s recently updated site on it work in East and Southern Africa introduces CIRAD’s activities in the region. ‘Animal health and emerging diseases’ is one of the … Continue reading
A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Asia / Capacity Strengthening / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / Livestock / South Asia / Southeast Asia / West Africa / Zoonotic Diseases
Strengthening laboratory capacity in response to emerging pandemic threats: FAO, OIE and WHO working together
Early detection of zoonotic pathogens emerging in wild and domestic animal populations before they become a threat to human health is a priority for the public health and animal health sectors. An effective and credible laboratory service is an essential component of such early detection systems. As part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) … Continue reading
Africa / Biodiversity / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock / Report / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants
Characterization and conservation of indigenous sheep genetic resources
A research report by Solomon Gizaw, H. Komen, O. Hanotte, J.A.M. van Arendonk, Steve Kemp, Aynalem Haile, O. Mwai and Tadelle Dessie on Characterization and conservation of indigenous sheep genetic resources: A practical framework for developing countries was released on 12 April 2011. Livestock characterization projects in developing regions are characterized by a mere physical description of traditionally … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa
What future of pastoralism in a changing climate?
Pastoralism—a free-range livestock production system—is practised in all of Africa’s dryland regions, and in some communities it is the main source of food security and income. But will pastoralism survive in the changing climate? The August 2011 issue of Joto Afrika provides research findings, lessons learned and success stories from across Africa. Contents include: The future … Continue reading
Africa / Camels / Cattle / CCAFS / Climate Change / Goats / ILRI / Kenya / Small Ruminants
Climate change causing plant and animal species to move poleward, away from equator
These camels in northern Kenya are part of a large herd that will cover dozens of kilometres in search of water (photo on Flickr by Ann Weru/IRIN). USA Today reports on a new paper in the prestigious journal Science that increasing temperatures are pushing plant and animal species to move uphill and northward at much … 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
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
ILRI Clippings 