Category Archives: East Africa

CCAFS / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Event / ILRI / ILRIComms / Insurance / Kenya / Launch / Pastoralism / PIL

Takaful, ILRI payout ‘sharia-compliant’ insurance to drought-suffering livestock herders in Wajir

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Shamsa Kosar, a beneficiary of Takaful livestock insurance payouts made in Wajir, northern Kenya, in March 2014. This novel insurance was made possible by an ILRI index-based livestock insurance research project in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Riccardo Gangale). ‘Takaful Insurance will pay livestock farmers about Sh500,000 for losses incurred during the December … Continue reading →

A4NH / Cattle / Dairying / Disease Control / East Africa / Feeds / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / ILRIComms / Kenya / Value Chains

Are aflatoxins contaminating the milk you’re drinking in Kenya? New research to find out

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The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has commissioned research to ascertain the levels of aflatoxins in the milk consumed in Kenya. Studies say every Kenyan consumes over 145 litres annually-higher than other Africans – increasing the risk of milk-related aflatoxins. Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / ASSP / BecA / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants

Review of sheep research and development projects in Ethiopia

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This working paper reviews and documents sheep research projects/activities in Ethiopia and provides an overview of major research outputs, dissemination of research results, impacts on the sheep industry, and the gaps in research. Thoughts on the future directions of sheep research are also presented. Sheep research and development in Ethiopia dates back to the early … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Animal Breeding / East Africa / Indigenous Breeds / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Markets / PIL / Presentation / Sheep / Value Chains

Exotic sheep popular in Kenya, but better native animals are a better solution—New study

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Exotic and crossbred Dorper sheep are in high demand in Kajiado’s livestock markets, but keeping these high-producing exotic breeds alive and productive in these dry, drought-ridden, rangelands is difficult. Continue reading →

ASSP / East Africa / Environment / Ethiopia / Extension / Food Security / Gender / ILRI / ILRIComms / Innovation Systems / Livelihoods / Livestock-Water / NRM / Participation / Research / Water / WLE

Power, partnership and participation: Nile Basin Development Challenge in summary

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The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) just published a summary of land and water research, lessons and outcomes generated by the Nile Basin Development Challenge in Ethiopia. Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Animal Production / ASSP / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / LIVESTOCKFISH / Poultry / Report

Characterizing and improving village chicken production in Ethiopia

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This ILRI project report describes the characteristics of village chicken production and marketing, analyses its contributions to farmers’ livelihoods, and presents options for improving the traditional village breeding practices in Horro and Ada’a woredas in the central and western highlands of Ethiopia. For the survey, a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique was used which includes … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Feeding / ASSP / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / Ethiopia / HUMIDTROPICS / Project / Research / Soils

N2Africa project putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia

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On 27 and 28 February, the N2Africa project was officially launched in Ethiopia. More than 70 people attended the workshop, representing project partners, the private sector, universities, government and researchers. Continue reading →

East Africa / Gender / ILRI / Kenya / LIVESTOCKFISH / Mozambique / PIL / Southern Africa / Tanzania / Women

Women, livestock ownership and markets: Bridging the gender gap in eastern and southern Africa

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Authored by Jemimah Njuki and Pascal Sanginga, this book provides empirical evidence from Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique and from different production systems of the importance of livestock as an asset to women and their participation in livestock and livestock product markets. It explores the issues of intra-household income management and economic benefits of livestock markets … Continue reading →

A4NH / Dairying / East Africa / Ethiopia / Nutrition

Cows, missing milk markets and nutrition in rural Ethiopia

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In rural economies encumbered by significant market imperfections, farming decisions may partly be motivated by nutritional considerations, in addition to income and risk factors. These imperfections create the potential for farm assets to have direct dietary impacts on nutrition in addition to any indirect effects via income. This working paper from IFPRI tests this hypothesis for the dairy sector in rural Ethiopia, a context in which markets are very thin, own-consumption shares are very high, and milk is an important source of animal-based proteins and micronutrients for young children. Continue reading →