Kenya is vulnerable to avian flu given its position along migratory bird routes and proximity to other high risk countries. This raises concern about the effect an outbreak could have on economic development. We use a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of Kenya to simulate potential outbreaks of different severities, durations and geographic spreads. Results … Continue reading
Category Archives: East Africa
Africa / Drought / East Africa / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock
Milking a new system: A scheme to help herders to benefit from modern insurance
The Marsabit district in rugged northern Kenya is the size of Ireland. It has ten tribes and seven languages but only 160,000 people. The manager of the local branch of Equity Bank says it takes two crunching days of driving his jeep through burning deserts to reach some of his customers. Marsabit depends on cattle, … Continue reading
Africa / Disease Control / East Africa / Kenya / Livestock / Wildlife
Cattle fever dealt a blow on the nose
The annual spectacular migration of over one million wildebeest across the Serengeti and Masai Mara in Kenya and Tanzania, presents two sides of the coin, in that this migration is a beautiful sight to behold, but with it comes disease and death to the pastoralist livestock. …Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is transmitted from wildebeest to … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Health / East Africa / Livestock / Uganda
Uganda: Transfer of vets to NAADS irks association
THE Uganda Veterinary Association has criticised the Government’s decision to transfer agricultural extension staff at sub-counties to the National Agriculture Advisory Services programme. Read more … (New Vision) Continue reading
Africa / Animal Feeding / Animal Products / Dairying / East Africa / Fodder / Kenya / Livestock
Fodder shrubs deliver dairy success in Kenya
In this pictorial essay, 10 farmers in Kenya explain how fodder shrubs have increased their incomes and enabled them to diversify their livelihoods. In addition to better earnings and increased milk production, fodder shrubs have helped to increase the confidence and status of women. Read more … (New Agriculturist) Continue reading
Drought / East Africa / ILRI / Innovation Systems / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock
Innovative livestock insurance program launched in Kenya
In the arid, dusty Marsabit region of northern Kenya, most people rely on livestock — for food, milk and income — to survive. So when a drought hits the already desertlike area and plants and animals begin to die, the entire population is at risk of famine. And because northern Kenya experiences drought about every … Continue reading
Nomadic alarm bells
ceaselessly across some of the harshest environments in the world in search of grazing land are vital for Africa’s economic prosperity. However, their way of life is being undermined by governments, conservationists and large-scale farmers, says a study. Read more … (Mail and Guardian) Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Insurance / Pastoralism
Farm aid from space
Dusty northern Kenya doesn’t look like a laboratory, but across its dry plains, cattle herders are pioneering a new way to fend off poverty and teaming up with unlikely partners – insurance agents. The two groups have been brought together by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), headquartered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. A few years … Continue reading
Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock / Pastoralism
End of the road nears for pastoralists’ way of life
The government of Kenya and the donor community should act fast to preserve the way of life of nomadic people. For long, the economic worth of nomadic people has been underplayed, though the role they play in preserving fragile ecosystems is vital. That’s the conclusion of a new book published by the Institute for Environment … Continue reading
Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Tanzania / Uganda
Africa: Finding the food crops of the future
Temperatures seem set to soar to perilously high levels because of climate change. In another 40 years, would maize still be the staple food in Kenya, already hit by five failed rainy seasons? If not, what could people grow and eat? And if you could grow maize, how much water and fertilizer would it need? … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 