With children severely malnourished, animals weak or dying, and people struggling to find water, exceptionally dry conditions in the Horn of Africa have added to the cumulative effect of three to four consecutive seasons of poor or failed rains. Severe shortages of pasture and water, combined with high food prices, have left an estimated 24 … Continue reading
Satellites measuring the greenness of Kenya from space are set to help insure livestock herders against droughts and mitigate the effects of climate change, experts said Friday. “This is a new approach to tackle an old problem,” Carlos Seré, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said of the satellite-based insurance for cattle, … Continue reading
Early morning light finds Mr Njuguna, a trader in Githurai Market, on the move. He is laden with produce but he carries it all with a light heart. It is no longer a wait-and-see business; every new message on his phone makes his heart sing — someone wants his produce, and now. In Emuhaya, Mr … Continue reading
The camel, its legs attached with branches, brays desperately, blood spurting from the cut artery; nomads in Turkana in Kenya’s extreme north have been reduced to sacrificing their animals to survive a bruising drought. “I brought this dromedary to have it killed and make a little money after the other one died of hunger with … Continue reading
A parasite researcher in NYU is hoping totackle African Sleeping Sickness by creating genetically enhanced cows that cannot catch or transmit the disease. She’s been planning the project since 2006, when she attended a workshop in Nairobi. At the meeting, local farmers explained how they need cattle to survive. Most of them can’t afford to … Continue reading
The drought which has hit East Africa is wreaking havoc among the region’s pastoralists. Their herds of livestock have been decimated. Even the hardy camels are dying. Turkana District in northwest Kenya is a harsh environment at the best of times. Driving along the sandy roads with temperatures tipping 40C, the air coming through the … Continue reading
Thousands of Tanzanian families could be saved from poverty thanks to a much-needed vaccine being mass-produced in a bid to protect cattle from the deadly East Coast fever. East Coast Fever is a tick-transmitted disease that kills one cow every 30 seconds with one million a year dying of the disease in Africa. Calves are … Continue reading
A profile of what could become the country’s irreversible tragedy Kenya’s worst drought in living memory has been overshadowed by political and economic crises and the destruction of the Mau Forest. Now, with 10 million people short of food, the drought has captured national attention. Read more (Daily Nation) Continue reading
This report by Asfaw Negassa formerly with ILRI now with IFPRI on Improving smallholder farmers’; marketed supply and market access for dairy products in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia was released on 8 October, 2009. Presents study carried out on improving smallholder farmers’; marketed supply and market access for dairy products in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. The main … Continue reading
A private charity has renewed the fight against cattle deaths with the introduction of a new distribution channel for vaccine in the Kenyan market. Commercialisation of the vaccine is targeted at combating East Coast Fever, a livestock disease that kills millions of animals every year. “We are exploring ways of transferring the production and distribution … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 