The Executive Secretary of IGAD, Eng. Mahboub Maalim, underscored the central role that the livestock sector is playing in delivering IGAD’s revitalised agenda of regional economic integration. He further commended the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative for its progress as the secretariat’s de facto livestock arm, in forging regional cooperation and harmonisation. Speaking in a meeting … Continue reading
Category Archives: Regions
Livestock towards livelihood of small farmers in India
In India, of the 72% of the rural population,57% of the households (over 100 million) keep livestock as their only or important source of livelihood. Many of these (32%) small-scale livestock keepers have no access to land and depend on livestock as the only source of livelihood and the number of rural landless households is … Continue reading
Yemen: Ramping up the fight against screw worm
Yemen’s Agriculture Ministry is boosting efforts to combat the livestock disease screw worm, which is threatening the livelihoods of rural inhabitants, particularly in coastal and central regions, according to ministry officials. Read more … (IRIN) Continue reading
Climate change threatens region’s most traded crops
Maize and beans, East Africa’s most traded and consumed commodities, are being threatened by climate changes. A new study published in the peer-review journal on Agricultural Systems, projects that climate change will have highly variable impacts on East Africa’s vital maize and bean harvests over the next two to four decades. This is presenting growers … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / East Africa / Kenya / Research
In Kenya, better cows for better health
A parasite researcher from NYU is hoping to tackle African sleeping sickness in Kenya by creating genetically enhanced cows that cannot catch or transmit the disease. Jayne Raper believes that to truly help people, sometimes you have to start with another species. In this case, cows. Unlike Raper, a parasite researcher at New York University, most … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Climate Change / Drought / East Africa / Kenya / Pastoralism
Herding in Africa, ancient practice being wiped away
In the Horn of Africa region, millions of families are desperate for food and water. Several seasons of failed rains is slowly turning into a major catastrophe. In Kenya an estimated 100,000 livestock have been lost to the current season. Read more … (World Sentinel) Continue reading
EU fails to end African boycott at climate talks
A top European delegate says African countries are continuing to boycott meetings at U.N. climate negotiations after talks with the European Union failed to persuade them to return. Swedish delegate Anders Turresson says the Africans remain concerned about the low pledges by industrial countries to reduce carbon emissions. About 50 African nations have boycotted some … Continue reading
Agriculture / Drought / East Africa / Environment / Livestock / Somalia / Trade
Somalia: Livestock-based economy receives major boost
Somalia’s livestock-based economy has received a major boost as its major market, Saudi Arabia lifts its 11 year ban on imported livestock from Somalia. The lift comes after many Somali farmers suffered from the severe east African droughts that dried the soil and dehydrated livestock to death. Last month, a U.S. based NGO embarked on … Continue reading
Third world food crises are caused by climate change
Globalization has proven that what happens in one area of the world invariably affects the whole planet. Right now in Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, and numerous other countries, people are experiencing severe droughts and flooding to an extent beyond anything they have ever witnessed before. Rising temperatures all over the world are causing malnourishment, starvation, and … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Regions / Research
Climate change could create agricultural winners and losers in East Africa, new study warns
As African leaders prepare to present an ambitious proposal to industrialized countries for coping with climate change in the part of the world that is most vulnerable to its impacts, a new study points to where and how some of this money should be spent. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Systems, the study projects … Continue reading
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