“The workshop concluded with visits to local research facilities, including the International Livestock Research Institute’s Biosciences of Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) Hub. Private donors and investors have provided more than $10 million in funding for expansion of the facilities and training. “The BecA Hub showed me the country was actively seeking solutions,” Monteros said. … Continue reading
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
Minister of State for Overseas Development, Mr Peter Power, T.D., today launched an exhibition highlighting the potential of science for Africa’s smallholder farmers at the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre in Dublin. Leading international agricultural researchers, such as Dr Carlos Seré, Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Dr Richard Jones, … 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
Three years after Kenya got its first test-tube babies, the Daily Nation can reveal another first from the world of test tubes – a healthy calf. The calf, which the Daily Nation has named Bully, is one of two test tube calves born three weeks ago in an experiment by veterinary scientists from the University … 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
Things Fall Apart Things have quickly fallen apart in this particular drought in the Horn’s vast drylands because of a toxic mix of underlying factors. Land Use Among the things not being redressed are land-use policies and practices that fail to account for population increases and thus are restricting herders to ever smaller, drier and … 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
ILRI Clippings 