“By joining forces in innovation platforms, stakeholders can generate innovation by combining their indigenous knowledge, business interests and organisational skills” – Monty Jones of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa introduces a new book by the Royal Tropical Institute ‘Putting heads together: Agricultural Innovation platforms in practice.’ “This book is based on the premise … Continue reading
Category Archives: Regions
Agriculture / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event report / IPMS
Results-based M&E training for Ethiopia’s regional agricultural officers
Towards the end of its five-year term, the Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) project recently ran a training of trainers workshop on results-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E). In this video, Berhanu Gebremedhin outlines the main topics covered in the workshop: An introduction to results-based M&E; the development of a logic model and performance framework … Continue reading
Bringing farmers’ options to farmers’ fields in the East Africa Highlands
Earlier this year, the International Development Research Centre (Canada) published a book titled Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Highlands of East Africa. In this short video interview, Ethiopian scientist Tilahun Amede, on joint appointment with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and leader of a Nile Basin Development … Continue reading
Animal Breeding / Buffalo / Cattle / Dairying / Fodder / India / Project / South Asia
World Bank injects USD352 million into Indian dairy farming
Measuring milk for sale in India (photo credit: ILRI). ‘The World Bank signs an agreement with India to inject $352 million into the National Dairy Support Project, an initiative designed to revive the flagging fortunes of milk production in the country. Other than being crucial to the nutritional security of the country’s population; dairy farming … Continue reading
Books and chapters / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Goats / Human Health / Nutrition / Pastoralism / Small Ruminants / Uganda / Vulnerability
Milk matters are serious matters in northeastern Uganda
Karamojang woman and child in Kotido, Uganda (photo on Flickr by Courtney Chance). An interesting report on ‘milk matters’ has been produced by the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University, USA, in collaboration with Save the Children. It looks at milk in children’s diets and household livelihoods among the Karamojang, a pastoral tribe in northeastern … Continue reading
Animal Feeding / Buffalo / Cattle / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / Fodder / ILRI / India / Intensification / South Asia / Tanzania
Dual-purpose groundnut, pigeonpea, millet and sorghum raise milk yields in dairy-intensive India
Groundnuts (photo on Flickr by Stephen Eustace). Jerome Bossuet, of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in Pantancheru, India, has an interesting article in the New Agriculturist last month about fodder innovations helping Indian dairy farmers. Feed matters are big matters in this intensive dairy-producing country, because ‘Feed represents around 70 … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Books and chapters / Drought / Food Security / ILRI / Markets / Opinion piece
To market, to market–but where is the market? Jimmy Smith and Namanga Ngongi say agricultural markets could be the engines of Africa’s development
Three diapered goats in the trunk of a car, bought at the local livestock market, await the drive in Mali (photo on Flickr by Romel Jacinto). The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) recently released a book of case studies illustrating ‘high- payoff/low-cost’ initiatives that could help … Continue reading
Burkina Faso / Chad / Drought / Drylands / Food Security / Mali / Niger / Pastoralism / Senegal / Vulnerability / West Africa
Oxfam on the West African food crisis that is building
Goats are rounded up for a vaccination program run by Oxfam in Saraf, Guera Province, Chad (picture credit: Andy Hall/Oxfam, 9 Feb 2012). In 2012, countries across the Sahel are once again facing a serious food crisis as the rains have failed to come. This ecologically fragile region is becoming even more vulnerable as grazing areas … Continue reading
Agriculture / Article / Climate Change / Drylands / East Africa / Kenya / Livelihoods / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / Women
Women playing key role in pastoralist livelihood diversification
Maasai women in Kenya. Women are playing a key role in pastoralists’ diversification (picture credit: Konrad Glogowski on Flickr). A feature story carried by IRIN this week highlights how women are playing an increasingly important role in pastoralist livelihoods diversification in Kenya. ‘Along a small seasonal stream in Ewaso Nyiro village in Narok, southwestern Kenya, Leleseina … Continue reading
Agriculture / Bangladesh / Dairying / East Africa / India / Kenya / South Asia / Value Chains
Scaling sustainable and equitable agri-food and livestock value chains
In April 2012, the ‘Seas of Change’ international learning workshop will be held in the Netherlands.To help guide the workshop, the organizers of the initiative have collated a number of case studies pointing to successes in scaling inclusive agri-food market development. Several livestock and dairy examples are included in the case studies: Bangladesh, dairy and livestock … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 