Is a new wave of development work towards food security underway in Africa? On the last day of the conference ‘Increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing food security in Africa’, Mafa Chipeta, formerly at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reminded fellow Africans that solutions to food security on the continent lay not outside, in the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Regions
Aflatoxins / Africa / BecA / Biotechnology / East Africa / Genetics / ILRI / Interview / Research / Staff
Segenet Kelemu: On the LiveSTOCK Exchange ‘hard seat’
During the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Brian Perry interviewed Segenet Kelemu, Director of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub. Watch the video: On 9 and 10 November 2011, the ILRI Board of Trustees hosted a 2-day ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ to discuss and reflect on livestock research for development. The event … Continue reading
Drought / East Africa / Event / Food Security / Geodata / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability
New insurance program in Kenya covers cattle lost to drought
A blind pastoral herder in Kenya’s Marsabit District awaits payout of an insurance premium he bought to protect his livestock against drought (photo on Flickr by Jeff Haskins). Tristan McConnell, reporting from Nairobi, writes in the GlobalPost (Boston) yesterday of a new insurance program set up to protect a group of pastoral livestock herders in … Continue reading
Agriculture / BecA / Biotechnology / CGIAR / Directorate / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Nutrition / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research
‘Livestock is the Cinderella of agricultural development’–An interview with Jimmy Smith
A lengthy interview with ILRI’s new director general Jimmy Smith is the leading post on the home page of the Syngenta Foundation website in Nov 2011 (image credit: Syngenta Foundation; credit for photo of Jimmy Smith: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). ‘Jimmy Smith is the new Director General of [the International Livestock Research Institute] in Nairobi. He recently … Continue reading
Africa / Capacity Strengthening / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock
Livestock capacity development approaches: IPMS project experiences
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Dirk Hoekstra, Azage Tegegne and Berhanu Gebremedhin prepared an issue brief on capacity development approaches in the ‘Improving the Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian farmers’ (IPMS) project … ‘Capacity to innovate’ by value chain actors was identified as a key factor for a participatory smallholder … Continue reading
Global research with regional relevance – How ILRI works in different parts of the world
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Iain Wright, Siboniso Moyo and Abdou Fall prepared an issue brief on ILRI’s regional activities … As a global research institute, ILRI focuses its research on challenges of global importance At the same time, it serves the needs of its stakeholders and poor livestock keepers in … Continue reading
Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Cattle / East Africa / Ethiopia / Genetics / ILRI / IPMS / Livestock / Report / Research
Mass artificial insemination interventions to enhance dairy and beef production in Ethiopia
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Azage Tegegne and Dirk Hoekstra prepared an issue brief on genetic improvement of cattle in the ‘Improving the Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian farmers’ (IPMS) project … A key intervention for dairy and meat value chains in Ethiopia is the use of genetically improved cows. … Continue reading
Investing in people = investing in long-term benefits
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Purvi Mehta, head of capacity strengthening, reflects on ILRI’s capacity development activities. ‘I joined ILRI in 2009. Before working at ILRI, I was director of a non-governmental organization in India that worked with the government and over 68,000 farmers in technology … Continue reading
A4NH / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Epidemiology / Film and video / Food Safety / Human Health / Research / West Africa
Veterinary scientists address human illnesses associated with livestock
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist, reflects on ILRI’s research in agriculture for human health and nutrition. ‘I first came to ILRI in 2002 to study livestock resistance to trypanocide drugs among livestock keepers in West Africa. We wanted to help farmers … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Australia / BecA / Climate Change / Directorate / Food Security / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Research
Australian champions for international agricultural research speak out on new Australian initiative to reach out to Africa
ILRI’s Gabrielle Persley being interviewed by Australian journalist Kate Sieper at ILRI’s ‘John Vercoe Conference on Animal Breeding for Poverty Reduction’, held in Nairobi in 2007 (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). The Australian Federal Government is funding a new multi-million-dollar Australian International Centre for Food Security, aimed at helping millions of Africans lift themselves out of … Continue reading
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