Priorities for researching livestock diseases in Africa

Posted on 20 Oct 2011 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Oumar Diall, of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reflects on ILRI’s animal health work in West Africa … In past years, most livestock research centered on three pillars: Animal health, animal reproduction and genetics, and animal nutrition. Fewer … Continue reading →

Africa / Burkina Faso / Crop-Livestock / Ghana / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock-Water / NRM / Opinion piece / Research / West Africa / WLE

Water scarcity limits crop-livestock production in the Volta Basin

Posted on 19 Oct 2011 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Sabine Douxchamps reflects on her livestock-water work in West Africa … Rainwater management strategies (RMS) have been extensively studied and promoted in the Volta Basin during the last decades. However, water scarcity still limits the agricultural production of most of the smallholder crop-livestock farms of the … Continue reading →

Crop-Livestock / Directorate / ILRI / Interview / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Research / West Africa

Successful collaboration key to achieve livestock research impact

Posted on 16 Oct 2011 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, CIMMYT’s Bruno Gérard reflects on crop-livestock systems research at ILRI … There has been a long presence of ILRI (then ILCA) in West Africa, focusing both on Sudanian and Sahelian mixed crop livestock systems. A turning point for ILRI research in West Africa was the concentration … Continue reading →

A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Asia / Capacity Strengthening / Emerging Diseases / Human Health / Livestock / South Asia / Southeast Asia / West Africa / Zoonotic Diseases

Strengthening laboratory capacity in response to emerging pandemic threats: FAO, OIE and WHO working together

Posted on 29 Aug 2011 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Early detection of zoonotic pathogens emerging in wild and domestic animal populations before they become a threat to human health is a priority for the public health and animal health sectors. An effective and credible laboratory service is an essential component of such early detection systems. As part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

What future of pastoralism in a changing climate?

Posted on 25 Aug 2011 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Pastoralism—a free-range livestock production system—is practised in all of Africa’s dryland regions, and in some communities it is the main source of food security and income. But will pastoralism survive in the changing climate? The August 2011 issue of Joto Afrika provides research findings, lessons learned and success stories from across Africa. Contents include: The future … Continue reading →

Africa / East Africa / Film and video / ILRI / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Niger / PIM / Policy / Project / Research / Tanzania / Uganda / West Africa

Improving livestock data in Africa–Policy perspectives

Posted on 29 Jun 2011 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

The ‘Livestock Data Innovation Project’ is a three-year project to pilot and develop ways to identify, collect and analyze livestock data in three countries: Uganda, Tanzania and Niger. In its second year, representatives of several partners in the organization share their video perspectives on livestock data and its management. Here Kristin Grote from the Bill … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Animal Production / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / ILRI / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

Sustainable development of animal production systems: Assessing options and strategies

Posted on 13 Jun 2011 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

The July 2011 issue of Livestock Science is a compilation of papers addressing different aspects of the sustainability of animal production systems. According to the editorial introduction, animal production systems are facing large challenges because of their effects on the environment, emerging zoonotic diseases, welfare issues and negative contribution to human health. Unfortunately these negative … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Biodiversity / Environment / Film and video / Ghana / Indigenous Breeds / Livelihoods / NRM / Southeast Asia / Trade / Vietnam / West Africa / WLE

Here be dragons–and lions: Agricultural growth and development in Asia and Africa

Posted on 2 Jan 2011 by Susan MacMillan • Leave a comment

Dragon head detail on a gate to the walled Citadel of Hué, the former, imperial, capital of Viet Nam from the 17th to 19th centuries and national capital until 1945. Located in the middle of the country along the Perfume River, Hué’s Citadel, like Beijing’s Forbidden City, housed only emperors and their concubines and closest … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Environment / Farming Systems / West Africa

African farmers displaced as investors move in

Posted on 22 Dec 2010 by ILRI Communications • Leave a comment

The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told us this would be the last rainy season for … Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Production / Climate Change / Insurance / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

Oxfam calls for climate insurance for West African pastoralists

Posted on 12 Dec 2010 by Peter Ballantyne (ILRI) • Leave a comment

Government-sponsored climate insurance for pastoralists in West African’s arid Sahel region offers a solution to mitigate the loss of livestock due to recurrent droughts related to the effects of climate change, an Oxfam official has said. Gilles Marion, Mali country director for the U.K based charity, said that pastoralists in the Sahel prepare for the … Continue reading →