Inger Andersen, chair of the Fund Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and vice president of Sustainable Development at the World Bank during her opening speech at Agriculture and Rural Development Day, a side event at the United Nations climate change conference (COP16), being held in Cancún, Mexico (photo credit: Neil … Continue reading
Category Archives: West Africa
Improving smallholder fodder through better knowledge as well as technologies
Busy fodder market in Hyderabad, India; farmers transport their fodder to this market, where it is bought by urban dairies (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). The magazine Farming Matters ran a feature on a Fodder Innovation Project funded by the UK Department for International Development and conducted since 2003 by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with … Continue reading
Confronting livestock on the streets of Accra
The vision of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to transform Accra, the capital city to a millennium city is laudable and has won accolades from many stakeholders. However one would least expect to find livestock roaming the streets of Accra, in a merry-go-round style, in the official gateway to the country. What is worrying is the … Continue reading
Food crisis in the Sahel: unlearned lessons?
Women and livestock in a village in Niger (ILRI / Mann) What happens when the last of last year’s grain harvest runs out and the last animal is sold to buy emergency grain? ‘A catastrophe is about to unfold for millions of the world’s poorest people. It happened five years ago, and this time the … Continue reading
Tapping local ingenuity to raise fish and livestock
Fishers and livestock keepers in Ghana face numerous challenges. For fishers, a good harvest can mean abundant fish but low prices. And the country’s small-scale chicken farmers often lose their flocks to disease. But in Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region, two farmers’ groups are helping members find innovative ways to add value … Continue reading
Niger: Forced to sell cattle for a handful of dollars
Nigeriens are likely to take years to recover from selling their weakened livestock at a fraction of its normal value due to drought in the Sahel region. The drought threatens almost 70 percent of herds, according to rough estimates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “It can take up to 10 years … Continue reading
Gambia gets vaccine support for neglected animal disease project
The Gambia has got support of vaccine for animal diseases that are often neglected. This was disclosed to TODAY Newspaper by the director of Animal Health and Production Service at Abuko, Dr. Kebba Daffeh while speaking with our reporter in an interview. According to Dr. Daffeh, The Gambia is one of the 14 countries that … Continue reading
Millions face hunger in arid belt of Africa
At this time of year, the Gadabeji Reserve in Niger should be refuge for the nomadic tribes who travel across a moonscape on the edge of the Sahara to graze their cattle. But the grass is meager after a drought killed off the last year’s crops. Now the cattle are too weak to stand and … Continue reading
Burkina Faso: Feed the cows
Erratic rains last year in Burkina, where animal husbandry is the main livelihood in many regions, resulted in widespread shortages of water and pasture. Aid workers and breeders say the poor condition of local livestock – animals that have not already migrated in search of pasture – is hitting families’ food security. The livestock families … Continue reading
Physicians, veterinarians must close ranks to fight diseases affecting public health
A medical consultant at the Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan, Dr. Olupelumi Adebiyi, has solicited for more cooperation between physicians and veterinarians in the country in order to tackle the spread of diseases effectively, espcially zoonotic diseases.He made this demand in Ibadan when delivering a lecturer titled” “One world, One Health: Moore cooperation … Continue reading