‘. . . According to studies by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), informal markets . . . provide essential sources of food and income for millions of poor, with milk and meat that is often safer than supermarkets. Blunt crack-downs on informal milk and meat sellers that are a critical source of food and income for millions of people are not the solution,” Delia Grace, ILRI’s program leader for food Safety and Zoonoses, said during the launch of the study in Nairobi on Tuesday. Continue reading
Category Archives: Article
Local vendors, not supermarkets, are key to Africa’s food security
Simple food safety training for informal vendors can limit the spread of SARS, avian influenza, tuberculosis and pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli, said the book, “Food safety and informal markets: Animal products in sub-Saharan Africa”. Continue reading
ILRI renews collaboration to support livestock development in the Philippines
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has renewed collaboration with the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) to support the country’s livestock sector. Continue reading
Goats are ‘having a moment’–and making their mark in the United States
There were 2,621,514 goats in the United States as of 2012, the year of the most recent USDA Agricultural Census. If America’s goats were their own state, its population would be larger than that of Wyoming, Vermont, D.C. and North Dakota — combined. This is what all those goats look like on a map. Continue reading
Pastoral paradox: Communally used, commonly abused, rangelands remain demonstrations in resilience
An interesting and comprehensive paper, Dynamics and resilience of rangelands and pastoral peoples around the globe, was recently published in the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 39: 217-242 (Oct 2014), DOI: 10.1146/annurev-environ-020713-163329. The lead author of the paper is Robin Reid, an ecologist and rangelands expert formerly with ILRI, in Nairobi, Kenya, and now director of the Center for Collaborative Conservation at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Continue reading
Modern farming: A chicken in every pot (and a pathogen on every plate?)
‘Playing chicken’, a balanced and comprehensive article on antibiotic use in chicken production in Canada has appeared in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of The Walrus, a Canadian general interest magazine. Continue reading
Tanzania milk association (TAMPA) and research institute (TALIRI) laud MilkIT innovation platforms
Speaking exclusively to the “Daily News on Saturday”, the Tanzania Milk Processors Association Executive Secretary, Mr Edmond Mariki, said that innovation platforms used in the three-year MilkIT project that enhanced dairy-based livelihoods in India and Tanzania through feed innovation and value chain development approaches is something they welcome. Continue reading
African biosciences research critical for transforming African smallholder agriculture
Gity Behrevan during the BecA-ILRI-Sweden partnership review in Nairobi, November 2013 (photo credit: BecA-ILRI Hub/Tim Hall). ‘Biosciences research could transform Africa’s agriculture and lead to food and nutrition security, but little is being done locally to support its funding, experts say. ‘Researchers and policymakers who attended a review meeting of the Biosciences eastern and central … Continue reading
Small-scale farms mixing livestock and crops are the way to feed the world—Kenya newspaper
According to the article, ‘farmers who mix growing crops with rearing livestock in both poor and developed countries, not only boost food security efforts’, but also earn much needed income in the process. Continue reading
Kenya, hotspot for aflatoxin poisoning, opens aflatoxin lab and ‘aflasafe’ facility for biocontrol of this fungal toxin
‘In an effort to address aflatoxin poisoning, which has killed more than 100 people in the country, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) has launched the first ever Aflatoxin lab in Kenya.’ Continue reading