Category Archives: Books and chapters

CGIAR integrated systems research for sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong—New book
Agriculture / Books and chapters / Capacity Strengthening / CGIAR / China / Crop-Livestock / Environment / Farming Systems / Humid Tropics / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Impact Assessment / Innovation Systems / Intensification / Laos / Markets / NRM / Participation / PIL / Policy / Report / Soils / Southeast Asia / Thailand / Value Chains / Vietnam

CGIAR integrated systems research for sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong—New book

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The CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics) was an agricultural research for development program that aimed for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems to improve the livelihoods of farm households. The Central Mekong Action Area was primarily focused on the complex of rice and non-rice farming systems (plus areas with other land uses) in the non-flood-prone lowlands, uplands and highlands. The Action Area covered six countries (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Continue reading →

‘Desertification’—A timely synthesis of three decades of evidence that this topic has (long) passed its sell-by date
Books and chapters / Climate Change / Pastoralism / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands

‘Desertification’—A timely synthesis of three decades of evidence that this topic has (long) passed its sell-by date

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A great new book, ‘The End of Desertification? Disputing Environmental Change in the Drylands’, edited by Roy Behnke and Mike Mortimore, has 20 top quality chapters from all over the world, documenting why the term desertification has passed its sell-by date, if it ever had one at all. It is an impressive and timely synthesis. Continue reading →

What is ‘complexity thinking’ and what does it have to do with development/aid?
Books and chapters / ILRI / LIVESTOCKFISH / Participation / Pastoralism / Policy / Scaling

What is ‘complexity thinking’ and what does it have to do with development/aid?

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book by Burns and Worsley (available in hardback, paperback and eBook formats) will be of interest to all those looking to make a greater difference in international development (that is, in development parlance, to take solutions to scale). ‘Navigating Complexity in International Development: Facilitating Sustainable Change at Scale’, published by Practical Action Publishing, Oct 2015, 198 pages. Continue reading →

‘The Abundant Herds’ and the poetry of Zulu cattle naming
Animal Breeding / Books and chapters / Cattle / Indigenous Breeds / Livestock / South Africa / Southern Africa

‘The Abundant Herds’ and the poetry of Zulu cattle naming

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A new edition of a stunning coffee table book about one of Africa’s livestock treasures—the indigenous Nguni cattle of South Africa—has been published. ‘Long the mainstay of traditional Zulu culture, [the Nguni] are possibly the most beautiful cattle in the world, with their variously patterned and multicoloured hides everywhere in demand. . . . Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Products / Article / Books and chapters / Chickens / Consumption / Genetics / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Intensification / LiveGene / North America / Poultry / Trade / USA

How a ‘Chicken of Tomorrow’ breeding contest turned America’s backyard birds into a giant global industry

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New Yorker cover by Tom Gauld (via Pinterest). The following fascinating recent history of the chicken in America is taken from a 2014 essay by Andrew Lawler published in Aeon (check out this online science and cultural magazine, founded in London in 2012, if you haven’t yet): Chicken of tomorrow: How a massive breeding contest turned … Continue reading →

A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Article / Books and chapters / Brucellosis / Consumption / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Launch / Markets

Informal markets main source of food for Africa’s poor: Today and tomorrow

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‘. . . 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 →

A4NH / Africa / Agri-Health / Article / Books and chapters / Brucellosis / Consumption / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Launch / Markets

Local vendors, not supermarkets, are key to Africa’s food security

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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 →

A4NH / Agri-Health / Animal Health / Books and chapters / Food Safety / FSZ / Ghana / ILRI / India / Kenya / Mozambique / Zoonotic Diseases

Slum livestock agriculture

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Maria Teresa Correa, an epidemiologist and public health professor at North Carolina State University, and Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist and food safety scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), have an interesting chapter on an interesting subject — Slum livestock agriculture — published in the Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems (2014). Continue reading →

Africa / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biodiversity / Books and chapters / Cattle / Countries / Goats / Guinea / ILRI / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Mali / Research / Sheep / West Africa

Management of globally significant endemic ruminant livestock in Guinea and Mali

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Although livestock play a central role in rural development in West Africa, traditional livestock systems are in general characterized by high mortality rates, low reproductive rates and low offtake rates. Furthermore, the presence of trypanosome-infected tsetse flies in the subhumid and humid areas seriously holds back the potential for livestock production. The region’s endemic ruminant … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Books and chapters / CGIAR / CRPs / Impact Assessment / Research

40-year CGIAR history published: Lots of lessons for the ‘New CGIAR’

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From CGIAR comes a new ‘look back’ at its evolution over 40 years. The book is titled The CGIAR at 40: Institutional Evolution of the World’s Premier Agricultural Research Network. It was written by Selçuk Özgediz, a Turkish national who was affiliated with CGIAR for 27 years, the last several years as management adviser to the CGIAR Secretariat … Continue reading →