Category Archives: Opinion piece

Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / Mali / Niger / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / West Africa

Flawed global food systems–not drought–cause of African famines

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Foods of Khulungira Village, in central Malawi (clockwise from top left): nsima (maize meal porridge), kachewere wophika (boiled potatoes), nkhuku yophika (chicken stew), nkhwani ndi phwetekere (pumpkin leaves with tomato), kachewere wokazinga (fried potatoes), and kholowa ndi phwetekere (sweetpotato leaves with tomato) (photo credit: CGIAR/Stevie Mann). All names in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language; translations by Christopher … Continue reading →

Directorate / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Vulnerability

Are politicians making political hay – and pastoral havoc – out of diminishing dryland resources in northern Kenya?

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Northern Kenya from the air (photo on Flickr by Neil Palmer [CIAT]). ‘The chairman of [Kenya’s] National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, has singled out divisive politicians as the main cause of recent ethnic violence among some pastoral communities. He warned that stern action will be taken against such people. ‘Dr Kibunjia’s observation … Continue reading →

Environment / Food Security / ILRI / Intensification / Opinion piece / Pro-Poor Livestock

NGO of ‘eat less meat’ mantra takes holistic view of livestock’s role in meeting global eco- and nutritional challenges

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Ethiopian livestock-keeping family (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). Dan Murphy, a food industry journalist, has published a commentary on a Pork Network website about a livestock chapter in the State of the World 2011: Innovations That Nourish the Planet, published by the Worldwatch Institute, in the USA. ‘The book aims to provide a blueprint for coping with … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / Opinion piece / Pastoralism

Obsession with a bull, and related matters

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A Dinka cattle camp at sunset in Abyei, Sudan (photo credit: UN photo/Tim McKulka). Here’s an interesting essay on the nature of human-livestock relations. It starts with a story of Emong, a Turkana herder, and his obsession with a bull, and quickly moves on to the ravages of drought in pastoral regions, Western concepts of nature … Continue reading →

ILRI / Intensification / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Opinion piece / Research

Partnerships and participation key to effective research for development

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Bill Thorpe, a former staff member, reflects on the key role of inclusive partnerships… … In his contribution to the ‘LiveSTOCK Exchange’ Tim Williams highlights “the triple challenge of improving food and nutrition security, reducing poverty and enhancing environmental sustainability” (and stresses the need to strengthen … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Crop residues / Crop-Livestock / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / ILRI / Intensification / Livestock / Opinion piece / Research

ILRI – ICRISAT collaborating to meet food and feed security needs

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, William Dar, of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), reflects on ILRI-ICRISAT collaboration on crops-livestock integration in mixed systems … When Michael Blümmel and team organized the inauguration of ILRI’s experimental feed processing unit in their field office at ICRISAT headquarters in … Continue reading →

CGIAR / ILRI / Livestock Systems / Opinion piece / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research

Where distinctions matter: Differentiating global livestock systems and regions ‘essential’

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, some senior ILRI staff were provoked to chime in on the need to differentiate research data, results and messages about livestock production systems … Map showing differences in the levels of meat consumed in the world (map by Worldmapper). What set off ILRI’s staff are some … Continue reading →

ILRI / Livestock / Livestock-Water / NRM / Opinion piece / Research / Water / WLE

Livestock and ILRI in the CGIAR’s Challenge Program on Water and Food

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Larry Harrington, from the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), reflects on livestock and ILRI in its programs … The CPWF was formed in the early 2000’s with a programmatic focus on water scarcity, food security and poverty. It finished its first research phase … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Climate Change / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Livestock-Water / Opinion piece / Pastoralism / Research / Vulnerability

Balancing efforts to address climate change, poverty, risk and uncertainty

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Tom Thurow, Professor of Watershed Management at the University of Wyoming reflects on priorities for livestock systems research at ILRI… Climate Change While working in several Latin American countries this summer it struck me that many environmental management/regulation advances that these countries had been making a … Continue reading →

Animal Production / ILRI / Intensification / Livestock / Opinion piece / Research

Research on smallholder livestock development deserves attention

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For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Antonio Rota from the International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD) reflects on the importance of smallholder livestock to achieving the Millennium Development Goals … The contribution of small dairy production units and small livestock (hereby defined as ‘smallholder livestock’) to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals … Continue reading →