Category Archives: Value Chains

How viable are schemes to give poor people making and selling ‘informal’ milk greater market access?
A4NH / AHH / Buffalo / Cattle / Consumption / Dairying / East Africa / Food Safety / Food Security / Human Health / ILRI / India / Kenya / Livelihoods / Markets / Nutrition / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Report / South Asia / Tanzania / Trade / Value Chains

How viable are schemes to give poor people making and selling ‘informal’ milk greater market access?

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A new report from ILRI and IIED reviews the effectiveness of training and certification schemes designed to give small-scale ‘informal’ sellers of ‘raw’ and/or boiled or informally pasteurized milk and (in India) milk sweets greater market access in East Africa and South Asia. The report reviews such schemes in Kenya and Tanzania and in the state of Assam, in northwestern India. In all three countries, the informal sector dominates dairy marketing and trade and informal milk production and trade contribute significantly to the employment, livelihoods and nutrition of many millions of poor people. Continue reading →

Food—a ‘hyper-local issue’—needs to keep MOVING, ‘from farm to fork’, says the World Bank’s Juergen Voegele
Article / CGIAR / Consumption / COVID19 / Food Security / Policy / Trade / Value Chains

Food—a ‘hyper-local issue’—needs to keep MOVING, ‘from farm to fork’, says the World Bank’s Juergen Voegele

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On a recent World Bank ‘Voices’ blog, German agricultural economist Juergen Voegele, World Bank vice president for sustainable development, said that with the emptying of supermarket shelves and the sweeping travel bans being put in place to try to stem the spread of COVID-19, one might deduce that global food supplies were low. That’s not the case, he says. Continue reading →

On a frugal continent of ‘economic vegetarians’, consuming more meat means longer, healthier lives—The Economist
Advocacy / Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Production / Animal Products / Asia / China / Consumption / Dairying / Environment / Food Security / Human Health / India / Intensification / Kenya / Livelihoods / Markets / News clipping / Nutrition / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Senegal / Trade / Value Chains

On a frugal continent of ‘economic vegetarians’, consuming more meat means longer, healthier lives—The Economist

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The Economist reports that the future of food lies in Africa. And why that’s a good thing. As Africans get richer, they will eat more meat and live longer, healthier lives. Continue reading →

A ‘milk start-up’ aims to modernize India’s massive informal dairy economy in Odisha State
Buffalo / Cattle / Consumption / Dairying / Food Safety / Human Health / India / Markets / News clipping / South Asia / Value Chains

A ‘milk start-up’ aims to modernize India’s massive informal dairy economy in Odisha State

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Venture capitalists have been increasingly active in India, though until recently nearly all of them have been looking to invest in Silicon Valley-like dot-coms. Odisha state, the heart of Mr. Misra’s proposed new dairy start up, is one of India’s least-developed regions, far off the radar screen even of investors based in the country. Continue reading →

India’s northeast Bihar State gears up to approve and implement a ‘livestock master plan’
Capacity Strengthening / Cattle / Chickens / Goats / ILRI / India / Intensification / News clipping / Pigs / PIL / Policy / Poultry / Pro-Poor Livestock / South Asia / Value Chains

India’s northeast Bihar State gears up to approve and implement a ‘livestock master plan’

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Bihar is gearing up for a ‘livestock master plan’ being prepared for it by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ‘It is almost ready and ILRI experts will present its draft to the government here on July 4. The master plan, which will be for a 15–year period, will emphasise on various steps to give a push to dairy, goat-rearing, poultry, piggery and other allied sectors with an aim to improving food security and reducing poverty through better and more sustainable use of livestock. Continue reading →

Accelerating the development of agricultural value chains in Kenya—AVCD Conference Highlights
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / AVCD / Cattle / CGIAR / Climate Change / Crops / Dairying / Disease Control / East Africa / Event report / Extension / Food Security / Forages / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Markets / Nutrition / Policy / SLS / Value Chains

Accelerating the development of agricultural value chains in Kenya—AVCD Conference Highlights

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Twitter Moment highlights of the Accelerated Value Chain Development Conference at ILRI on 26–27 Apr 2018. Continue reading →

Cleaning up assessments of livestock-environment systems in developing countries with CLEANED
Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / Environment / Kenya / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / LIVESTOCKFISH / News clipping / NRM / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Value Chains

Cleaning up assessments of livestock-environment systems in developing countries with CLEANED

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CLEANED provides a rapid assessment that quantifies potential environmental impacts of planned livestock development interventions at multiple spatial scales. With a particular focus on developing countries, it requires participatory discussions with local communities to make sure that assessments are relevant to local agro-ecological landscapes and production systems. Continue reading →

Transforming pastoral pursuits into profitable livestock enterprises in southern Africa
Animal Feeding / Cattle / Event report / Feeds / ILRI / Intensification / PIL / PIM / Pro-Poor Livestock / Scaling / Southern Africa / Value Chains / Zimbabwe

Transforming pastoral pursuits into profitable livestock enterprises in southern Africa

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At the Ezwilini Conference, experts were trying to find ways to unlock the livestock value chain, finances and access to credit for rural farmers. They probed issues to do with improving the livelihoods of livestock smallholder farmers and other value chain actors through value addition and marketing. Continue reading →

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 →

Beef fattening ready for take-off in southern Africa with new financing made available to smallholders
Animal Feeding / Botswana / Cattle / Event report / Feeds / ILRI / Intensification / Malawi / Mozambique / News clipping / PIL / PIM / Pro-Poor Livestock / Scaling / Southern Africa / Tanzania / Value Chains / Zimbabwe

Beef fattening ready for take-off in southern Africa with new financing made available to smallholders

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Rural farmers in Zimbabwe and the whole of Southern Africa are set to receive a major boost in their livestock production through the expected launch of the beef value chain finance initiative this year. The initiative, whose pilot project was successfully undertaken in Swaziland, includes a loan scheme for smallholder farmers who want to take up beef fattening for the market. This came out during the on-going International Conference on Livestock Value Chain and Access to Credit being held in Ezulwini, Swaziland. Continue reading →