Tag Archives: 2011 Expert Consultation on Interventions for Sustainable Livestock Systems in the Horn (AU-IBAR-ILRI Nbi)

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 →

Agriculture / Drought / East Africa / Film and video / Food Security / Kenya / Vulnerability

Small farmers are productive farmers, if given the right support–de Schutter

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Watch this 6-minute ILRI film about a previous drought that devastated much of East Africa in 2008–2009. In Kenya, the Kitengela Maasai pastoral rangelands south of Nairobi, and the hot and dry crop-livestock farming district of Kitui further east, experienced many of the worst effects, including reports of the deaths of up to half of … Continue reading →

Biodiversity / Drought / East Africa / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Vulnerability / Wildlife

CNN reports that drought in Horn is increasing conflicts between people and wildlife

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Elephants and livestock both need water on a regular basis  (photo of Kenya elephant on Flickr by Shawna Nelles). CNN reports that ‘As the Horn of Africa suffers its worst drought for 60 years, there are reports of growing conflict between people and wildlife over the region’s limited resources. ‘. . . Jan de Leeuw, … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Food Security / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Food security in southern Somalia predicted to deteriorate further

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A woman holding her young malnourished baby queues for food at the Badbado refugee camp, in Mogadishu, Somalia (photo on Flickr by United Nations/Stuart Price).  The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) and the Food Security and Analysis Unit (FSNAU) report that in Somalia, in addition to the five areas where famine has already been … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Food Security / USA / Vulnerability

Horn of Africa drought: Short-term ‘Band-Aid’ thinking not enough–CGIAR

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The CGIAR Consortium Senior Information and Knowledge Officer, Enrica Porcari (middle), with CGIAR CEO Lloyd Le Page, at a CGIAR news briefing on ‘Research Options for Mitigating Drought-induced Food Crises,’ 1 Sep 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Lloyd Le Page, chief executive officer of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR), is a guest … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

Problems in the Horn of Africa ‘ought not to be’–KARI’s David Mwangi

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Consortium media briefing held at ILRI on 1 Sep 2011 on drought in the Horn: Panelists from left to right, Jeff Hill, director of policy in the Bureau of Food Security at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); David Miano Mwangi, assistant director for animal production at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI); … Continue reading →

Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

East Africa can–and should–help livestock herders cope better with drought

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Dasanech nomadic homes near Omorate, in southern Ethiopia (photo on Flickr by Carsten ten Brink). Cathy Majtenyi of Voice of America reported on meetings in Nairobi this week to look at options for mitigating drought-induced food shortages. They say pastoralism is the best land-use practice in the region’s drylands and are looking at ways to help … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

‘It’s not drought, but vulnerability to drought, that’s eroding food security in the Horn’–USAID’s Jeff Hill

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Jeff Hill, Director of Policy at the Bureau of Food Security, at the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), speaks at a news briefing on ‘Research Options for Mitigating Drought-induced Food Crises,’ 1 Sep 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Samuel Mungai). Mark Tran reports in the Guardian‘s Poverty Matters Blog on yesterday’s meeting of experts on … Continue reading →

Drought / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event / Food Security / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

‘The food crisis in the Horn is essentially a livestock crisis’–Lloyd Le Page, CEO of the CGIAR

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Voice of America’s Cathy Majtenyi interviews CGIAR CEO Lloyd Le Page at the CGIAR News Briefing on ‘Research Options for Mitigating Drought-induced Food Crises,’ 1 Sep 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Katy Migiro summarizes on Alertnet four ways to prevent famine in the Horn of Africa raised by experts meeting at the opening in Kenya … Continue reading →