Tag Archives: IIED

Asia / CCAFS / CGIAR / China / Climate Change / Drylands / East Africa / Environment / Food Security / ILRI / India / Kenya / Pastoralism / Policy / Report / South Asia

Reframing the pastoral narrative: Ancient mobile herding strategies to make a comeback in a hotter world

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Fulani boy in Niger herds his family’s animals (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). Mobility to unlock scattered food, feed, water and other scarce and scattered essential resources is a human strategy as old as humankind itself—and one that remains key for pastoral livestock herders the world over. As the world warms and its natural resources become ever scarcer, it would … Continue reading →

CGIAR / Climate Change / Event / Food Security / Nutrition

Hunger-nutrition-climate: Can the ‘centre’ hold? Is ‘climate-smart’ agriculture the answer?

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Rain clouds over a farming village near Iringa, Tanzania (photo on Flickr by United Nations /Wolff.) A Hunger-Nutrition-Climate Justice Conference is in its second day of deliberations today (16 Apr) in Dublin. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, head of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), in southern Africa, and chair of the board of … Continue reading →

Article / Drylands / East Africa / Environment / Ethiopia / Pastoralism / Policy / Vulnerability

Cash crops vs cattle pastures: Converting pastoral lands into irrigated croplands in Africa benefits few

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Ethiopian rangeland (photo credit: ILRI/Dave Elsworth). ‘Cotton, sugar, palm oil… you name it. Most governments in the developing world believe such plantation cash crops must be a better use of land, and must deliver greater economic returns, than cattle pastures. That’s what most of the current land grabs in Africa are about. That’s why the … Continue reading →

Africa / BecA / Biodiversity / Capacity Strengthening / Event / Genetics / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Kenya / Opinion piece / Poultry / Women

Changing the face of agriculture in Africa–one (emerging woman) leader at a time

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CGIAR AWARD Fellow Sheila Ommeh, working at ILRI-BecA, gives a presentation on the importance of conserving and better using Africa’s native chicken breeds for World Bank vice president Rachel Kyte on 2 Feb 2012 at the World Agroforestry Centre (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). The Huffington Post this week carries a blog by Sir Gordon Conway, professor of … Continue reading →

Agriculture / Climate Change / Drought / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Food Security / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism

Climate change pilot project launched in northern Kenya

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A new study is looking at the effects of climate change on pastoralists’ communities in northern Kenya. A pilot project on mainstreaming climate change adaptation among the pastoralists of northern Kenya has been launched. The Ministry of Northern Kenya and Development of other Arid Areas through Arid Lands Resource Management Project with partners who include … Continue reading →

Africa / Asia / CCAFS / Climate Change / Latin America

Poor countries need more support to adapt to climate change

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Preparing land for sowing seeds in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). ‘A report published Wednesday [17 November 2010] says developed nations are not fulfilling the financial promises they made at a United Nations conference last year aimed at helping poor countries deal with climate change. ‘At a U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen last … Continue reading →

Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock / Pastoralism

End of the road nears for pastoralists’ way of life

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The government of Kenya and the donor community should act fast to preserve the way of life of nomadic people. For long, the economic worth of nomadic people has been underplayed, though the role they play in preserving fragile ecosystems is vital. That’s the conclusion of a new book published by the Institute for Environment … Continue reading →

Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / West Africa

Modern and mobile: The future of livestock production in Africa’s drylands

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This 2009 book is about the critical role mobile livestock keeping plays in the economic prosperity of Africa’s drylands. Across East and West Africa, an estimated 50 million livestock producers support their families, their communities, and a massive meat, skins and hides industry based on animals that are fed solely on natural dryland pastures. Where … Continue reading →

Africa / Climate Change / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / Livestock / Pastoralism / Trade

African livestock can triumph in the face of climate change

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Africa’s livestock producers are bucking a trend, by proving resilient to climate change and generating huge economic benefits for their nations and regions, say researchers in a book published today by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and SOS Sahel. It shows how pastoralism is a major economic player and contributor to many … Continue reading →