Agriculture / Animal Feeding / Biodiversity / Ethiopia / Film and video / Forages / Genebank / Seeds

ILRI Genebank preserves forages to help farmers produce more food

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Alexandra Jorge, who has taken over from Jean Hanson as manager of ILRI’s Genebank, reflects on ILRI’s forage research and the importance of the forage seeds genebank hosted at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ‘I joined ILRI in Ethiopia … Continue reading

A4NH / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Epidemiology / Film and video / Food Safety / Human Health / Research / West Africa

Veterinary scientists address human illnesses associated with livestock

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist, reflects on ILRI’s research in agriculture for human health and nutrition. ‘I first came to ILRI in 2002 to study livestock resistance to trypanocide drugs among livestock keepers in West Africa. We wanted to help farmers … Continue reading

Animal Production / Ethiopia / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Livestock-Water / NRM / Report / Research / Water / WLE

Opportunities for water-efficient livestock production

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Don Peden, Tilahun Amede and Amare Haileslassie prepared an issue brief on ways to maximize the benefits derived from animal products per unit of water consumed … Is it true that animal production uses excessive and unsustainable volumes of water? How can the livestock sector reduce … Continue reading

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

Partnerships and participation key to effective research for development

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 / Ethiopia / ILRI / Intensification / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Report / Research

Crop residues in smallholder systems: Pressures and trade-offs

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Alan Duncan, Bruno Gérard, Diego Valbuena, Michael Blümmel, and Shirley Tarawali prepared an issue brief on the contributions of crop residues to mixed crop and livestock systems in developing countries … Contrary to the popular view that cereal crop residues are just a low quality by-product … Continue reading

Animal Production / CCAFS / Environment / Ethiopia / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Report / Research / Vulnerability

Rangeland-based livestock production systems in the arid and semi-arid tropics

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Augustine Ayantunde, Shirley Tarawali and Iain Wright prepared an issue brief on livestock challenges and opportunities in rangelands … Perceptions about arid and semi-arid pastoral regions are rapidly changing. They are no longer seen as livestock enterprises but as multiple use systems with important consequences for … 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

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

Disease Control / ECF / Film and video / Genetics / ILRI / Kenya / Research / Zoonotic Diseases

Driven by technology, (finally) embracing diversity: A geneticist’s views on the evolution of biotech research at ILRI

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Steve Kemp, a livestock molecular geneticist, reflects on the evolution of ILRI’s research agenda and the role of biotechnology research in that agenda . . . Steve Kemp first came to the Nairobi campus of the International Livestock research Institute (ILRI) in 1985 when it was … Continue reading

Animal Production / CCAFS / Climate Change / Environment / Ethiopia / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Report / Research

Livestock and climate change

For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Philip Thornton, Mario Herrero and Polly Ericksen prepared an issue brief on the relations between climate change and livestock systems in developing countries … Livestock systems occupy 45% of the global surface area with a value of at least $1.4 trillion. Livestock industries and value chains … Continue reading

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

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

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