Tag Archives: Philip Thornton

‘Mixing it up’ down on the farm to better adapt to climate change
Africa / Article / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / ILRI / Livestock Systems / SLS

‘Mixing it up’ down on the farm to better adapt to climate change

Posted on by • Leave a comment

A recent perspective piece published in Nature Climate Change by researchers Philip Thornton and Mario Herrero suggests that we still know very little about how climate change will impact these mixed farms and especially the interactions between crops and livestock. This is alarming as mixed farming systems form the backbone of smallholder production in developing countries,producing over 90% of the world’s milk supply and 80% of the meat from ruminants. Continue reading →

Animal Production / Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Environment / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Policy / SLS

The roads not taken: Should 1bn overfed people eat less meat? Or 1bn hungry farmers become more efficient?

Posted on by • Leave a comment

The Butcher, by Marc Chagall, 1910 (via Wikipaintings). Should you become vegetarian to help mitigate against global warming? Well, you could, or you might try just eating less meat, if you’re one of some 1 billion people chronically eating too much food. On the other hand, you might try helping some 1 billion small-scale livestock … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Environment / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Policy / SLS

Yet more evidence that agriculture–particularly livestock agriculture–needs to be part of climate discussions

Posted on by • Leave a comment

The farmyard, by Marc Chagall, 1954 (via Wikipaintings). Without big interventions, the future of food security looks bleak. So says an article in One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World Website. The clear message from . . . the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report is the urgent need for farmers to adapt to a changing … Continue reading →

Animal Production / Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Environment / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Policy / SLS

Research shows vast differences in livestock systems, diets and emissions–FCRN on PNAS paper

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Tara Garnet, of the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN), at Oxford University, recently highlighted a paper published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper, Biomass use, production, feed efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock systems, is written by livestock scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI, Kenya) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia). Continue reading →

Article / CCAFS / Environment / Food Security / ILRI / ILRIComms

Future of (sustainable) livestock production: Efficient, but measured–Time Magazine on major new ILRI study

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Ethiopian livestock-keeper and her children (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). Livestock production may have a bigger impact on the planet than anything else. A new study from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) shows how the effects vary from country to country — and points the way toward a more sustainable future. Below, Time Magazine‘s senior … Continue reading →

Animal Feeding / CGIAR / East Africa / ILRI / ILRIComms / LIVESTOCKFISH / South America

Secrets of Brachiaria: An African pasture grass holds enormous promise for reducing greenhouse gases

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Brachiaria trials at CIAT’s headquarters in Colombia. This improved forage grass has been shown to inhibit nitrification, helping to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (photo credit: CIAT/Neil Palmer). ‘Much has been written about why eating more red meat could be bad for your health while also harming the environment. But new studies to … Continue reading →

Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Report

‘Lifeline’ food crops at risk of climate change: Major adaptation efforts needed, says CGIAR study

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Rose Mnjemo with soya beans, a maize, soya and cassava farmer from Khulungira Village, in central Malawi (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann). Agence France Presse reports on a 2012 international study that found that climate change is on track to disrupt lifeline food crops across large swathes of Africa and Asia already mired in chronic poverty. More … Continue reading →

Agriculture / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Report

Farmers across the globe will have to switch to climate-hardy crops and farming–CGIAR report

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Taking a young goat to market at Mieso, in the Mirab Hararghe Zone of the Oromia Region, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). Nature News reports on a new CGIAR study that says ‘One-third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture’ and advises farmers to abandon vulnerable crops in the face of climate change. ‘The global … Continue reading →

Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Article / Climate Change / Environment / ILRI

Climate change and livestock scientists: Relations warming as understanding grows

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Illustration, ‘Meat and Methane’, by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. A recent news feature in Nature Climate Change, Light is cast on a long shadow, notes the warming relations (forgive the pun) between scientists in the livestock and climate change communities. ‘The fields of climate change and livestock research have not always been cosy bedfellows. But they are … Continue reading →

Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Security / Livelihoods / Report

East Africans are taking up new farming practices to cope with climate change—but change too risky for hungry households – Survey

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Dairy farmers in Tanzania. Farmers in East Africa are embracing climate-resilient farming practices but food insecurity prevents many of them from doing more to cope with a changing climate (photo credit: ILRI/Nils Teufel). Smallholder farmers across East Africa have started embracing climate-resilient farming approaches and technologies according to new research recently published by the CGIAR … Continue reading →