The popular obsession with foreign land grabs is wrong-headed, says Isaac Minde of Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro. If there is a land grab in Africa, it is being done by African urbanites. Continue reading
The results of this analysis are conclusive: livestock development among resource poor smallholders in Zambia’s Copperbelt increases household dietary diversity and total consumption expenditures, with dietary impacts that are substantially greater for animals that produce food products for direct consumption. Continue reading
A damaged maize cob that, if harvested with clean cobs, can contaminate all the cobs with aflatoxins (photo credit: Joseph Atehnkeng/IITA). ‘The UN World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that billions of people in the developing world are chronically exposed to aflatoxin, a natural poison on food crops which causes cancer, impairs the immune system, inhibits … Continue reading
Cows wait to be milked at one of Zambia’s largest agribusinesses—Zambeef (photo credit: BBC World Service). A butchery run by Zambeef in Lusaka, Zambia, is ‘a fast-growing food company based in Lusaka. It operates meat counters at all 20 Shoprite stores across Zambia as well as in the chain’s newer outlets in Ghana and Nigeria. … Continue reading
Lillian Wambua, a 2011 African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) fellowship winner working at ILRI, announced 18 August 2011 (photo credit: ILRI/ Njiru). ‘The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (Award) yesterday named three East African women among 70 brilliant African researchers who have won its 2011 Award Fellowship. ‘. . . … Continue reading
Overgrazing is often seen as a major cause of desertification. But by changing the way animals are managed, the Savory Institute (SI) and Africa Center for Holistic Management (ACHM) have restored 2,700 hectares of degraded land close to Victoria Falls by increasing livestock numbers by 400 per cent. Having increased land productivity, water availability and … Continue reading
The proposed project will support the government in improving the productivity of key production systems, namely meat and milk from cattle and small ruminants, and poultry sector. It will specifically strengthen the veterinary services (public and private) to better control major animal diseases and improve food safety. It will also tackle other identified constraints by … Continue reading
GOVERNMENT will this year establish disease-free zones in three provinces in order to control major livestock diseases and improve livestock productivity with enhanced provision of infrastructure. It is expected that within the zone and its borders, appropriate official veterinary control would be effectively applied for animals and animal products and their transportation. Read more … … Continue reading
Every fortnight Makaitei Musakwa, 45, catches one of her chickens, picks up some of the maize she has grown, and sets off for the village mill to have the maize ground into mealie-meal, Zimbabwe’s staple food. “It is difficult for me to raise the money that the miller charges … I have nowhere to get … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 