A new compilation of 25 studies in Africa finds that informal markets provide essential sources of food and income for millions of poor, with milk and meat that is often safer than supermarkets. Misguided efforts to control the alarming burden of food-related illnesses in low-income countries risk intensifying malnutrition and poverty — while doing little to improve food safety. Blunt crack-downs on informal milk and meat sellers that are a critical source of food and income for millions of people are not the solution. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2015
Sam Black on Noel Murphy, Irish geneticist gentleman scholar
Noel Murphy died on Friday 16 January 2015, leaving the world devoid of a gentleman and scholar, and his friends and family bereft of a pillar of quiet strength, wisdom and thoughtfulness. Continue reading
New staff join ILRI’s capacity development team: Deborah Wyburn and Shiferaw Tafesse
Two new staff joined ILRI’s capacity development team, based in Addis Ababa. Continue reading
Lavish new pictorial book honours the world’s primary food producer–the family farmer
Livestock matters a great deal in developing countries, playing an increasingly important role in food security and economic development. In fact, the livestock subsector is growing faster than all other agriculture sectors in developing countries worldwide. And importantly in the International Year of Family Farming, the bulk of that livestock production is occurring on small family farms. Livestock farming offers unique features to support local livelihoods and economies, especially for women. Continue reading
Life begins at 40: Of sweet spots–and the sweetest spot of all for the International Livestock Research Institute
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which turned 40 years old in 2014, organized a series of events with old and new colleagues, partners and friends, and with them looked back on what we have accomplished in the past 40 years and fleshed out ideas for the next 40. Continue reading
One-for-all and all-for-one: Breaking down the walls between the livestock, health and environmental sectors
In case you missed it, here is the gist of a keynote presentation on ‘one-health’ made by Jimmy Smith, the director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), at the 5th biennial conference of the International Association for Ecology & Health, held in Montreal, Canada, 11−15 Aug 2014. Smith’s presentation was titled: ‘Healthy people, animals and ecosystems for global food and nutritional security’. Continue reading
The politics of food and the livelihoods from livestock
This January, Oxford University Press is publishing The Oxford Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society, a 904-page hardback volume addressing an issue that affects all of us: the intersection of food and politics. Among the 49 chapter authors of this new handbook are two members of staff at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) who left the institute recently: Purvi Mehta-Bhatt and Pier Paulo Ficarelli. Their chapter covers ‘livestock in the food debate’. Continue reading
Case study on the first insurance for Africa’s camels, cows, sheep and goats
Iddo Dror prepared this case study with case writer Shreya Maheshwari and IBLI team leader Andrew Mude as the
basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
This case was prepared in collaboration with the IBLI team and benefited from useful insights by a range of partners
and collaborators of the IBLI program. Continue reading
Livestock policy paradoxes: Promulgating a crisis? Or providing a solution
Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), gave a keynote presentation at the 16th Asian Australasian Animal Production Congress, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 10–14 Nov 2014. The overall theme of the congress was ambitious: ‘Sustainable livestock production in the perspective of food security, policy, genetic resources and climate change’. Smith’s plenary keynote, given as part of a series of ILRI activities to mark the 40-year anniversary of the institute, was titled ‘Livestock policy paradoxes: Promulgating a crisis? Or providing a solution?’ Continue reading
African Animal Annals: Deadly trifecta of climate change, population and disease?
All fine artwork on this page is by Olivia Pendergast (see note below for more information). In the last quarter of 2014 a book was published and launched on climate change and public health. Edited by Colin Butler, of the University of Canberra, and published by CABI, the book brings together 56 authors from 19 … Continue reading