Author Archives: Susan MacMillan

Tanzania’s ‘Livestock Master Plan’ kicks off with a one-year training program for government officials
Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Animal Products / ASSP / Capacity Strengthening / Dairying / East Africa / Event / ILRI / Launch / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pro-Poor Livestock / Southern Africa / Spotlight / Tanzania

Tanzania’s ‘Livestock Master Plan’ kicks off with a one-year training program for government officials

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Eight staff from Tanzania’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development are undergoing a 14-month training and planning program assisted by experts from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Continue reading →

Can we eat meat and still reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Animal Products / CCAFS / CGIAR / Consumption / Environment / Food Security / ILRI / Livestock / Mazingira / Opinion Piece / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Spotlight

Can we eat meat and still reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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Cattle and figures, Laas Geel cave complex, Somaliland, Somalia. This opinion piece is written by Alain Vidal, director of strategic partnerships at CGIAR. Our global food production system—which includes, in addition to crop farming, raising livestock and deforesting lands to grow livestock feed and other crops—is responsible for about a quarter of the greenhouse gases produced … Continue reading →

A couple of ‘missings’ for the Paris climate talks
CCAFS / Climate Change / Communications / Consumption / Directorate / Environment / Human Health / ILRI / ILRIComms / Livestock / Opinion Piece / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Spotlight

A couple of ‘missings’ for the Paris climate talks

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In the days leading up to the start of the climate change talks in Paris (COP21) this week (30 Nov–11 Dec 2015), we at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have been busy responding to recent articles in the press advocating that ‘the world’ eat less meat to reduce greenhouse gases and other livestock ‘bads’. … Continue reading →

Climate-smart livestock farming in developing countries is boosted by a £10-million research award
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Article / Award / Biodiversity / Biotechnology / Breeds / Cattle / Chickens / Climate Change / CTLGH / Directorate / Genetics / Goats / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Spotlight / UK

Climate-smart livestock farming in developing countries is boosted by a £10-million research award

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Researchers at the Roslin Institute will be using funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate how genetic information can improve the health and productivity of farmed animals in tropical climates, which is a proven approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health is an alliance between the Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the Africa-headquartered International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The partner institutions are making additional contributions with a value of £10 million to support the initiative over the next five years. Continue reading →

Aflatoxin levels in cow milk and feed in the Addis Ababa milk shed—New study
A4NH / Aflatoxins / Agri-Health / Animal Feeding / Article / Cattle / Consumption / Dairying / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Safety / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Spotlight

Aflatoxin levels in cow milk and feed in the Addis Ababa milk shed—New study

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Ethiopian farmer with fresh milk from her cow (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu). This article is written by ILRI scientists Dawit Gizachew, Barbara Szonyi, Azage Tegegne, Jean Hanson and Delia Grace Editor’s note: A statement in the article below, comparing various levels of risk, offended some of our readers. We thank those readers who let us … Continue reading →

Why communicate agricultural science to non-specialists? A brief for livestock geneticists
Africa / Animal Breeding / Biodiversity / Biotechnology / Breeds / Communications / Event Report / Genetics / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene

Why communicate agricultural science to non-specialists? A brief for livestock geneticists

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At a recent workshop co-hosted by an NGO called Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya, ILRI communications staff Susan MacMillan made a short presentation on why the 20-plus animal geneticists in the room should bother communicating their science to non-specialists.   The big picture ‘A … Continue reading →

Mixing it up—The information ‘black hole’ on crop+animal recipes for climate-smart and climate-resilient farms
Africa / Agriculture / Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / Opinion Piece / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / SLS / Spotlight / Vulnerability

Mixing it up—The information ‘black hole’ on crop+animal recipes for climate-smart and climate-resilient farms

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We are unaware of any comprehensive studies undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa to explore how mixed farms will be affected by climate change and the cost and benefits of different adaptation options. Underestimating the importance of livestock in the mixed’ smallholder farming systems that are ubiquitous across the developing world weakens both emissions reduction and climate change adaptation efforts. Continue reading →