Author Archives: Susan MacMillan

Getting agriculture ‘back on the table’: CGIAR Development Dialogues today in New York
Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / CapDev / Directorate / Event / Food Security / ILRI / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nutrition / Poverty / Research / Spotlight

Getting agriculture ‘back on the table’: CGIAR Development Dialogues today in New York

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Scientists, politicians and donor agents are gathering today at a high-level meeting in New York called CGIAR Development Dialogues. The aim of CGIAR, a global alliance of agricultural science for a food-secure future, in hosting this conference is to sharpen the world’s attention on the vital roles of agriculture, livestock, fisheries, landscapes and food systems in sustainable development. Continue reading →

Mixing crops and livestock: Means for global food and nutritional security
Animal Production / Crop-Livestock / Directorate / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / ILRI40 / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Nutrition / Presentation / Spotlight

Mixing crops and livestock: Means for global food and nutritional security

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A slide presentation ILRI director general Jimmy Smith presented last July on why we should care about the world’s ‘so-called ‘mixed’ crop-and-livestock agricultural systems. Continue reading →

Natural resources: Abundant or scarce? (That would depend on just how ‘natural’ we think human resources are)
Directorate / ILRI / ILRI40 / Innovation Systems / Intensification / NRM / Presentation / Spotlight

Natural resources: Abundant or scarce? (That would depend on just how ‘natural’ we think human resources are)

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The topic of this year’s Tropentag International Conference, being held in Prague, Czech Republic, and which opened today, is ‘Bridging the gap between increasing knowledge and decreasing resources’. Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), gave a keynote presentation at the opening titled The interplay of knowledge and natural resources: Health, wealth and environmental benefits of livestock. Continue reading →

Livestock options to meet development goals: ILRI side event at Tropentag Conference in Prague
A4NH / Directorate / Europe / Event / Germany / ILRI / ILRI40 / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight

Livestock options to meet development goals: ILRI side event at Tropentag Conference in Prague

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A side event at the Tropentag 2014 International Conference, being held at the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic, is being organized tomorrow, 18 Sep 2014, from 1400–1530, by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Continue reading →

New studies on MERS coronavirus and camels in eastern Africa published
Animal Diseases / Article / Camels / East Africa / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / ILRI / ILRIComms / ILVAC / Kenya / MERS / Middle East / Pastoralism / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

New studies on MERS coronavirus and camels in eastern Africa published

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Two new papers on MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome) coronavirus and camels in Eastern Africa have been published in the science journal ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’; three of the authors are ILRI scientists. Continue reading →

Scottish and Kenya scientists in new alliance to improve animal breeding and health in developing countries
Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / BecA / Biodiversity / Biotechnology / Breeds / Genetics / ILRI / ILRIComms / Kenya / Launch / LiveGene / Spotlight / UK

Scottish and Kenya scientists in new alliance to improve animal breeding and health in developing countries

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Challenges faced by livestock farmers in tropical developing countries are the focus of a new alliance involving researchers from Scotland and Africa. The new Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health will initially focus on the use of genetic information to improve the health and productivity of farmed animals in tropical climates. Continue reading →

New map: Benefits of controlling trypanosomosis in the Horn of Africa
Agriculture / Books and Chapters / Cattle / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / SLS / Somalia / South Sudan / Spotlight / Sudan / Trypanosomiasis / Zoonotic Diseases

New map: Benefits of controlling trypanosomosis in the Horn of Africa

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Using the Horn of Africa as an example, the maps illustrate different steps in a methodology developed to estimate and map the economic benefits to livestock keepers of controlling a disease (Shaw et al. 2014). Cattle are first assigned to different production systems as shown in Map 1, illustrating for example, where mixed farming is heavily dependent on the use of draft oxen in Ethiopia, areas of Sudan and South Sudan where oxen use is much lower, and the strictly pastoral areas of Somalia and Kenya. Continue reading →

New map: Impacts of climate change on length of growing periods in Africa
Africa / Agriculture / Books and Chapters / CCAFS / Climate Change / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Knowledge and Information / SLS / Spotlight

New map: Impacts of climate change on length of growing periods in Africa

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Impacts of climate change on length of growing periods in Africa by Philip Thornton The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has published an atlas illustrating the current state of African smallholder agriculture. The Atlas of African Agriculture Research and Development comprises a series of maps and short analyses that showcase and locate the continent’s diverse agricultural … Continue reading →

New map: Rainfall and rainfall variability in Africa
Africa / Agriculture / Books and Chapters / CCAFS / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Knowledge and Information / SLS / Spotlight / Water

New map: Rainfall and rainfall variability in Africa

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An average of less than 1,000 millimeters of rain falls per year across most of Africa (Map 1). Rainfall tends to decrease with distance from the equator and is negligible in the Sahara (north of about latitude 16°N), in eastern Somalia, and in the southwest of the continent in Namibia and South Africa. Rainfall is most abundant on the eastern seaboard of Madagascar; portions of the highlands in eastern Africa; large areas of the Congo Basin and central Africa; and parts of coastal western Africa including Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Continue reading →

New map: Ruminant livestock distribution in Africa
Africa / Agriculture / Books and Chapters / Geodata / ILRI / ILRIComms / Knowledge and Information / Livestock / Livestock Systems / SLS / Spotlight

New map: Ruminant livestock distribution in Africa

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Ruminant livestock are raised across large parts of Africa where environmental conditions allow. Cattle, sheep, and goats are the most widespread, while camels are restricted to drier areas, particularly in the Horn of Africa and the arid parts of western Africa. These maps of ruminant dis­tribution should, however, be used in conjunction with the livestock production systems map to better under­stand the systems and climate zones where ruminant live­stock are found. The role of livestock varies greatly depending on the production system. Continue reading →