Category Archives: Agriculture

Award-winning paper establishes links between women’s empowerment and crop seed improvement and governance in pre-war Syria
Agriculture / Award / CGIAR / Crops / Drylands / Extension / Food Security / Gender / Impact Assessment / Knowledge and Information / Middle East / Participation / Policy / Science paper / Seeds / Spotlight / Staff / Vulnerability / Women

Award-winning paper establishes links between women’s empowerment and crop seed improvement and governance in pre-war Syria

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Alessandra Galiè, a social scientist specializing in gender issues in agricultural research who now works in Nairobi, Kenya, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), conducted her doctoral research in Aleppo, Syria, at ILRI’s sister CGIAR institution, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). This week Galiè received a prestigious award for an academic paper she published documenting how ICARDA’s participatory barley breeding program in pre-war Syria impacted women’s empowerment. Continue reading →

Scaling up use of livestock technologies in Mali—progress of a Feed the Future program
Agri-Health / Agriculture / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / Capacity Strengthening / Cattle / CBPP / Disease Control / English / Epidemiology / Feeds / Fodder / Goats / ILRI / ISP / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mali / Pastoralism / PPR / Report / Sheep / Small Ruminants / West Africa

Scaling up use of livestock technologies in Mali—progress of a Feed the Future program

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The most recent progress report from the Feed the Future Mali Livestock Technology Scaling Program describes some successes and swift progress made in recent months towards achieving these goals as well as some new challenges the program is facing. Continue reading →

Tanzania livestock master plan projects the creation of nearly two million jobs
Agriculture / East Africa / ILRI / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / PIL / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Report / Research / Tanzania

Tanzania livestock master plan projects the creation of nearly two million jobs

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Development assistance has long since slipped down in the agenda of African officials. With rapid economic growth forecast, priorities now focus on increasing productivity and investment. And in Tanzania, where approximately 37% of the rural households possess cattle, chicken, goats, pigs and sheep, livestock is officially at the centre of that debate. Continue reading →

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists
Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / CRPs / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event Report / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Story Type

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists

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More than 2,250 pastoralists received insurance payouts following the extremely poor rains this year in southern Ethiopia. Low levels of rainfall have led to the loss of approximately 300,000 livestock in 2017 in the Borana zone of the southern Oromia region. The insurance payouts of more than ETB5.233 million (USD220,000) was the largest-ever micro-insurance indemnity made in Ethiopia. Each insured pastoralist received an average of ETB2,255 (USD96), which will allow the herders to purchase feeds for their surviving animals and to restock their herds. Continue reading →

New factories in Nigeria transform cassava peels into livestock feed, creating jobs and incomes for women
Agriculture / Animal Feeding / Crop Residues / Crop-Livestock / Crops / Event / Feeds / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Intensification / LIVESTOCKCRP / Nigeria / Research / SLS / Value Chains / West Africa

New factories in Nigeria transform cassava peels into livestock feed, creating jobs and incomes for women

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A delegation comprising IFAD staff visited the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) cassava processing sites at Lokongoma, Wushishi (Niger State) and Idogodo, Okpokwu (Benue State) in late July, 2017 to discuss progress with this important project. Continue reading →

On what (and how and when) to measure when measuring impacts of agricultural research for development
Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Capacity Strengthening / CGIAR / Directorate / Environment / Event Report / Food Security / Gender / ILRI / Impact Assessment / NRM / Nutrition / PIM / Policy / Poverty / Presentation / Research / Scaling / Spotlight

On what (and how and when) to measure when measuring impacts of agricultural research for development

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By ILRI’s Iain Wright: On 6–8 Jul 2017, I attended a conference at ICRAF on Impacts of International Agricultural Research: Rigorous Evidence for Policy organized jointly by the CGIAR ISPC’s SPIA and PIM. I welcomed the delegates at this meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on behalf of ICRAF and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the two CGIAR centres headquartered in Nairobi. A modified version of my address and personal reflections on impact assessment in CGIAR follows. Continue reading →

Pig farmers to earn more through new genetics project in Uganda
Agriculture / East Africa / Genetics / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pigs / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Research / Uganda

Pig farmers to earn more through new genetics project in Uganda

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A newly launched pig genetics project seeks to increase the productivity and profitability of the Ugandan smallholder pig enterprises by developing a genetic improvement strategy to ensure the availability and accessibility of appropriate pig breeds. Continue reading →

Coming up 13 Jul: ‘Agriculture and Food Day’ at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
Advocacy / Agriculture / CGIAR / Directorate / Event / Food Security / Gender / GLAD / Human Health / ILRI / Policy / Poverty / Spotlight / Women

Coming up 13 Jul: ‘Agriculture and Food Day’ at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

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The director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Jimmy Smith, will moderate a day-long ‘Agriculture and Food Day’ at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which started yesterday (10 Jul 2017) and runs through 19 Jul at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York City. Continue reading →

Lessons learnt out of Africa: 19 factors not to underestimate in rural livestock/agricultural research for development
Agri-Health / Agriculture / AHH / Animal Health / Central Africa / Chickens / Crop-Livestock / Disease Control / East Africa / Event Report / Food Security / Gender / Human Health / ILRI / Nutrition / PIL / Policy / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight / Tanzania / Vaccines / Women / Zambia

Lessons learnt out of Africa: 19 factors not to underestimate in rural livestock/agricultural research for development

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Robyn Alders gave a particularly candid and interesting presentation at a seminar/webinar held on 4 May 2017 at ILRI on the subject of ‘Animal-source foods for nutrition impact: Evidence and good practices for informed project design’. This was the fourth in a Livestock and Household Nutrition Learning Series of seminars/webinars organized jointly by Land O’Lakes International Development and ILRI. Continue reading →

Milk consumption project to tackle child malnutrition in Rwanda
Agriculture / Article / Dairying / East Africa / Launch / Livelihoods / Livestock / Nutrition / PIL / Project / Rwanda

Milk consumption project to tackle child malnutrition in Rwanda

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A new ILRI-led Feed the Future Livestock Systems Innovations Lab (LSIL) project on ‘Enhancing milk quality and consumption for improved income and nutrition in Rwanda’ will contribute to efforts towards enhancing the quality and consumption of milk for improved income and nutrition in the country Continue reading →