The hand that cares and feeds: India’s unnatural ‘natural’ caretakers of livestock
Agriculture / Buffalo / Dairying / Gender / Goats / ILRI / India / Livelihoods / Livestock / Opinion Piece / South Asia / Women

The hand that cares and feeds: India’s unnatural ‘natural’ caretakers of livestock

I was impressed by how much India’s women food producers make the most out of their situations, how often they thrive in what they do despite constraints, how few view themselves as victims of their circumstances, how often, and with what assurance and purposefulness, they exercise agency. Continue reading

Reaching stakeholders, influencing policies: ICAR–ILRI communications workshop
Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / Communications / Event / Event Report / ILRI / ILRIComms / India / Knowledge and Information / South Asia

Reaching stakeholders, influencing policies: ICAR–ILRI communications workshop

A communications workshop co-sponsored by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was held on 4 March 2016 in New Delhi, India. This is the second of three reports on the workshop. Continue reading

Getting the (science) word out: ILRI and ICAR share livestock communications and knowledge management practices
Agriculture / Capacity Strengthening / Communications / Event / ILRI / ILRIComms / India / Knowledge and Information / South Asia / Spotlight

Getting the (science) word out: ILRI and ICAR share livestock communications and knowledge management practices

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) held a one-day joint communications and knowledge management workshop on 4 Mar 2016 at the prestigious and spacious National Agricultural Science Centre Complex, in New Delhi, India. Continue reading

Odisha Odyssey: A look at the emerging commercial dairy value chains in eastern India
Agriculture / Animal Feeding / ASSP / Cattle / Crop-Livestock / Dairying / Feeds / Fodder / ILRI / India / Interview / Livelihoods / Livestock / Markets / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / South Asia / Spotlight / Value Chains

Odisha Odyssey: A look at the emerging commercial dairy value chains in eastern India

In recent years, ILRI scientists have been working with institutional partners and local farmer organizations in Odisha, a large eastern state of India on the Bay of Bengal, on research to improve the feed and fodder resources readily available to smallholder livestock keepers. ILRI conducted this collaborative research through a collaborative CGIAR Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) aiming to increase and sustain small farm productivity in selected regions of Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

As part of an ILRI photojournalism trip to India undertaken in early Mar 2016, the authors visited a town on the outskirts of Bhadrak, a city in northern Odisha, to capture a bit of what the ILRI-led CSISA work has accomplished for small-scale dairy farmers in the area. Continue reading

Agricultural research, rural poverty and climate change—(Some of) the weakest links
Agriculture / CGIAR / Climate Change / Data / Event Report / Policy / Poverty / Research / Spotlight

Agricultural research, rural poverty and climate change—(Some of) the weakest links

We’ve been a bit quiet recently on the ILRI blog front as we focused on covering the Science Forum 2016 organized by the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of CGIAR, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12–14 Mar 2016. Below are links to a couple of the more challenging presentations. Continue reading

‘Wonder Women’ of Bhubaneswar
Agriculture / Directorate / Event Report / ILRI / India / Opinion Piece / South Asia / Spotlight / Women

‘Wonder Women’ of Bhubaneswar

Temple carving in Bhubaneswar (this and all photos on this page by ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Note: This is the fifth in a series of articles on ‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods— A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’. PART 5: The ‘Wonder Women’ of Bhubaneswar By Susan MacMillan, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) … Continue reading

2016 Science Forum: Rethinking agricultural pathways to inclusive development
Agriculture / CGIAR / Climate Change / Environment / Event / Farming Systems / Food Security / Interview / Livelihoods / Opinion Piece / Poverty / Spotlight

2016 Science Forum: Rethinking agricultural pathways to inclusive development

In the lead up to the 2016 Science Forum, steering committee members and invited speakers answered a few questions related to the Forum’s focus on agricultural research pathways to inclusive rural development. Below are excerpts of their responses. You’ll find all the responses on the SF2016 blog site. Continue reading

Building better brands and lives through peri-urban dairying and smart crop-dairy farming
Agriculture / Animal Production / Animal Products / Buffalo / Cattle / Dairying / Event / ILRI / ILRIComms / India / Livelihoods / Livestock / Photo / Report / South Asia / Spotlight / Trade

Building better brands and lives through peri-urban dairying and smart crop-dairy farming

The fourth in a series of articles on ‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods—A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’.
PART 4: Culture of the cow: Curds of the village—Building better brands and lives through peri-urban dairying Continue reading

Culture of the cow: Curds in the city—Better living through smallholder dairying in northern India
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Animal Products / Biotechnology / Breeds / Buffalo / Cattle / Dairying / Event / Genetics / ILRI / India / Livelihoods / Livestock / Photo / Report / Research / South Asia / Spotlight / Trade

Culture of the cow: Curds in the city—Better living through smallholder dairying in northern India

This is the third in a series of articles on ‘Curds and goats, lives and livelihoods—A dozen stories from northern and eastern India’. Continue reading

Elite buffaloes and other exemplars of advanced Indian dairy science at the National Dairy Research Institute
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Biotechnology / Breeds / Buffalo / Cattle / Dairying / Event / Genetics / ILRI / India / Livestock / Research / South Asia

Elite buffaloes and other exemplars of advanced Indian dairy science at the National Dairy Research Institute

Shrestha, a spirited buffalo bull, greeted Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), with a low grunt during a visit Smith and his delegation recently made at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), India’s pre-eminent dairy research centre, located in the northern city of Karnal and the prosperous state of Haryana. Continue reading