Scientists are developing a way of transforming the mountains of cassava peels created every day in Nigeria, where cassava is a staple food, into a nourishing feed for smallholder farm animals. The several CGIAR centres involved include the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Potato Center (CIP). Also involved in this project are several CGIAR research programs—Livestock and Fish; Integrated Systems for the Humidtropics; and Roots, Tubers and Bananas—as well as the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21). Continue reading
Category Archives: Agriculture
CGIAR and ILRI research in Ethiopia showcased to Swiss Development Cooperation visitors
On 16 July 2015, a high-level delegation from Switzerland visited the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI) campus in Ethiopia. The short visit aimed to give the Swiss visitors some insights into research taking place on the campus, by ILRI and other CGIAR centres. Continue reading
Kenya’s native goats and sheep, expertly crossbred, are key to helping farmers cope with climate change
Smallholder farmers and pastoral herders in East Africa are the target of an ongoing joint project of ILRI, the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Continue reading
From food waste to animal feed, cassava peels potentially big business for Nigerian women
Existing technologies of drying and grading cassava peels could hold the key to providing a readily available and sustainable source of animal feeds, increasing incomes for women and boosting food security in West Africa. Continue reading
Scientists from France and Kenya meet in Nairobi to sketch out plans for joint livestock research projects in Africa
On 9-10 June 2015, a delegation from CIRAD, the French agricultural research and international cooperation organization, visited ILRI in Nairobi to develop concrete ideas for collaboration between the two organizations. Continue reading
CGIAR Innovation Platform Case Study Competition: And the winner is . . .
In Nov 2014, to better assess the efficiency of these innovation platforms and to document their successes and challenges in different developing countries, Humidtropics launched an Innovation Platforms Case Study Competition. In Feb 2015, twelve candidates were selected to participate in a writeshop focused on writing strong, reflective and cohesive case studies. Earlier this month (Jun 2015), jury members in an editors’ meeting reviewed all the final submissions and chose eight cases to be featured in a Humidtropics Anthology to be published by an academic publisher before the end of 2015; the jury also recommended that two cases be published separately. Continue reading
New project promises more productive chickens for Africa’s smallholders
A new four-year African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will run from 2015 to 2019 and work to genetically improve Africa’s chickens and to better deliver the superior chickens to small-scale farmers. Continue reading
‘We’re having all the wrong debates’–Tamar Haspel
Award-winning journalist Tamar Haspel makes the case in her latest Washington Post column for exchanging our polarizing arguments about food issues for debates about stuff that really matters. Continue reading
New paper explodes a ‘breadbasket’ myth: African food production for African people, please
‘Africa could be on the brink of an agricultural revolution. Political commitment to the sector is thankfully gaining momentum as an effective route to bring African populations out of hunger and poverty. But there is also talk that the region’s potential croplands should feed the rest of the world as well, in addition to providing vast quantities of biofuels. However, a new scientific paper released this week suggests African countries should cast global requests aside and instead focus on staple crop production to feed the continent first.’ Continue reading
Humidtropics program launches research-for-development platform in Ethiopia
On 5 February 2015, the Humidtropics Ethiopia Action Site R4D Platform was launched at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa. The platform is designed to oversee, and link with, the local level innovation platforms at field sites for co-learning and guiding Humidtropics integrated research-for-development activities in the country. Continue reading