How do we optimize livestock production systems to meet a growing global demand for food and nutritional security in economic, social and environmentally sustainable ways? Continue reading
Category Archives: Agriculture
No laughing matter: Livestock enclosures in Africa are an underestimated source of the greenhouse gas N2O
Emissions from abandoned livestock enclosures haven’t previously been taken into account in estimates for sources of atmospheric nitrous oxide, nor have emissions from abandoned animal pens in other semi-arid areas in the world. Accurate estimates of the sources of GHG are essential in the global effort to combat climate change. Continue reading
USAID-funded Regional Feed the Future Animal Health Innovation Lab to be based in Nairobi, Kenya
The Feed the Future Animal Health Innovation Lab will identify interventions to reduce livestock diseases, particularly the deadly cattle disease known as East Coast fever (ECF) and further develop local capacity in animal health through research training and institutional development. Continue reading
ILRI Forage Genebank supports development of improved forage varieties to increase livestock productivity in Ethiopia
The recent release of the CGIAR Genebank Platform 2019 annual report highlights that, for the third year in a row, germplasm distribution to requesters outside of the CGIAR exceeded that to those inside the CGIAR. Ethiopia ranked as one of the top 10 countries receiving germplasm from the CGIAR. Nearly 60% of these, representing a … Continue reading
ILRI launches new drought index insurance for resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa project
In July, ILRI launched a new Drought Index-insurance for Resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa (DIRISHA) project, focusing on pastoral systems in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. Continue reading
Millions of new social groups are delivering better agricultural and land management
A new paper in the scientific journal Global Sustainability presents some interesting findings on the rise over the past 20 years in social movements around sustainability management. Jules Pretty, professor of environment and society at the Unversity of Essex, UK, is the lead author; ILRI’s Africa RISING project coordinator Peter Thorne is a co-author. Continue reading
New project to improve agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe
A new European Union-funded ‘Livestock Production Systems in Zimbabwe’ (LIPS-Zim) project is working to increase agricultural productivity in the country’s agro-ecological Zones IV and V. It is promoting the adoption of climate-relevant innovations in livestock production systems and improving surveillance and control of livestock diseases. Launched on 1 January 2020, the LIPS-Zim project is implemented … Continue reading
A new ‘How-to-Do Note’ provides guidance on designing and implementing ‘gender and pastoralism’ projects
A new ‘How To Do Note on Gender and Pastoralism’ has been developed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in collaboration with two CGIAR research programs – Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) and Livestock . The note provides guidance on key issues to consider and tools and processes to use in project design and implementation. Continue reading
Unite human, animal and environmental health to prevent the next pandemic, says ILRI/UN report
The ‘Preventing the next pandemic: zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission,’ report is a joint effort by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and ILRI. Continue reading
‘A vaccine is coming—the question is how soon’
Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty addressed the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) at its latest Town Hall meeting Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine and ILRI patron Peter Doherty discussed vaccines, herd immunity, and policy responses to COVID-19 with Director General Jimmy Smith at ILRI’s weekly digital town hall meeting on 29 May 2020. … Continue reading