As the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) approached its five-year milestone, the principals of the founding partner organizations met at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to discuss the progress made so far and plan for the centre’s future. CTLGH’s vision is to ‘support more resilient, sustainable and profitable tropical … Continue reading
Category Archives: Biodiversity
Better breeds for more milk: African dairy genetics gains bulls and cows exhibition
Today, thirty-five farmers and over fifty representatives from the Tanzanian government including Hon. Luhaga Mpina, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries, Tanzania, and Dr. Eligy Mussa Shirima, Director General of the Tanzania Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI), Tanzanian government and dairy industry leaders, representatives from neighboring African nations and international organizations, gather at the Nane … Continue reading
Africa’s animal genetic resources – the wealth within
Today, more than a hundred key partners in African livestock development, including African ministers, senior policymakers and other dignitaries, have gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, to launch new and notable products that improve our understanding of the incalculable value held in Africa’s indigenous animal genetic resources, many of which are threatened by extinction and must be protected Continue reading
New insights into the diversity of Napier grass: More productivity in fully irrigated systems
A recent study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, has identified significant diversity in a Napier grass collection. Continue reading
Statement of condolence on the loss of Kodjo Glato, a fine young agricultural scientist from Togo
Kodjo Glato was one of the 157 passengerswho tragically perished in the crashof flight ET302 on 10 March 2019. Continue reading
ILRI’s Jimmy Smith on farm animal diversity for more sustainable and resilient global food systems
Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), this week made a short presentation at the annual meeting of the Food Forever Initiative held in Wilmington, Delaware, 23–24 Sep 2018. Food Forever is a global partnership to raise awareness on the importance and urgency of conserving and using agricultural biodiversity. Smith is one of 30 Food Forever champions advocating this important cause. Smith spoke on the central importance of better conserving, characterizing and using the world’s remaining livestock diversity to ensure future food security in the face of climate and other changes. Continue reading
DNA sequencing of indigenous African cattle reveals vital clues to increasing productivity
Important sources of meat, milk, traction and manure across Africa, cattle will become even more significant as demand for meat and milk is expected to more than double in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2030. Continue reading
Art and science bring poultry genetics to life in Ethiopia while celebrating local diversity in all its forms
Art and science unite to serve Ethiopian farmers—’Incubated Worlds’ explores genetic diversity of poultry to boost nutrition and incomes. Continue reading
Livestock in developing countries—Misperceptions, facts and consequences
Jimmy Smith, the director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is in London today (5 Oct 2017), speaking at an Extinction and Livestock Conference organized by Compassion in World Farming and the World Wildlife Fund. Continue reading
Livestock-wildlife trade-offs for pastoral livelihoods in the conservancies of the Masai Mara
A new research paper, Trade-offs for climate-resilient pastoral livelihoods in wildlife conservancies in the Mara ecosystem, Kenya, was recently published in Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, May 2017. The paper is co-authored by Claire Bedelian, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and University College London (UCL), and Joseph Ogutu, of ILRI and the University of Hohenheim. Continue reading