Kenya’s native goats and sheep, expertly crossbred, are key to helping farmers cope with climate change
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Production / Article / Breeds / CCAFS / Climate Change / East Africa / Genetics / Goats / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / Kenya / LiveGene / Livestock / Sheep / Small Ruminants

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
Agriculture / Animal Feeding / ASSP / Crop Residues / Feeds / Film and Video / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nigeria / PIL / Research / RTB / West Africa / Women

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

A look at multi-stakeholder (aka innovation) platforms: From Africa RISING to MilkIT to imGoats to Humidtropics
ASSP / CapDev / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / Innovation Systems / PIL / Research

A look at multi-stakeholder (aka innovation) platforms: From Africa RISING to MilkIT to imGoats to Humidtropics

Multi-stakeholder or innovation platforms are increasingly seen as a promising vehicle for agricultural innovation and development. In the field of agricultural research for development (AR4D), such platforms are an important element of a commitment to more structural and long-term engagement between stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Continue reading

Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century–The Lancet
A4NH / Animal Diseases / Article / Climate Change / Disease Control / Emerging Diseases / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Spotlight / Zoonotic Diseases

Tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century–The Lancet

The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was been formed to map out the impacts of climate change and the necessary policy responses. The central finding from the Commission’s work is that tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21st century. One of the authors of the paper is ILRI veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert Delia Grace, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Continue reading

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (lethal) and animal agriculture (critical): Their links in developing countries
A4NH / Agri-Health / AMR / Article / Emerging Diseases / Food Security / FSZ / Human Health / ILRI / Policy

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (lethal) and animal agriculture (critical): Their links in developing countries

This Jun 2015, Evidence on Demand, an international development information hub supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), published a 44-page paper identifying key evidence gaps in our knowledge of livestock- and fisheries-linked antimicrobial resistance in the developing world and documenting on-going and planned research on this topic by key stakeholders.The paper, written by veterinary epidemiologist and food safety expert Delia Grace, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is titled: Review of evidence on antimicrobial resistance and animal agriculture in developing countries. Continue reading

Climate change impacts on livestock: ‘This information does not exist’
Africa / Books and Chapters / CCAFS / Climate Change / Food Security / ILRI / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Spotlight

Climate change impacts on livestock: ‘This information does not exist’

A new working paper from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has been published on the impacts of climate change on livestock across Africa. Lead author of the new paper, Philip Thornton, is a scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Continue reading

CGIAR Innovation Platform Case Study Competition: And the winner is . . .
Agriculture / ASSP / Capacity Strengthening / CapDev / Communications / Congo-DR / Event Report / Humid Tropics / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / India / Innovation Systems / PIL / Rwanda / Spotlight / Uganda

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
ACGG / Africa / Agriculture / Breeds / Chickens / Ethiopia / Farming Systems / Genetics / Indigenous Breeds / Launch / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Nigeria / Project / Spotlight / Tanzania

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