Category Archives: Drought

Towards clearer One Health policies in eastern Africa: Interview with HEAL Project interim regional manager
Africa / Agriculture / AHH / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Capacity Strengthening / Disease Control / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / English / Environment / Ethiopia / Gender / Human Health / ILRI / Interview / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / OneHealth / Pastoralism / Policy / Resilience / Somalia / Vaccines

Towards clearer One Health policies in eastern Africa: Interview with HEAL Project interim regional manager

Posted on by • Leave a comment

In November 2020, Zuleka Ismail joined the One Health for Humans, Environment, Animals and Livelihoods (HEAL) Project as interim regional manager. Zuleka brings more than seven years of experience in managing and monitoring public health and veterinary programs in pastoralist systems to the table. She sat down with Saba Ermyas, communication officer at the International … Continue reading →

ILRI launches new drought index insurance for resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa project
Agriculture / Climate Change / Drought / Drylands / Environment / Ethiopia / Food Security / IBLI / Insurance / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / Launch / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pastoralism / Project / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Somalia / Sudan / Uganda

ILRI launches new drought index insurance for resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa project

Posted on by • Leave a comment

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 →

New project to improve agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe
Africa / Agri-Health / Agriculture / Animal Diseases / Animal Feeding / Animal Health / Animal Production / Animal Products / Capacity Strengthening / Climate Change / Countries / Disease Control / Drought / Drylands / Emerging Diseases / English / Environment / Epidemiology / Event / Feed Technology / Feeds / Fodder / Gender / ILRI / Impact / Impact at Scale / Innovation Systems / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / Markets / Research / Scaling / Southern Africa / Women / Zimbabwe

New project to improve agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe

Posted on by • Leave a comment

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 →

Index-based livestock insurance: Reflecting on success
Africa / Agriculture / CapDev / CCAFS / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Interview / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pastoralism / SLS

Index-based livestock insurance: Reflecting on success

Posted on by • Leave a comment

One of the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI’s) major success stories in recent years has been the development of an index-based livestock insurance program (IBLI), which protects livestock keepers in drought-prone arid and semi-arid lands from climate-related losses. Continue reading →

When ‘Do no harm’ is harder than ‘doing good’
Animal Feeding / Cattle / Dairying / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Fodder / Food Security / Gender / Goats / ILRI / Intensification / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pastoralism / PIL / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Rangelands / Resilience / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Spotlight / Tanzania / Women

When ‘Do no harm’ is harder than ‘doing good’

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Agricultural researchers working to enhance traditional pasture conservation by Tanzania’s pastoral Maasai communities are systematically addressing gendered norms and roles to ensure that they don’t end up hurting more than helping these communities. Continue reading →

Kenya’s Robin Mbae on livestock and climate change at Berlin’s Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
Climate Change / Dairying / Directorate / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Environment / Event Report / Food Security / Germany / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Pastoralism / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Spotlight

Kenya’s Robin Mbae on livestock and climate change at Berlin’s Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

Posted on by • 2 Comments

Robin Mbae, deputy director of livestock production at the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, describes Kenya’s planning and implementation of interventions to address the impacts of climate change on the livestock sector and vice versa. Continue reading →

Towards a sustainable, responsible and efficient livestock sector—Jimmy Smith at the Berlin Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
Agri-Health / AMR / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Animal Production / Crop Residues / Crop-Livestock / Directorate / Drought / Drylands / Environment / Event Report / Food Security / Germany / ILRI / Insurance / Nutrition / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight

Towards a sustainable, responsible and efficient livestock sector—Jimmy Smith at the Berlin Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

Posted on by • Leave a comment

A delegation from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) was involved in several of this year’s GFFA events, including a kick-off event, with ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith serving on the panel. Continue reading →

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists
Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / CRPs / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event Report / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Story Type

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists

Posted on by • 2 Comments

More than 2,250 pastoralists received insurance payouts following the extremely poor rains this year in southern Ethiopia. Low levels of rainfall have led to the loss of approximately 300,000 livestock in 2017 in the Borana zone of the southern Oromia region. The insurance payouts of more than ETB5.233 million (USD220,000) was the largest-ever micro-insurance indemnity made in Ethiopia. Each insured pastoralist received an average of ETB2,255 (USD96), which will allow the herders to purchase feeds for their surviving animals and to restock their herds. Continue reading →

ILRI’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance and Takaful Insurance of Africa win ‘2017 Insurance Innovation Award’
Award / Drought / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Spotlight

ILRI’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance and Takaful Insurance of Africa win ‘2017 Insurance Innovation Award’

Posted on by • 2 Comments

ILRI’s Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) program and Takaful Insurance of Africa are this year’s winners of the prestigious Insurance Innovations Award 2017. The announcement was made at the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re)’s Insurance Awards gala dinner held on Monday 22 May 2017, at the Serena Kigo Hotel, in Kampala, Uganda. Continue reading →

Brachiaria grass can help Kenya’s dryland food producers improve their soils and yields under a changing climate
Agriculture / Animal Feeding / BecA / Crop-Livestock / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Feeds / Forages / ILRI / Kenya / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Science paper / Soils / Spotlight

Brachiaria grass can help Kenya’s dryland food producers improve their soils and yields under a changing climate

Posted on by • 5 Comments

Results of a recent study by the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub (BecA-ILRI Hub) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), both based in Nairobi, indicate that the many people farming in Kenya’s semi-arid regions would profit in many ways from planting drought-tolerant Brachiaria grass. Continue reading →