Category Archives: Farming Systems

Florida and ILRI start consultations on new ‘Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems’
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / ASSP / Burkina Faso / Cambodia / Capacity Strengthening / Ethiopia / Event / Farming Systems / Food Safety / Gender / Human Health / ILRI / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKFISH / Mali / Nepal / Nutrition / PIL / Project / Research / Rwanda / South Asia / Southeast Asia

Florida and ILRI start consultations on new ‘Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems’

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The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, led by the University of Florida, is currently organizing a number of stakeholder consultation meetings to identify high-priority needs in the six countries it will cover (Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mali, Nepal, Rwanda). ILRI is a close partner in this new initiative and it helped organize the Ethiopia consultation meeting in Feb 2016. Continue reading →

Mixing it up—The information ‘black hole’ on crop+animal recipes for climate-smart and climate-resilient farms
Africa / Agriculture / Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / Opinion Piece / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / SLS / Spotlight / Vulnerability

Mixing it up—The information ‘black hole’ on crop+animal recipes for climate-smart and climate-resilient farms

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We are unaware of any comprehensive studies undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa to explore how mixed farms will be affected by climate change and the cost and benefits of different adaptation options. Underestimating the importance of livestock in the mixed’ smallholder farming systems that are ubiquitous across the developing world weakens both emissions reduction and climate change adaptation efforts. 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

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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 →

Lavish new pictorial book honours the world’s primary food producer–the family farmer
Agri-Health / Books and Chapters / Consumption / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / Food Security / FSZ / Gender / Human Health / ILRI / ILRIComms / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock Systems / Nutrition / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight / Women

Lavish new pictorial book honours the world’s primary food producer–the family farmer

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Livestock matters a great deal in developing countries, playing an increasingly important role in food security and economic development. In fact, the livestock subsector is growing faster than all other agriculture sectors in developing countries worldwide. And importantly in the International Year of Family Farming, the bulk of that livestock production is occurring on small family farms. Livestock farming offers unique features to support local livelihoods and economies, especially for women. Continue reading →

Mixing crops and livestock: Means for global food and nutritional security
Animal Production / Crop-Livestock / Directorate / Farming Systems / Food Security / ILRI / ILRI40 / Intensification / Livestock Systems / Nutrition / Presentation / Spotlight

Mixing crops and livestock: Means for global food and nutritional security

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A slide presentation ILRI director general Jimmy Smith presented last July on why we should care about the world’s ‘so-called ‘mixed’ crop-and-livestock agricultural systems. Continue reading →

Getting (the band) back together: US climate report sees reconnecting crops to livestock as smart adaption strategy
Agriculture / Climate Change / Crop Residues / Crop-Livestock / Farming Systems / ILRI / ILRIComms / Intensification / LIVESTOCKFISH / Opinion Piece / Report / Spotlight / USA

Getting (the band) back together: US climate report sees reconnecting crops to livestock as smart adaption strategy

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The new National Climate Assessment released recently by President Obama’s Global Change Research Program contains dour predictions about the impact of climate change on livestock production in the United States. How can the country’s livestock sector adapt to these changes? One strategy suggested in the report will be familiar to experts at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It involves raising livestock and crops together and taking advantage of the synergies between the two. Continue reading →