The University of Liverpool has been given funding to start a surveillance program to reduce the incidence of diseases transmitted between people and livestock in western Kenya. The £3.6 million grant will train veterinary and medical technicians to monitor farms, markets and slaughterhouses. They will use a mobile data collection system to generate a comprehensive database of the prevalence and economic impact of these diseases. The information generated will be used to provide evidence for government health policy in the area. Continue reading
Category Archives: Regions
Aflatoxins in Kenya’s food chain: Overview of what researchers are doing to combat the threat to public health
Aflatoxins are toxic chemicals produced as by-products by fungi (moulds) that grow on maize, groundnuts and other food crops. These toxins also affect feedstuffs, which then contaminate milk, meat and eggs. The toxins occur everywhere in the world, but pose particularly high risks in tropical developing countries where certain staple foods, such as maize and sorghum, comprise a large part of the diets of the poor. Continue reading
Egyptian aquaculture: Farming tilapia, mullet and carp in the Nile Delta
Within the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish and embedded within a project on aquaculture development funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), IEIDEAS — ‘Improving Employment and Income through the Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector’ — is a project implemented by CARE and WorldFish to secure a sustainable future for at least 100,000 people by upgrading Egypt’s aquaculture value chain. Continue reading
Africa’s first ‘Islamic-compliant’ livestock insurance pays 100 herders in Kenya’s remote drylands of Wajir for drought-related livestock losses
Today, for the first time in Africa, an insurance policy that combines an Islamic-compliant financial instrument with innovative use of satellite imagery is compensating Muslim pastoralists for drought-induced losses suffered in Kenya’s northeastern Wajir County, where livestock are valued at Ksh46 billion (USD550 million). Continue reading
From goat farming to goat business in India and Mozambique–New manual
The goat production manual is useful to paraveterinary workers, who serve rural villages in developing countries and farmers wanting to step up their goat production. Continue reading
Pig farming in Uganda–Big options, and big research, take hold
This 2-minute film presents a ‘day in the life’ of a research-for-development project working to improve smallholder pig production in Uganda. The film highlights the big opportunities as well as challenges faced by small-scale pig producers in this East African country. Continue reading
Ugandans and pork: A story that needs telling
Without becoming more visible, and gaining greater attention by researchers, government policymakers, non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs, Uganda’s pig sector potential is unlikely to be fully exploited anytime soon. Continue reading
Australia-funded research fights aflatoxin contamination in East African foods
An Australian-funded program is giving scientists in East Africa tools and capacity to address the threat posed by aflatoxins to food safety and food security in the region. Continue reading
Scientists launch multi-million dollar battle against African cattle killer
Researchers have received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop anew-generation vaccine for East Coast fever. which could inform malaria and cancer research. Continue reading