ILRI and partners carried out a participatory mapping of livestock routes in the intervention areas in Somali and Oromia regions of Ethiopia as a first step in the planning of the HEARD and HEAL projects. Continue reading
Category Archives: Vulnerability
‘Invisible livestock’ – On the central roles of working horses, donkeys and mules on the smallholder farms that feed the world
It is time that working horses, donkeys and mules received the recognition that they deserve. Without it, decision-makers cannot fully claim they are listening to the 500 million smallholder farmers that feed and secure livelihoods for some of the poorest communities around the world. Continue reading
‘Drylands and Rangelands: Harnessing Change’ at Global Landscapes Forum in New York
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is delighted to announce that a session devoted to drylands and rangelands is being incorporated in the agenda of a big event of the estimable Global Landscapes Forum, which is taking place all day tomorrow, in New York City. The theme of this forum, which led by ILRI’s sister CGIAR centre, the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), is ‘Restore the Earth: Opportunities and Partnerships’. Continue reading
Livestock-enhanced diets in the first 1,000 days of life: Pathways to better futures in low-income countries
A new report was published this month on the value of ensuring consumption of meat, milk and eggs by infants up to two years of age and by expectant and new mothers in developing countries (the first 1,000 days). The report was published by ILRI and the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security. Highlights of the findings of this joint ILRI-Chatham livestock study were presented at a side event at the EAT Stockholm Food Forum on 11 Jun 2018. Continue reading
Award-winning paper establishes links between women’s empowerment and crop seed improvement and governance in pre-war Syria
Alessandra Galiè, a social scientist specializing in gender issues in agricultural research who now works in Nairobi, Kenya, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), conducted her doctoral research in Aleppo, Syria, at ILRI’s sister CGIAR institution, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). This week Galiè received a prestigious award for an academic paper she published documenting how ICARDA’s participatory barley breeding program in pre-war Syria impacted women’s empowerment. Continue reading
CGIAR livestock support is enhancing community resilience in the face of on-going drought in the Horn of Africa
Widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the Oct–Dec 2016 rains. Areas of greatest concern cover much of Somalia, northeast and coastal Kenya, southeast Ethiopia and the Afar region, and South Sudan, which faces a serious food crisis due to protracted insecurity. One focus of the East African-headquartered International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is to help developing-country livestock communities enhance their resilience in the face of recurring droughts. ILRI belongs to CGIAR—a global research partnership of 15 centres and their partners working yo reduce poverty, enhance food and nutrition security and improve natural resources and ecosystem services. Continue reading
Record payouts being made by Kenya Government and insurers to protect herders facing historic drought
More than Ksh214 million is on tap for 12,000 pastoral households in six counties of northern Kenya through innovative policies that use satellite imagery to trigger payments for feed, veterinary supplies and water. Continue reading
On selling insurance (not lottery tickets) to Africa’s struggling (stargazing) livestock herders–New York Times
Insurance that pays out when forage coverage drops—known as index-based livestock insurance—is an elegant idea. Andrew Mude, an economist and principal scientist at ILRI, last month was awarded the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. The award, a major prize in agricultural research, is given by the World Food Prize Foundation and financed by the Rockefeller Foundation. Tina Rosenberg covers the story in the New York Times. Continue reading
A first look at ILRI’s new research programs: Sustainable Livestock Systems
BETTER SCIENCE, BETTER LIVES The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), headquartered in Africa and working in poor countries worldwide to provide better lives through livestock, held its Institute Planning Meeting from 4 to 7 Oct 2016. This is the sixth of a series of blog articles reporting on plans for ILRI research programs, including ILRI’s work in … Continue reading
Kenyan economist Andrew Mude wins the 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application
Andrew Mude, a principal research scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya, was yesterday named the 5th recipient of a prestigious award for his work in providing insurance to livestock herders in East Africa’s drylands through innovative, state-of-the-art technologies. Continue reading