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
Category Archives: Vulnerability
Designing practical ways to help the urban poor make choices that improve their nutrition
To improve interventions in food systems of the urban poor, scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are investigating urban food and nutritional choices in two slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Their aim is to develop interventions that help people make food choices that improve their nutrition while staying within their low household food budgets and access. Continue reading
Case study on the first insurance for Africa’s camels, cows, sheep and goats
Iddo Dror prepared this case study with case writer Shreya Maheshwari and IBLI team leader Andrew Mude as the
basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
This case was prepared in collaboration with the IBLI team and benefited from useful insights by a range of partners
and collaborators of the IBLI program. Continue reading
Livestock and climate change: Where the BIG opportunities lie
Agricultural management can do only so much to increase the resilience, diversification and risk management of the developing world’s livestock-keeping communities. Their successful adaptation to climate change depends heavily also on their being supported by enabling policy and other environments. What that in turn depends on is reliable evidence of just how big a difference livestock adaptations can make to household incomes and food security provided in timely ways and appropriate formats. Continue reading
How to act in the face of uncertainty (and adapt to ‘wicked problems’) with ‘no regrets’ options–CGIAR PNAS paper
A 2013 paper, Addressing uncertainty in adaptation planning for agriculture, deserves a wide readership. The paper was published in 2013 in the prestigious US science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It tackles ‘uncertainty’ in climate change research for development. If you can manage your way through the technical jargon, you get to this: The results demonstrate the potential for robust knowledge and actions in the face of uncertainty. Continue reading