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ILRI’s Jimmy Smith on farm animal diversity for more sustainable and resilient global food systems
Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Biodiversity / Breeds / Climate Change / Event Report / Forages / Genetics / Geodata / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKCRP / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / Resilience / Spotlight

ILRI’s Jimmy Smith on farm animal diversity for more sustainable and resilient global food systems

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Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), this week made a short presentation at the annual meeting of the Food Forever Initiative held in Wilmington, Delaware, 23–24 Sep 2018. Food Forever is a global partnership to raise awareness on the importance and urgency of conserving and using agricultural biodiversity. Smith is one of 30 Food Forever champions advocating this important cause. Smith spoke on the central importance of better conserving, characterizing and using the world’s remaining livestock diversity to ensure future food security in the face of climate and other changes. Continue reading →

German agroecological livestock research investments are benefiting both people and the planet
A4NH / Agri-Health / Agriculture / AHH / Animal Health / ASF / BecA / Biotechnology / CBPP / CCAFS / CGIAR / Climate Change / Dairying / Diagnostics / Directorate / Environment / Event Report / FFD / Food Safety / Forages / Genetics / Germany / ILRI / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Seeds / SLS / Spotlight / Vaccines

German agroecological livestock research investments are benefiting both people and the planet

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ILRI was honoured this week (3 Sep 2018) to host a high-level German delegation including Maria Flachsbarth, parliamentary state secretary to Germany’s federal minister for economic cooperation and development, and Stefan Schmitz, deputy director of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as senior staff of the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation, including Andrew Tuimur, chief administrative secretary, and Ann Onyango, agriculture secretary; and representatives from several other CGIAR centres working in Kenya, including Tony Simons, director general of ICRAF, and representatives from the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe). Continue reading →

African Development Bank-supported livestock team and Nigerian agricultural lending agency to scale up proven animal production technologies
Agriculture / CGIAR / Chickens / Intensification / ISP / Livelihoods / LIVESTOCKCRP / Nigeria / Pro-Poor Livestock / Scaling / Small Ruminants / Value Chains / West Africa

African Development Bank-supported livestock team and Nigerian agricultural lending agency to scale up proven animal production technologies

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The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) leads the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) livestock compact, members of which recently met with a USD500-million public-private partnership in Nigeria established to ‘de-risk’ agricultural financing by providing many of the actors along the country’s agricultural value chains with affordable financing. TAAT is targeting 3–5 million farmers in the country. Continue reading →

Deadly African swine fever arrives in China, the world’s largest producer of pigs
Agri-Health / AHH / Animal Health / ASF / China / Epidemiology / Event / ILRI / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pigs / Spotlight / Vaccines

Deadly African swine fever arrives in China, the world’s largest producer of pigs

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Long feared, it’s now finally happened. African swine fever (ASF), an infectious and highly lethal viral disease of pigs, has for the first time reared its head in China. Just two weeks ago, African swine fever was confirmed as the cause of death of pigs on a small farm in Shenyang City, in Liaoning Province, located in the northeast, bordering North Korea and the Yellow Sea. Continue reading →

Aspen New Voices Fellows Andrew Mude and Jemimah Njuki tell of the moments their ag careers ‘took off’
Africa / Agriculture / Communications / Drylands / Event Report / Film and Video / Gender / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / LIVESTOCKCRP / Research / SLS / Spotlight / Staff / Women

Aspen New Voices Fellows Andrew Mude and Jemimah Njuki tell of the moments their ag careers ‘took off’

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For your viewing and listening pleasure, here are two short video ‘stories’ by two great agricultural-research-for-development storytellers. Continue reading →

The Tanzanian livestock master plan: A conversation with Barry Shapiro
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Feeding / Animal Production / Dairying / East Africa / Interview / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / Policy / Research / Tanzania

The Tanzanian livestock master plan: A conversation with Barry Shapiro

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Using what’s called the Livestock Sector Investment Policy Toolkit (LSIPT), we develop a dynamic herd model and an economic sector model on top of that. And we use that to do an analysis of the current situation of the livestock sector and its potential for further development, modernization, transformation, and so on, over 15 years. Continue reading →

In Tanzania, a better cow is the way to a better future
ADGG / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Animal Health / Animal Production / Article / Cattle / Dairying / Genetics / LiveGene / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Southern Africa / Tanzania

In Tanzania, a better cow is the way to a better future

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Farmers who participate in the breeding programs and collect routine data on their cows’ health, growth and productivity receive personalized coaching and advice from livestock outreach specialists via routine visits and SMS messages on their phones. 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’

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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 →

Enhancing global livestock advocacy for sustainable development
Advocacy / Capacity Strengthening / CapDev / Communications / Directorate / Event Report / GLAD / ILRI / ILRIComms / Knowledge and Information / LIVESTOCKCRP / Participation / PIL / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Report / Spotlight

Enhancing global livestock advocacy for sustainable development

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Global Livestock Advocacy for Development (GLAD) has been a two-year project whose main objective has been to raise investor interest in livestock-related research-for-development issues. It has done this largely by distilling and presenting evidence and creative content about smallholder livestock systems and their critical roles in sustainable food systems and development. Continue reading →

How changing the world’s food systems can help to protect the planet
Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Cattle / CCAFS / Climate Change / Environment / ILRI / LiveGene / Livestock / Mazingira / News clipping / Opinion Piece / Spotlight

How changing the world’s food systems can help to protect the planet

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Food systems must be transformed to produce more nutritious food with a lower environmental footprint. There are a number of initiatives around the world working towards this end. Here are just five that use different kinds of science—from smart approaches to breeding livestock and crops to recycling wastewater—that could help humans settle their growing debt to the planet. Continue reading →