Tag Archives: DFID

ILRI launches new drought index insurance for resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa project
Agriculture / Climate Change / Drought / Drylands / Environment / Ethiopia / Food Security / IBLI / Insurance / Kenya / Knowledge and Information / Launch / Livestock / Livestock Systems / LIVESTOCKCRP / Pastoralism / Project / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Somalia / Sudan / Uganda

ILRI launches new drought index insurance for resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa project

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In July, ILRI launched a new Drought Index-insurance for Resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa (DIRISHA) project, focusing on pastoral systems in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. Continue reading →

Six-million-dollar investment to tackle the causes of foodborne disease in Ethiopia
A4NH / Agri-Health / AHH / Consumption / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Food Safety / Human Health / ILRI / Launch / Nutrition / Policy / Project / Spotlight

Six-million-dollar investment to tackle the causes of foodborne disease in Ethiopia

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The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are supporting four new research projects to address a broad set of robust and large-scale research priorities to guide program and policy efforts to improve food safety in Ethiopia. This will be achieved through a consortium of national and international research partners working together to support the country’s ongoing efforts. Continue reading →

DFID/UKAid provides £4 million for genetics and health research to aid sustainable livestock production in Africa
Africa / Agri-Health / Animal Breeding / Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Biotechnology / Cattle / CGIAR / Chickens / Europe / Genetics / ILRI / Launch / LiveGene / Poultry / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research / Spotlight / Trypanosomiasis / UK

DFID/UKAid provides £4 million for genetics and health research to aid sustainable livestock production in Africa

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Research to improve the health and productivity of farmed animals in tropical climates has received a £4 million boost from the UK Government. The investment from DFID was announced by the Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, during a visit to the University of Edinburgh. It will support research in the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health—a joint venture between the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, SRUC, ILRI, the latter of which has major research facilities in Kenya and Ethiopia. Continue reading →

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists
Africa / Agriculture / CCAFS / Climate Change / CRPs / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / Event Report / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Story Type

Largest-ever micro-insurance payout made to Ethiopian pastoralists

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More than 2,250 pastoralists received insurance payouts following the extremely poor rains this year in southern Ethiopia. Low levels of rainfall have led to the loss of approximately 300,000 livestock in 2017 in the Borana zone of the southern Oromia region. The insurance payouts of more than ETB5.233 million (USD220,000) was the largest-ever micro-insurance indemnity made in Ethiopia. Each insured pastoralist received an average of ETB2,255 (USD96), which will allow the herders to purchase feeds for their surviving animals and to restock their herds. Continue reading →

Livestock-wildlife trade-offs for pastoral livelihoods in the conservancies of the Masai Mara
Biodiversity / Climate Change / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Kenya / Pastoralism / Policy / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Resilience / Science paper / SLS / Spotlight / Wildlife

Livestock-wildlife trade-offs for pastoral livelihoods in the conservancies of the Masai Mara

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A new research paper, Trade-offs for climate-resilient pastoral livelihoods in wildlife conservancies in the Mara ecosystem, Kenya, was recently published in Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, May 2017. The paper is co-authored by Claire Bedelian, of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), and University College London (UCL), and Joseph Ogutu, of ILRI and the University of Hohenheim. Continue reading →

ILRI’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance and Takaful Insurance of Africa win ‘2017 Insurance Innovation Award’
Award / Drought / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / SLS / Spotlight

ILRI’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance and Takaful Insurance of Africa win ‘2017 Insurance Innovation Award’

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ILRI’s Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) program and Takaful Insurance of Africa are this year’s winners of the prestigious Insurance Innovations Award 2017. The announcement was made at the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re)’s Insurance Awards gala dinner held on Monday 22 May 2017, at the Serena Kigo Hotel, in Kampala, Uganda. Continue reading →

New Nutrition Knowledge Bank gives direct access to expert nutritional advice via mobile phones
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New Nutrition Knowledge Bank gives direct access to expert nutritional advice via mobile phones

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A new open-access Nutrition Knowledge Bank has been created as part of a GSMA mNutrition initiative to help tackle malnutrition in Africa and Asia. This collection of content on good nutritional practices includes factsheets and mobile messages for anyone to download and use. Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the mNutrition project aims to deliver nutrition information to 3 million people in 12 developing countries. Continue reading →

On selling insurance (not lottery tickets) to Africa’s struggling (stargazing) livestock herders–New York Times
Article / CCAFS / Climate Change / Drought / Drylands / East Africa / Ethiopia / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livelihoods / LIVESTOCKFISH / Opinion Piece / Pastoralism / Pro-Poor Livestock / Rangelands / Resilience / SLS / Spotlight / Vulnerability

On selling insurance (not lottery tickets) to Africa’s struggling (stargazing) livestock herders–New York Times

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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 →

Agricultural research, rural poverty and climate change—(Some of) the weakest links
Agriculture / CGIAR / Climate Change / Data / Event Report / Policy / Poverty / Research / Spotlight

Agricultural research, rural poverty and climate change—(Some of) the weakest links

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We’ve been a bit quiet recently on the ILRI blog front as we focused on covering the Science Forum 2016 organized by the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of CGIAR, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12–14 Mar 2016. Below are links to a couple of the more challenging presentations. Continue reading →