Tag Archives: Jimmy Smith

Climate-smart livestock farming in developing countries is boosted by a £10-million research award
Africa / Agriculture / Animal Breeding / Article / Award / Biodiversity / Biotechnology / Breeds / Cattle / Chickens / Climate Change / CTLGH / Directorate / Genetics / Goats / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / LIVESTOCKFISH / Pro-Poor Livestock / Project / Research / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Spotlight / UK

Climate-smart livestock farming in developing countries is boosted by a £10-million research award

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Researchers at the Roslin Institute will be using funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate how genetic information can improve the health and productivity of farmed animals in tropical climates, which is a proven approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health is an alliance between the Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the Africa-headquartered International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The partner institutions are making additional contributions with a value of £10 million to support the initiative over the next five years. Continue reading →

What’s driving Ethiopia’s fast development? Millions of smallholder farmers, of course
Agriculture / Animal Production / Article / ASSP / Directorate / Ethiopia / Food Security / Livestock / Policy

What’s driving Ethiopia’s fast development? Millions of smallholder farmers, of course

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Industrialization is key to economic development, and agriculture—supplying raw materials for processing and value addition—is an essential component of that process. Comprising more than 40% of national GDP and producing the overwhelming majority of the Ethiopia’s food, smallholder farmers are at the centre of the country’s recent economic success. So declared the director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Jimmy Smith, in an agriculture panel discussion, this week, organized by the Economist magazine and held at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa. Continue reading →

New DNA analysis of Asian sheep reveals unique diversity crucial to contemporary food and climate concerns
Animal Breeding / Article / Asia / Breeds / Central Asia / China / Genetics / Geodata / ILRI / Indigenous Breeds / LiveGene / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Middle East / Sheep / Small Ruminants / Spotlight

New DNA analysis of Asian sheep reveals unique diversity crucial to contemporary food and climate concerns

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At a time when the price of mutton is climbing and wool crashing, a groundbreaking new study has used advanced genetic sequencing technology to rewrite the history of sheep breeding and trading along the ancient Silk Road—insights that can help contemporary herders in developing countries preserve or recover valuable traits crucial to their food and economic security. The new findings regarding one of the first animals ever domesticated will be published in the October print edition of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. They are the product of an unprecedented collaboration involving scientists in China, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nepal, Finland, and the United Kingdom. The team analysed the complete mitochondrial DNA of 42 domesticated native sheep breeds from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Finland, China and the United Kingdom, along with two wild sheep species from Kazakhstan. Continue reading →

It’s showtime: ILRI’s series of ‘Hard Talk’ science interviews by Brian Perry
Film and Video / ILRI / Interview / Participation / Pro-Poor Livestock

It’s showtime: ILRI’s series of ‘Hard Talk’ science interviews by Brian Perry

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Brian Perry (left) interviews Mario Herrero in a ‘hard talk’ series at ILRI’s annual program meeting in 2006 in Nairobi (photo credit: ILRI). Several years ago, staff of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) innovated ways to enliven their annual program meetings (aka, death by research powerpoint). One of the ways ILRI shook things up … Continue reading →

UK chief scientific adviser visits Kenya: Part 1—Legacy of British-ILRI partnerships in animal health research
Agri-Health / ASF / BecA / Biotechnology / CBPP / Directorate / Disease Control / ECF / Event Report / ILRI / ILVAC / PPR / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / RVF / Spotlight / Trypanosomiasis / UK

UK chief scientific adviser visits Kenya: Part 1—Legacy of British-ILRI partnerships in animal health research

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There has been a long-term, consistent and highly productive engagement between research institutions and funding bodies of the United Kingdom and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and its predecessors, the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases (ILRAD) and the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA). Continue reading →

Small producers are big opportunities for a healthy, safe and sustainable global livestock sector
Directorate / Food Security / ILRI / Intensification / Livelihoods / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight

Small producers are big opportunities for a healthy, safe and sustainable global livestock sector

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Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), gave a keynote presentation at the International Federation for Animal Health–Europe conference Healthy Animals, Healthy Food, a Healthy Future, held in Brussels on 11 Jun 2015. Continue reading →

Fragments d’ILRI: La viande dans nos assiettes, les vies dans nos lunettes
Consumption / Directorate / French / ILRI / Livestock / Opinion Piece / Pro-Poor Livestock

Fragments d’ILRI: La viande dans nos assiettes, les vies dans nos lunettes

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Ce billet d’opinion offert par Jimmy Smith, directeur général du Centre International pour la Recherche sur l’Elevage (ILRI) est paru le 23 février 2015 dans The Economist, dans sa version anglaise ‘The Meat We Eat, the Lives We Lift’. Il reprend les critiques exprimées à l’encontre de l’élevage à la loupe pour comprendre la perspective différente entre le monde développé et en développement sur cette question. Continue reading →

The meat we eat, the lives we lift–Opinion by ILRI director general Jimmy Smith
Consumption / Directorate / ILRI / Livestock / Opinion Piece / Pro-Poor Livestock / Spotlight

The meat we eat, the lives we lift–Opinion by ILRI director general Jimmy Smith

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The following opinion piece by Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is reprinted from The Economist’s Analysis & Opinions page, The Meat We Eat, the Lives We Lift, where it was published on 23 Feb 2015. Continue reading →

India’s smallholder farmers are having a ‘livestock moment’
Animal Production / Animal Products / Consumption / Directorate / Food Security / ILRI / India / Intensification / Livelihoods / Livestock Systems / Policy / Presentation / Pro-Poor Livestock / South Asia / Spotlight

India’s smallholder farmers are having a ‘livestock moment’

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Jimmy Smith, director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), gave one of three keynote presentations at the recent Agricultural Research Congress, held in Karnal, India, at the National Dairy Research Institute, from 3 to 6 Feb 2015. Continue reading →