CGIAR Innovation Platform Case Study Competition: And the winner is . . .
Agriculture / ASSP / Capacity Strengthening / CapDev / Communications / Congo-DR / Event Report / Humid Tropics / HUMIDTROPICS / ILRI / India / Innovation Systems / PIL / Rwanda / Spotlight / Uganda

CGIAR Innovation Platform Case Study Competition: And the winner is . . .

In Nov 2014, to better assess the efficiency of these innovation platforms and to document their successes and challenges in different developing countries, Humidtropics launched an Innovation Platforms Case Study Competition. In Feb 2015, twelve candidates were selected to participate in a writeshop focused on writing­ strong, reflective and cohesive case studies. Earlier this month (Jun 2015), jury members in an editors’ meeting reviewed all the final submissions and chose eight cases to be featured in a Humidtropics Anthology to be published by an academic publisher before the end of 2015; the jury also recommended that two cases be published separately. Continue reading

Small farmers and big retailing: What works? What doesn’t? in developing countries
Agriculture / Dairying / Fish / ILRI / Innovation Systems / PIL / PIM / Presentation / Spotlight / Tanzania / Thailand / Trade / Uganda

Small farmers and big retailing: What works? What doesn’t? in developing countries

What, or who, is a smallholder farmer? What is the ongoing retail revolution in developing countries all about? Are small-scale farmers involved? Two agricultural economists, Derek Baker, formerly of ILRI and now at the University of New England (UNE), in Australia, and Jo Cadilhon, of ILRI, help us think this through in a presentation they made at the GLOBALG.A.P. Summit in Abu Dhabi this week. Continue reading

Accessing finance for livestock and dairy value chains in developing countries: Recommendations
Africa / Animal Production / Dairying / Drylands / Event Report / Innovation Systems / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKFISH / Namibia / PIL / PIM / Tanzania / Value Chains

Accessing finance for livestock and dairy value chains in developing countries: Recommendations

This week (15 Jul 2014), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) organized a discussion at CTA’s Fin4Ag Conference in Nairobi on ‘Testing innovations in livestock and dairy value chain finance: Insights from East and Southern Africa’. The discussion was moderated by Jo Cadilhon, a senior agro-economist in ILRI’s Policy, Trade and Value Chains Program who is based at the institute’s Nairobi headquarters. Continue reading

African talent feeding African markets with African products: Global food and agribusiness meeting hears of ‘livestock value chains’ in Africa
Africa / Agriculture / Botswana / HUMIDTROPICS / Livelihoods / Markets / PIL / Policy / Presentation / South Africa / Tanzania / Trade / Uganda / Value Chains

African talent feeding African markets with African products: Global food and agribusiness meeting hears of ‘livestock value chains’ in Africa

In Jun 2014 three agricultural economists working with the International Livestock Research Institute presented case studies at the World Forum of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) in Cape Town, South Africa. The main lesson from the two cases presented is that by training farmers, processors and other stakeholders supporting agribusiness development, African talent can create new products and innovative processes that help feed African markets with African products. Continue reading