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Home » Feed aggregator
Feed aggregator
ILRI’s Corporate Report 2014–2015 is out: Twenty-one
stories of better lives through livestock
News from ILRI - Oct/2015
The board of trustees, management, scientists and support staff of the International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI) take pleasure in announcing publication of the institute’s corporate report for 2014 and
2015.
Introduced by ILRI Director General Jimmy Smith and ILRI Board Chair Lindiwe Majele Sibanda (Life
at 40), the report offers a quick overview of ILRI and its work (ILRI Snapshot) and resources (Selected
ILRI Capacities) before jumping into twenty-one one-page stories briefly describing the useful products,
development tools, effective approaches, big impacts and new knowledge generated recently by ILRI and
its many partner organizations.
The regions, topics, farm animals and agricultural systems covered are as wide as ILRI’s broad and
global mandate and include the following.
1. The first-ever livestock insurance for remote East African herders
Seasonal Succour, p 7
2. Tools to match feed technologies to local contexts
Snappy Shortlists, p 9
3. Enhancing Southeast Asia’s capacity to prevent global pandemics
Stopping the Stopgaps, p 11
4. Backstopping a national vaccine campaign against classical swine fever in India
Vaccine Proclamation, p 13
5. A search for the origins of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Kenyan camels
Close Encounters of the Camel Kind, p 15
6. Making better use of crop residues for feeding farm animals
From Crop Wastes to Capital Wealth, p 17
7. Transforming small-scale goat raising in India and Mozambique into commercial enterprises
The Greater Goat (and Good), p 19
8. Helping the Philippines eradicate foot-and-mouth and revamp its smallholder piggeries for export
markets
A Moveable Feast, p 21
9. Sustaining dryland development in the Horn of Africa
Blueprints for More Resilient Livestock Communities and Nations, p 23
10. Partnering the private sector to process animal feeds tailored for African dairy farmers
Processed Feed Products Pass Proof of Concept, p 25
11. Managing manure to enhance food security, generate energy and slow global warming
A Kiosk for the Dung at Heart, p 27
12. Elucidating levels of mycotoxins in Kenya’s dairy feed chains
Milk of Human Unkindness, p 29
13. Reducing mycotoxin contamination of Africa’s maize food and feed supplies
Troubling Toxins, p 31
14. Participatory mapping of the global livestock sector
Counting Your Sheep, p 33
15. More efficient livestock farming in developing countries increases production while reducing global
warming
Where BIG Opportunities Lie, p 35
16. Controlling Rift Valley fever in livestock and human populations in Africa and the Middle Eas t
Stopping a Virus from Going Viral, p 37
17. Ensuring fair as well as safe meat, milk and eggs in developing countries
Dying for Meat, p 39
18. Participatory tracking and mapping of agricultural investments in Africa
Resourcing Resources, p 41
19. Conserving the diversity of plants that feed animals that feed people
Forages to the Fore, p 43
20. Developing disease-resistant cattle for Africa
A More Perfect Union, p 45
21. Models for better conserving and managing West Africa’s disease-resistant ruminants
Back to the Future, p 47
We’ll be running one of these stories each week here on the ILRI News blog over the next several
months, and we’ll be adding weblinks to each story for those who want to dig further into a topic. So dip
into the whole report now or wait to read the individual stories-with-links posted here in the coming
weeks.
What we want most to acknowledge here are all of you who have partnered ILRI in this work, who have
funded this work, who have augmented this work, who have used this work, who have promoted this
work. None of this work would have been possible without this wider community of talented and
committed livestock-for-development workers. We are in your debt. We hope that these stories—of
course your achievement as much as ours—make you proud to have invested yourselves in better lives
through livestock.
Read online or download the whole of the ILRI Corporate Report 2014–2015.
Enhancing readiness to address climate shocks in Africa
CRP 7 News - Oct/2015
Africa is the continent which is least responsible for the global accumulation of greenhouse gases
(GHG). But much of the continent is already suffering from the negative impacts of climate change.
Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have highlighted that climate
change may reduce crop yields in most parts of Africa by 10-20 percent. By 2050, not only will climate
change define the possible farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa, international policies and institutional
changes will determine the socioeconomic factors affecting it.
Supporting African countries in planning responses and integrating climate resilience into their
agricultural development plans will help enhance readiness to address climate related shocks.
Subsequently, starting November 2014 a global research alliance supported five countries in Eastern and
Southern Africa in preparing county-specific climate-smart agriculture prioritization frameworks (CSAPFs). Said alliance includes the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food
Security (CCAFS) East Africa regional program, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA), the East African community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD Climate Change Fund).
The purpose of this partnership was to enable the five countries Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana
and Namibia to adopt a holistic approach to agricultural sector transformation, aiming for multiple
benefits in a changing climate. This process brought together a team of experts including scientists from
the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Center for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) to provide technical input to the country CSAPFs. Participants included representatives from relevant government ministries and departments, civil
society organizations (CSOs), private sector and academia.
CSA Country Programs
These programs synergize National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) and agricultural sector
programs with their respective National Climate Change Strategies and Action Plans to deliver on
multiple benefits: food productivity and incomes; building resilience in the agriculture sector and the
adaptive capacity of the farmers; and contributing to reducing or removal of greenhouse gas emissions
from the agriculture and land use sector thus contributing to the global public good.
In each of the five countries the CSA-PF was developed through a consultative four step procedure.
Technical working sessions enabled stocktaking of the sector’s programs, strategies and performance
from a historical perspective as well as an analysis of options for agricultural sector growth in a changing
climate. Thereafter, consultative sessions were carried out with interested groups followed by national
stakeholder validation workshops where comments from stakeholders were discussed and incorporated.
The final stage entailed identification of resource mobilization opportunities to support implementation
of the programs.
Access the draft country CSA-PFs here.
Of the five countries, Kenya and Tanzania have gone further. Kenya integrated adaptation and
mitigation components borrowed from its CSA-PF into a policy document—Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions—submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) in June 2015. Tanzania, on the other hand, is using the plan developed as a
foundational document to support a proposal to transform agriculture in the country to the Green
Climate Fund (GCF).
Read more: Kenya integrates climate-smart agriculture into its Intended Nationally Determined
Contribution
Although CSA-PFs are vital for scaling out CSA and show government commitment towards it,
innovative partnerships are equally important.
Partnerships for scaling out CSA
An ongoing project by the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and the International Center for
Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is formalizing new partnerships with key African institutions aimed at
supporting the scaling up - and out - of a CSA approach for programs ranging from sub-national to
continental levels. Such institutions include: African Union New Partnership for Africa's Development
(AU-NEPAD), Alliance for CSA in Africa (ACSAA), Regional Economic Communities, Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and national governments. This initiative helps
partners to use science-based approaches for targeting, prioritizing and scaling CSA through an
integrated approach from situation analysis through monitoring and evaluation called ‘CSA Plan’. The
data, tools, and lessons earned will be built into an open source platform that stands to become the
clearinghouse for CSA decision support. The ultimate aim is to increase CSA adoption by farmers and
return on CSA investments by donors.
Download poster: 25 million African farming families by 2025: science - development partnerships for
scaling climate-smart agriculture (PDF).
The way forward
Transformation to CSA requires a systematic approach, addressing the full scale of the climate challenge
and agricultural development. CSA is founded on the principles of integrated landscape management and
is driven by the ultimate goal of ensuring resilience as an integrated aspect of inclusive green growth,
productivity and sustainability in the face of a changing climate. The new agricultural production systems
should not only be more productive and efficient, but also more stable and resilient to short, medium
and long-term shocks and risks associated with climate change and climate variability. Such a
transformation would entail significant changes in the manner in which soil nutrients, water, land and
genetic resources for both crops and livestock are managed and utilized. The CSA Programs are a step in
that direction and are aligned with the AU/NEPAD Comprehensive Agriculture Development
Programme (CAADP).
Additional reading
Introducing climate-smart agriculture tools for Africa
Kenya integrates CSA into its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
Agricultural science can speed job creation for youth in Africa
South of the Sahara
CRP 2: program news - Oct/2015
This expert opinion piece written by PIM Director Karen Brooks originally appeared on INCLUDE platform
Young people need jobs and growing economies need workers. Historically, farms and rural areas have
sent young people to jobs in cities and factories, and this process of global urbanization continues.
Between now and 2050, the flow of people to cities plus the shift in births to urban areas will result in a
decline of approximately 150 million in the global rural population. In regions such as East Asia, Eastern
Europe, and much of Latin America, where families are small and grown children move to cities, the
rural population is declining and aging rapidly. In contrast, high birth rates in rural Africa South of the
Sahara will add about 350 million people by 2050, despite a massive flow of the young to urban areas.
Over the next decade, an estimated 11 million additional young men and women will seek employment
every year.
...high birth rates in rural Africa South of the Sahara will add about 350 million people by 2050, despite a
massive flow of the young to urban areas
Where will young people find jobs? Concern about present and future employment opportunities is high
in both advanced and developing countries. Job creation in labour-intensive manufacturing – the sector
that employed many young people in past generations – appears to be slowing down. Automation and
the expansion of information and communication technologies have reduced the number of low -wage
manufacturing jobs, many of which are in towns and cities. At the same time, rural areas offer new
advantages, as improved and cheaper machines lessen the drudgery of farm work and mobile phones and
the Internet reduce the isolation of villages and remote areas. Young people born on farms choosing to
remain in rural areas have more opportunities than in the past, and agriculture is receiving new attention
as a potential source of employment.
Young people born on farms choosing to remain in rural areas have more opportunities than in the past,
and agriculture is receiving new attention as a potential source of employment.
Farms that attract young people will need to be profitable. They will need to substitute modern
technology and managerial acumen for the short hoe and back-breaking labour. Neither existing farmers
nor potential young entrants to the job market can accomplish the transformation from traditional to
modern farming on their own – the public and private sectors have major roles to play. With
investments in agricultural science, better flows of information to and from farms, easier
intergenerational transfer of land, and opportunities for the private sector to thrive in rural areas,
agriculture can deliver growth, prosperity, and jobs, particularly in south of the Sahara. Yet the potential
of agriculture will not be realized automatically. Without a major change in agricultural policy and public
investment, the best opportunities for creating a financially secure future for millions of today’s rural
young people will be forfeited at enormous cost to them and society.
Neither existing farmers nor potential young entrants to the job market can accomplish the
transformation from traditional to modern farming on their own – the public and private sectors have
major roles to play.
Changes in land use and farm size will be particularly important in stimulating change. Th e ability of
agriculture to absorb labour will require more clarity in land rights and a higher frequency of transactions
– through purchases, sales, rentals, and the re-assignment of use-rights – than is currently the case. The
acquiring of African farmland by foreign investors without recognition of the rights of current users has
gained much attention of late, and rightly so. Far less notice is paid to the difficulties that young people
face when village elders or traditional authorities restrict their access to land. When they are unable to
start new farms, young people have little choice than to crowd onto existing family plots, fragmenting
farms into holdings too small to support adequate earnings or the adoption of modern farming methods.
The ability of agriculture to absorb labour will require more clarity in land rights and a higher frequency
of transactions.
Underinvestment in agricultural science represents a further systemic barrier to the participation of
young people and job creation. Although agricultural growth in Africa South of the Sahara has been
rapid by historic and global standards (at about 4% annually), little can be attributed to improved
technology or the application of scientific innovations. Most growth still comes from expanded are a and
the addition of more labour. Even after the global spike in agricultural prices in 2007–2008 and in 2010–
2011 brought renewed commitment to agriculture, public investment in national agricultural research
systems has languished. Investments were allocated disproportionately into short-term measures such as
fertilizer subsidies and the rehabilitation of irrigation, instead of into rebuilding Africa’s capacity in
agricultural science.
Underinvestment in agricultural science represents a further systemic barrier to the participation of
young people and job creation.
African leaders have recognized in principle that transformative agricultural growth requires more
investment in science and technology. In 2014, at the 23rd African Union Summit in Malabo, th ey
pledged to implement the Science Agenda for Agriculture in Africa. Africa’s future agricultural success
will need to embrace a scientific revolution that allows scientists to engage fully at the frontiers of world
science and translate new developments into practical solutions. Global scientific partners, such as the
Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), also have much to contribute and
can be even more effective as capacity within the national systems grows.
Africa’s future agricultural success will need to embrace a scientific revolution that allows scientists to
engage fully at the frontiers of world science and translate new developments into practical solutions.
Young Africans, like their peers elsewhere, are already contributing to the 21 century’s rural
transformation, finding ways to meet the challenges of current and future food security, improved
nutrition, climate change, and the protection of natural resources. They do so despite underinvestment
in agricultural science and technology, blocked intergenerational transfers of land, poor quality rural
education, and limited access to financial services. Removing or reducing these barriers will attract more
young people to agricultural careers and help those already farming to do so more successfully. The
payoff in terms of success will be great – for rural communities, for countries in Africa south of the
Sahara, and for young people themselves.
Also read on the topic: In focus: Jobs in agriculture for young people
Featured image: Harvesting crops. Mali. Photo: © Curt Carnemark / World Bank
Mers virus a threat to camels in Kenya
East Africa Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - allAfrica.com
Mers virus a threat to camels in Kenya
Kenya Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - allAfrica.com
Mers virus a threat to camels in Kenya
ILRI in the media - Oct/2015
2015/10 - allAfrica.com
Mers virus a threat to camels in Kenya
Animal Diseases Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - allAfrica.com
International Conference – steps to sustainable livestock
Clippings - Oct/2015
The University of Bristol is proud to host a ‘go-to’ event for academics, researchers, NGOs, policy
makers and livestock producers working toward sustainability of ruminant systems. This is an
outstanding opportunity to share transformational knowledge and ideas in the beautiful city of Bristol.
More information and registration
Filed under: Event, Livestock, Research
India-Africa co-operation in science, technology goes a gear
up
Africa Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - The Herald
India-Africa co-operation in science, technology goes a gear
up
ILRI in the media - Oct/2015
2015/10 - The Herald
India-Africa co-operation in science, technology goes a gear
up
India Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - The Herald
Farmers trained in silage production [Uganda]
East Africa Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/09 - New Vision
Farmers trained in silage production [Uganda]
Animal feeding Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/09 - New Vision
Farmers trained in silage production [Uganda]
Uganda Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/09 - New Vision
Farmers trained in silage production [Uganda]
ILRI in the media - Oct/2015
2015/09 - New Vision
Attention Professors, Lecturers, Teaching Staff – The IBLI
Case Study is now available
Africa Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - Index-Based Livestock Insurance
ILRI launches fodder project in Indonesia
Asia Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - Far Eastern Agriculure
ILRI launches fodder project in Indonesia
ILRI in the media - Oct/2015
2015/10 - Far Eastern Agriculure
ILRI launches fodder project in Indonesia
Southeast Asia: bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - Far Eastern Agriculure
ILRI launches fodder project in Indonesia
Animal feeding Bookmarks - Oct/2015
2015/10 - Far Eastern Agriculure
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