Rangelands are critical for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the livelihoods of millions of pastoralists. These uncultivated grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and savannas play very important roles for both domestic and wild animals who use their native vegetation for grazing and survival. However, degradation of these areas is high, and funding for their improvement and restoration is far lower than that
Habtamu Sibilu sets a dynamic cone penetrometer upright on a flat patch of grass. He lifts up the weight, drops it and records how many centimetres into the soil the penetrometer penetrates. After doing this as many times as it takes to reach 20 cm deep into the soil, Sibilu looks over his shoulder to check if the water in
The fifth World Food Safety Day was marked on 7 June 2024 with this year’s theme, Food safety: prepare for the unexpected, emphasizing the importance of being prepared for incidents. World Food Safety Day aims to inspire actions that help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable
On 14 May 2024, stakeholders from Ethiopia explored the transformative impact of digital innovations on agri-food systems at a workshop hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute. The workshop, Digital innovations to support equitable, sustainable, and resilient agrifood systems and last-mile delivery: A snapshot of Ethiopia, explored how innovative technologies are reshaping the agricultural landscape while fostering equity, sustainability and
For indigenous pastoralist groups in Baringo County, Kenya like the Ilchamus, Pokot and Tugen, life is governed by when and whether the rains will come. Weather forecasting is therefore an essential part of their planning and decision-making processes. Located about five hours’ drive northwest of Nairobi, these communities have so far relied on indigenous practices to predict the weather. One
A comprehensive integrated herd health management manual for the Kenyan dairy sector is being created by a team of researchers from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Government of Kenya and private sector representatives. The manual is part of the innovations that will be rolled out by public and private animal health practitioners under the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable
New guidelines to support African governments to improve food safety across the continent’s vast informal food sector are set to be developed for the first time. The African Union (AU) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have joined forces to produce the first framework for addressing the unique challenges faced by a vital but often overlooked informal food sector.
On 15 May 2024, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) marked the 40th anniversary of its Forage Genebank, which is dedicated to the conservation and use of global forage genetic resources. This milestone event at the ILRI Addis Ababa campus commemorated four decades of ILRI and CGIAR’s pioneering efforts in preserving and optimizing the use of forage biodiversity in low-