In a complicated and uncertain world, identifying strategies for building policy coherence and responding to crises is an increasingly urgent task. On 17 May 2022, ILRI Nairobi hosted the Kenya launch and inception meeting of National Policies and Strategies for Food, Land, and Water Systems Transformation (NPS), a new One CGIAR initiative working in six countries. Featuring a high-level panel
Tick-borne diseases pose a significant threat to smallholder livestock keeping in Kenya and the East Africa region at large. One of these tick-borne diseases is babesiosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Babesia. Babesia bigemina is endemic and widespread in East Africa while the status of the more pathogenic Babesia bovis remains unclear despite the presence of the Rhipicephalus microplus tick
Buffalo cow in Nepal (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan) Buffalo are well-suited to Nepal’s lowland and mountainous terrain, offering diverse products and economic benefits right along agri-food value chains from production to consumption. They are a major contributor to the agricultural sector, second after rice in the contribution to agricultural gross national product. They provide more than half of meat and
Ruminants play a vital role in the economic and nutritional fabric of sub-Saharan Africa. However, cattle have faced criticism for their disproportionately large negative environmental impact, particularly regarding greenhouse gas emissions. The true extent of African livestock systems’ contribution to global emissions remains poorly understood, however, primarily due to a lack of evidence-based research. At the International Livestock Research (ILRI)
There is no food security without food safety. But every day, billions of people eat without knowing if their food will make them ill – or even kill them. The health burden of foodborne diseases is comparable to that of the ‘Big Three’ infectious diseases (malaria, HIV-AIDS, and tuberculosis), and the great majority of this burden is borne by those
To commemorate this year’s World Food Safety Day (7 June) under the theme Safer food, better health, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has launched an online food safety campaign and landing page to showcase its collaborative research on risk-based approaches to improving food safety in low- and middle-income countries. Visit the landing page to read key food safety messages
Livestock farming is practiced by at least 80% of the rural population and plays a key role in Mali’s economy. It contributes about 12% to the country’s GDP. Approximately 85% of Malians own small ruminants, especially women. Unfortunately, low productivity and marketing constraints limit the ability of ruminant livestock to provide a secure livelihood. Over 30 million sheep and goats
Tanzania has some of the largest livestock herds and flocks in Africa, comprising 34 million cattle, 33 million sheep and goats, and 88 million chickens. Increasing demand for consumption of meat, milk and eggs presents many opportunities for millions of livestock-rearing households to improve livelihoods, income, employment and nutrition. The main opportunity is to sustainably improve productivity and therefore increase