Category Archives: Mazingira

New study finds that severe undernutrition of cattle increases their methane production
Climate change / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / GHG Emissions / Greenhouse Gas / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / SLS

New study finds that severe undernutrition of cattle increases their methane production

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A study by researchers at the International ILRI, and partners in Germany investigated the effects of moderate to severe levels of feeding below an animal’s energy requirement on enteric methane production in young Boran steers. The study found that methane produced by an animal per unit feed intake increases as the amount of feed consumed by an animal decreases. Continue reading →

Setting up a soil analytical laboratory at University of Kabianga
Climate change / Countries / CRPs / East Africa / Environment / Food Systems / ILRI / Kenya / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / Regions / Research Infrastructure

Setting up a soil analytical laboratory at University of Kabianga

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The Restoring African Degraded Landscaped (ReDEAL) project is an interdisciplinary and collaboratively coordinated research project that aims at helping smallholder to avoid further and possibly reverse land degradation without compromising livelihoods and food production. The project partners are Lancaster University, University of Manchester, CIFOR, ILRI and the university of Kabianga. Part of the project is … Continue reading →

ILRI ‘eWeigh’ mobile phone app to help farmers accurately estimate live weight of their cattle
Dairying / Data / Environment / Kenya / Mazingira / SLS

ILRI ‘eWeigh’ mobile phone app to help farmers accurately estimate live weight of their cattle

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Originally posted on ILRI news:
One of the most important and revealing attributes of livestock is their live weight. This single measurement can help farmers effectively manage their stock and is critical for making informed decisions on aspects of animal production such as feed rations, market value, administration of veterinary drugs and mating times. For…

Where does the methane in the atmosphere come from?
Capacity strengthening / Climate change / Countries / CRPs / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / Regions

Where does the methane in the atmosphere come from?

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In February 2020 a team from ILRI’s Mazingira Centre, Royal Holloway, University of London and Cambridge University went on a trip through Southern Kenya to sample air. Sampling air may sound arbitrary yet the bigger aim of this field campaign was to derive samples from livestock including cattle, sheep, goats and camels as well as … Continue reading →

Two students from Braeburn International School Arusha joining Mazingira for a week
Capacity strengthening / Climate change / Countries / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Mazingira / Regions / Research Infrastructure / SLS / Tanzania / Uncategorized

Two students from Braeburn International School Arusha joining Mazingira for a week

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At the end of February 2019, two students from the Braeburn International School Arusha joined the Mazingira Team for one week. They were not just looking over our shoulders to learn about what a typical environmental laboratory looks alike but actually got quite some hands-on experience. Read their short report below: By Melchim Roothaert and … Continue reading →

Building capacity in greenhouse gas analytics beyond ILRI’s Mazingira Centre
Capacity strengthening / CCAFS / Climate change / Countries / CRPs / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / Research Infrastructure / SLS

Building capacity in greenhouse gas analytics beyond ILRI’s Mazingira Centre

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Besides the scaling of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using models (see our previous training event here) there is a crucial need to build capacity on core analytics for GHG concentrations measurements such as gas chromatography. Based on the available instruments within ILRI’s Mazingira Centre, local universities (Maseno University) and national research centres (KALRO) we invited … Continue reading →

Training on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa
Capacity strengthening / CCAFS / Climate change / Countries / CRPs / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / SLS

Training on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa

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Between 22nd and 26th October, ILRI’s Mazingira Centre and FAO jointly organised a training workshop on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa. Why is this important? Current greenhouse gas emission estimates from livestock and manure in Africa are primarily estimating based on existing expert knowledge which is predominantly derived from livestock systems in developed … Continue reading →

First continuous greenhouse gas measurements and validation of satellite derived land surface temperature estimates in East African drylands
Capacity strengthening / Climate change / Countries / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Mazingira / Regions / Research Infrastructure

First continuous greenhouse gas measurements and validation of satellite derived land surface temperature estimates in East African drylands

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by Thomas Dowling (King’s College London) and Lutz Merbold (Mazingira Centre, ILRI) Since the beginning of August 2018, the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI’s) Kapiti research station, approximately 60km South of Nairobi, has become a reference site for the validation of satellite derived land surface temperature (LST) in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). While … Continue reading →

Feedback workshops yield significant insights for smallholder dairy farmers in Nandi and Bomet
Capacity strengthening / CCAFS / CRPs / Dairying / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / SLS

Feedback workshops yield significant insights for smallholder dairy farmers in Nandi and Bomet

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Farmer feedback workshops carried out in Nandi and Bomet counties in Kenya address various challenges faced by dairy smallholders. Based on results from previous data collected, training sessions on various aspects of dairy farming are delivered. Continue reading →

Voices from the lab: Postdoctoral researcher shares her first field trip experience
Climate change / Countries / Dairying / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Mazingira / Regions / SLS

Voices from the lab: Postdoctoral researcher shares her first field trip experience

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In this blog, one of the most recent Mazingira members, Sonja Leitner (Postdoctoral researcher, soil ecologist) who started with the team on 1st March 2018, shares an experience of her first field trip to Tanzania. From 25-30/03/2018, I joined Lutz Merbold and Phyllis Ndung’u on a field trip to Tanzania, where we visited different smallholder … Continue reading →