Climate change threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in Africa. The rise in global temperatures, changes in rainfall, and the increase of extreme weather conditions all pose a serious risk to the agricultural sector and food and nutrition security. At the same time, Africa is currently the most uncertain region with regard to global … Continue reading
Category Archives: SLS
Environmental externalities and greenhouse gas emissions from water pans and bomas in pastoral systems
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, and ILRI’s Mazingira Centre join forces to study the role of water pans and bomas in pastoral systems On Oct 25, Gretchen Gettel and Tibor Stigter from IHE Delft arrived at the Mazingira Center in Nairobi. Together with Klaus Butterbach-Bahl from Karlsruhe Institute for Technology … Continue reading
Digging into Bomas
In a new international research effort, scientists from ILRI’s Mazingira Centre (Kenya), Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (Germany), and the Sustainable Agroecosystems Group at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) are teaming up to take a sharp look at the underlying mechanisms of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from bomas. N2O is a potent greenhouse gas, originating mostly from agricultural … Continue reading
Research activities under COVID-19: a case of the ReDEAL project
This blog has been written by Dr. Alice Onyango “If we continue to treat this disease normally, it will treat us abnormally” is a popular quote in Kenya, recently originating from Hon. Mutahi Kagwe, the Cabinet Secretary of Health. This is true in all facets of life including research, where we must accept a “new … Continue reading
New study finds that severe undernutrition of cattle increases their methane production
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
Senior Kenya government officials visit ILRI’s Kapiti Research Station
Originally posted on ILRI news:
https://flic.kr/p/2iFrCNC Jimmy Smith (centre), Dieter Schillinger (second right) and Sita Ghimire (right) with Kenya government officials who recently visited the Kapiti Research Station (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu). Three senior Kenya government officials visited the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Kapiti Research Station on 18 Mar 2020. Ambassador Samuel Gitonga, director…
ILRI trains East Africa officials on measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems
Originally posted on ILRI news:
Livestock production is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. But global estimates of these emissions are based on emission factors from developed countries. There is limited data on emissions from livestock systems in developing countries, which has contributed to a lagging of climate-change adaptation and mitigation…
ILRI ‘eWeigh’ mobile phone app to help farmers accurately estimate live weight of their cattle
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…
Changing landscapes call for new pathways in livestock development in Ethiopia’s Afar region
Originally posted on Sustainable livestock systems:
Livestock production is the main source of livelihood in the pastoral lands of Afar in northeastern Ethiopia. But the traditional livestock-keeping way of life there has been severely affected by climate change in recent years. Rainfall has become unpredictable, and the area has been hit by unprecedented droughts and…
A new project is launched to support climate-smart livestock strategies and investments in East Africa
Originally posted on ILRI news:
It is hard to overstate the role that the livestock sector plays in ensuring food security in sub-Saharan Africa. The sector provides a vital source of income to most of the rural poor. Livestock production also provides nutritional benefits to people through their milk, meat and eggs, which are protein…