Check out these English and Swahili instructional films on how to prepare and store silage made of sweetpotato vines for a cheap, nutritious and long-lasting feed for your dairy cows. Continue reading
This blog was written by Lucy Njuguna, a Graduate Fellow with the Sustainable Livestock Systems Program. In development work, there is often concern that external interventions can impose unintended costs on communities, especially when there is little or no consultation with the communities on their interests and priorities. This concern is particularly important in research … Continue reading
Written by Esther Kihoro with contributions from Sarah Kasyoka. ‘Maziwa ni dhahabu nyeupe’ (milk is white gold). This is a common phrase among livestock keepers in Tanzania. I’ve heard it numerous times in the last two years as I’ve worked with milk producers in the country. The term is being used to sensitize farmers on … Continue reading
Uganda’s agricultural sector contributes significantly to both incomes and direct availability of food in the country. It is also a major contributor to economic growth through provision of raw materials for agro-industries, job opportunities and foreign exchange. Agriculture contributes to about 21% of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Livestock production is an important subsector of … Continue reading
Originally posted on ILRI policies, instititions and livelihoods program:
Niller Musinya of Vihiga County happily showing her improved calf born from fixed-time artificial insemination (photo credit: AVCD/ FIPS R. Jumah). ? Stakeholder interest in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensities from livestock production has continued to gain momentum globally. This is driven by the fact…
New studies investigate low emissions development strategies to improve productivity in the dairy sector in Kenya and Ethiopia. Continue reading
Farmer feedback workshops carried out in Nandi and Bomet counties in Kenya addressed various challenges faced by dairy smallholders. Based on results from previous data collected, training sessions on various aspects of dairy farming were delivered. Continue reading
The smallholder dairy sector offers a wide range of opportunities for enhancing the resilience of small-scale livestock-keeping populations while also increasing their efficiency and productivity and mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions from livestock that help cause global warming. Continue reading
A new study carried out by scientists at the ILRI’s mazingira centre measured GHG emissions from livestock waste in Kenya. A recently published paper reveals that GHG emission factors recorded from the African livestock waste are at least ten times lower than calculations based on the simplest level of IPCC methods and data, Tier 1. Continue reading
In a journal article published in June 2014, the authors explore how to account for multi-functionality within the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to assess the contribution of livestock production to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study which was carried out in a smallholder dairy setup in Kenya was premised on the backdrop that most LCA studies allocate GHG emissions of livestock marketable inputs only, while in smallholder systems livestock provide several products and services besides the marketable products. Continue reading
Sustainable livestock systems 