Stakeholders meet to develop Forages for Africa program

On 26-29 Jan 2015, a “Forages for Africa” meeting was held at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University UK. The meeting, organised by CIAT and IBERS aimed at bringing together partners around the Forages for Africa initiative. Participants included researchers from Colombia, the UK, and Central and East African countries, and key sponsors and donors. Continue reading →

Characterizing actors in the dual-purpose cattle value chain in Nicaragua: A gender perspective

To better understand the roles played by rural women in the dual-purpose cattle value chain in Nicaragua, as well as the institutional context in the territory as it relates to the theme of gender, the team of Livestock and Fish recetny carried out a Characterization and Mapping of Organizations and Actors in the Dual-Purpose Cattle Value Chain in the municipalities of Camoapa and Matiguás. Continue reading →

Collaborative research shows that stalks and stems of legume plants are an excellent source of animal fodder

Of the many virtues of grain legumes, one is little recognized. Visitors to the livestock fodder markets of West Africa are always surprised to see groundnut and cowpea haulms (stalks and stems of legume plants) sold at prices that exceed that of cereal grains and not infrequently even that of groundnut and cowpea seeds, particularly during periods when sheep keepers are fattening their animal for slaughter at festivities such as Tabaski. Continue reading →

Modeling environmental impacts of forage technologies in crop-livestock systems in Tanzania

The CIAT-led project ‘Sustainable Intensification of Crop-livestock Systems through Improved Forages’, funded by the USAID Linkage program with the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish aims to assess environmental impacts of tropical forage technologies. Continue reading →

The value of knowledge in rural development – ‘I also have a right to decide.’

Increasing the productivity of small-scale production systems to make animal-source foods more readily available to poor consumers is a complex issue which requires a multi-faceted approach. With this concept in mind, scientists are working alongside territorial alliances to generate knowledge and initiatives to improve resource management through research. An example of this initiative, called the Learning Alliance. Continue reading →

Tropical forage-based systems for climate-smart livestock production in Latin America

Writing in the November 2014 issue of Rural 21, Livestock and Fish researchers from CIAT argue that tropical forage grasses and legumes as key components of sustainable crop-livestock systems in Latin America and the Caribbean have major implications for improving food security, alleviating poverty, restoring degraded lands and mitigating climate change. Continue reading →

New project to examine potential farm to landscape impact and adoption of forage technologies in Tanzania

The German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has just approved a small grant to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) for a project entitled the ‘potential farm to landscape impact and adoption of forage technologies in smallholder dairy production systems in Tanzania.’ Continue reading →

Nicaragua’s dual-purpose cattle value chain: Strategy and implementation planning workshop

On August 5 and 6, 2014, the Livestock and Fish team conducted a Livestock and Fish Strategy and Implementation Planning Workshop for the Dual-Purpose Cattle Value Chain (DPVC) in Managua, Nicaragua. The purpose of this workshop was to generate an exchange with local partners to track ongoing efforts in the value chain development work in … Continue reading →

Moving forward on competitive beef and dairy in Nicaragua

The Central America team of the CGIAR Research Program Livestock and Fish started this year with the launch of the project “Competitive beef and dairy through sustainable intensification and specialized market access in Nicaragua,” with the objective of improving the competitiveness and income of small and medium cattle farmers in Nicaragua through the implementation of good farm management practices and the creation and strengthening of sustainable beef and dairy value chains. Continue reading →

Forages project wins 2014 CGIAR-US university linkages proposal through Livestock and Fish program

‘Sustainable intensification of crop-livestock systems through improved forages’ is this year’s CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish and US university linkages winning proposal. ‘The core of the cooperation with Washington State University is to calibrate CropSyst for selected forages, support ongoing work on adding inter-cropping to the functionalities of CropSyst and apply it in case studies in Southern Africa. Continue reading →