A meeting of minds – Livestock and Fish program kicks off collaboration with SNV

Following the recent signing of a MOU between the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, staff from SNV’s global Dairy and Extensive Livestock Commodity Teams met in Nairobi on 27 May 2014 with scientists from ILRI and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to map interests and expertise as a basis for further collaboration. Continue reading →

Enhancing dairy based livelihoods in India and Tanzania: Updates from the MilkIT project

The ILRI-led project on ‘enhancing dairy-based livelihoods in India and Tanzania through feed innovation and value chain development approaches’ – commonly known as MilkIT – has been implemented since 2012 with support from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). Two briefs from the Livestock and Fish research program provide mid-term progress reports from the project. Continue reading →

Competitive beef and dairy project launched in Nicaragua

On 27 February 2014, the Livestock and Fish program team in Nicaragua joined with partners CATIE, Center for Export and Investment Nicaragua (CEI), and Heifer International to launch a new project called ‘competitive beef and dairy through sustainable intensification and specialized market access’. Continue reading →

Gender mainstreaming in the Nicaraguan dual-purpose cattle value chain

On 21 and 22 January 2014 the Livestock and Fish program conducted a gender workshop in Nicaragua to share methodologies and approaches to incorporate gender in the program’s work in the dual purpose cattle value chain in Nicaragua. Partners reflected on basic concepts and perceptions regarding gender equity, from both personal and organizational perspectives, taking into consideration gender statistics and opportunity gaps between men and women in the Nicaraguan livestock sector. Continue reading →

Experimenting with forage hybrids to improve mixed crop-livestock systems in Nicaragua

As part of the BMZ financed project ‘climate-smart crop-livestock systems for smallholders in the tropics: Integration of new forage hybrids to intensify agriculture and to mitigate climate change through regulation of nitrification in soil’, the Livestock and Fish program team has been working alongside farmers in rural communities of Nicaragua to improve productivity and mitigate … Continue reading →

Linking dual-purpose livestock farmers in Nicaragua to specialized markets

As a result of the collaboration between the Livestock and Fish program, CATIE, and Heifer International with Solidaridad Network’s Farmer Support Program, the project “competitive beef and dairy through sustainable intensification and specialized market access” will be implemented in the Nicaraguan departments of Matagalpa, RAAS, and Boaco. The project’s objective is to improve the competitiveness … Continue reading →

Improving Nicaragua’s dual-purpose livestock production through better breeds

The Livestock and Fish program team recently held an exchange with Nicaragua’s Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the country’s situation regarding livestock genetics and traceability efforts, and to identify points of collaboration through the ‘Better Breeds project’. The Better Breeds project, which began this September, aims to improve livestock traceability, intensify productivity, and increase farmers’ … Continue reading →

‘Grassroots action’ in livestock feeding to help curb global climate change

In a series of papers, scientists in the Livestock and Fish research program offer new evidence that a potent chemical mechanism operating in the roots of a tropical grass used for livestock feed has enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Referred to as “biological nitrification inhibition” or BNI, the mechanism markedly reduces the conversion … Continue reading →

Livestock and Fish Nicaragua value chain development – next steps

After a 4-day exchange with various stakeholders from the Nicaraguan dual-purpose value chain, an internal meeting was held on 9 August in order to review workshop results and define the program’s next steps for implementation in Nicaragua. Initial data collection, situational analyses, and monitoring and evaluation tool development were among the main follow up activities … Continue reading →

Field visit: Nicaraguan dual-purpose value chain in action

On 7 August, 2013, stakeholders participating in the Livestock and Fish Impact pathways and planning workshop visited the city of Camoapa, one of the main livestock production areas in Nicaragua, to witness firsthand the various levels of the dual-purpose cattle value chain. The visit began with a meeting with Edmundo Robleto, mayor of Camoapa. He … Continue reading →