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 →

New feed technology to offer more nutritious and sustainable aquaculture in Vietnam

The “Nutritious-system pond farming in Vietnam” project of WorldFish and Wageningen UR aims to increase the contribution of naturally occurring food in the diets of farmed fish and shrimp. 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 →

Integrating improved feeding practices to enhance reproductive and fattening performance in community-based sheep breeding programs in Ethiopia

ICARDA recently invited livestock breeders, livestock nutritionists and socio-economists from partner research centers in Ethiopia to a consultative workshop to discuss the possibilities of modifying existing feeding strategies in sheep flocks in the context of the ongoing Community-Based Sheep Breeding Program in Ethiopia. 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 →

Livestock and Fish 2013 report highlights progress

The Livestock and Fish program’s second annual ‘performance monitoring report’ provides insights into its progress, results and challenges in 2013. Continue reading →

Value chain analysis of the Egyptian aquaculture feed industry

This WorldFish study aims to assess the status of the fish feed sector in Egypt, with an emphasis on: mapping and understanding fish feed value chains, describing the main actors and stakeholders within the chain, assessing value chain performance, identifying major strengths and weakness of the sector, and suggesting appropriate actions, management and development strategies. Continue reading →