Using the Community Capitals Framework, this article explores the factors enhancing or constraining women’s access to, and control over, the resources required to participate in, and benefit from, small ruminant value chain activities. Continue reading
Author Archives: Peter Ballantyne (ILRI)
Gender in the farmed fish value chain of Bangladesh: A review of the evidence and development approaches
This brief focuses on gender relations in fish farming and value chains in Bangladesh, i.e. the roles women and men play in diverse aquaculture production systems and other value chain nodes, their relative access to and control over resources, intra-household decision-making, and social and gender norms and attitudes. Continue reading
Value chain transformation: Taking stock of WorldFish research on value chains and markets
This paper documents learning across WorldFish’s value chain research efforts in Asia and Africa. It has three main objectives: (1) to take stock of WorldFish’s past and ongoing research on value chains; (2) to draw out commonalities and differences between these projects; and (3) to provide a synthesis of some learning that can guide future work. Continue reading
Balancing research and development: Livestock and fish research and value chain insights from Tropentag workshop
On 19 September 2016, the CGIAR Livestock and Fish Research Program hosted a side workshop at the 2016 Tropentag conference. It brought together partners from across the Program to examine the approach it uses to accelerate agricultural research for development. This post reports on some of the discussions that took place. The session began with an introduction to the Program by Tom Randolph. Then, participants formed groups and interrogated scientists from across the Program. The session ended with a plenary synthesis on what these experiences mean for future research of this type. Continue reading
WorldFish breeding program produces 15th generation of improved GIFT tilapia
At WorldFish, the long-running selective breeding program for the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) strain is fundamental to it efforts to improve livelihoods and food security in Asia, the Pacific and Africa by improving aquaculture and fisheries. In 2016, WorldFish continued this vital GIFT breeding work, funded by the European Union, highlighted by the development of the 15th generation of GIFT and the first-ever distribution of GIFT fry to Myanmar.
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Grass? How an unlikely weapon can help farmers beat drought in Africa
To resist the droughts that decimate rural livelihoods, researchers and farmers in Tanzania are testing different forage grass and legume species to discover which management and grass combinations can boost the quantity and quality of forages in local conditions. Continue reading
Improved tilapia breeding program in Egypt: A year in review
Since 2002, WorldFish has run a breeding program in Egypt for a faster-growing strain of Nile tilapia, known as the Abbassa improved strain. In 2016, with funding from the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish, WorldFish continued to develop the Abbassa strain by shifting to a winter breeding cycle and preparing to produce the 14th generation. Continue reading
Setting up a Near Infrared Spectroscopy platform for feed analysis in Ethiopia
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Agriculture Quality Research Laboratory of the Ethiopian Institute for Agriculture Research (EIAR) recently jointly conducted a training workshop on stationary and mobile Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) use and application in Addis Ababa. Continue reading
Advancing the gender agenda in small ruminant value chains in Ethiopia
A recent gender capacity assessment study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) revealed that low or lack of gender capacities among research and development practitioners is one of the bottlenecks in the development of gendered livestock value chains in Ethiopia. Continue reading
Gender integration in livestock and fish research
Between 2012 and 2016, the Livestock and Fish program’s Gender Initiative supported an integrated approach to gender in its technical research.
Today in Cali, Colombia, the CGIAR Gender and Agriculture Research Network Annual Meeting launches a book about these experiences, showing that attention to gender equality and an understanding of gender dynamics leads to better science, more effective interventions and more inclusive development. Continue reading