Improved small ruminant value chains in Ethiopia focus of new Livestock and Fish project

CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish

Smallholder family with sheep in Doyogena

In April this year, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) agreed to co-finance a three year project to improve the performance of pro-poor sheep and goat value chains for enhanced livelihoods, food and nutrition security in Ethiopia.

The project is led by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) partnering with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR).

The project emerged from recent work by ICARDA and partners to identify the key opportunities to transform small ruminant value chains in the country.

The project will improve livelihoods and assets, particularly of women, through increased incomes, reduced risk and improved market access in selected sheep and goat meat value chains. It will do this by testing appropriate approaches and strategies to increase herd productivity, producers’ income, and meat production.

The four project…

View original post 191 more words

Why Does Your Family Farm Look Like a Factory Farm? (Part I)

The Cow Docs

The first time an owner of a family farm is accused of owning a “factory farm”, that farmer is quite confused. “What do you mean ‘factory farm’? I’m just a little guy in this business!” is often the farmer’s thought. However, to folks that aren’t in agriculture, this farmer’s 250 cows and 2000 acres of land looks like a kingdom. Shows like Green Acres and Little House on the Prairie have given people the idea that it only takes a few animals and a few acres to make a living. The truth is much more complex.

You know, like everything else in the world–more complex than the sound-bite media lets on.

Let’s use the farmer in the first paragraph as our example. Let’s say this farmer is only in cattle ranching, therefore the only product the ranch makes weaned calves (That makes this much simpler to illustrate, but many farms have…

View original post 440 more words

Last Week I Went to a March

Last Week I Went to a March.via Last Week I Went to a March.

The new religion: How the emphasis on ‘clean eating’ has created a moral hierarchy for food

A Reminder to Email Subcribers

We’ve moved! Follow us over to our new digs:
Food and Farm Discussion Lab

Join us on Facebook

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter