At more than 50 million animals, Ethiopia's livestock population is the largest in Africa and the eighth largest in the world. But livestock productivity in Ethiopia remains low. Namukolo Covic, the ILRI Director General's representative to Ethiopia, CGIAR Ethiopia country convener and the CGIAR regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, talks with Shahida Hussein, an ILRI communications officer, about the livestock challenges that are facing Ethiopia, ideas to raise productivity, and hopes for the future.

Across the world, millions of people eat a 'hidden meat' - bushmeat, or wild meat. But handling or eating bushmeat can pose a higher risk of transmitting zoonotic disease - diseases which affect both animals and humans. This episode looks at a pioneering study led by scientist Ekta Patel of ILRI that investigates how people understand that risk - and whether that understanding changes eating habits. 

Read more: 

Is there a conflict between supporting animal welfare, and supporting the wellbeing of the world's poor? Can we talk about animal welfare in the same way in the global North and South? Or are there important moral distinctions to be made? 

To explore these questions we're joined by Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher and bioethicist, Rebecca Doyle, who leads ILRI’s efforts on animal welfare, and Michel Dione, a senior scientist in Animal Health at ILRI.

Further reading:

Peter Singer:

One of the world’s most controversial philosophers explains himself - Vox

Peter Singer's website

Rebecca Doyle:

ILRI profile

Rebecca Doyle's website

Michel Dione:

ILRI profile

ILRI and animal welfare:

One Health Brief no. 5 - Keeping livestock healthy and well cared for improves animal, human, environment and economic health

This episode was written by Madison Spinelli, ILRI

In the second of our episodes featuring writer Roger Thurow, we hear about what inspired his most recent book, 'The First 1000 Days'. What exactly is this crucial period of life - and what is its impact on the rest of a child's life?

Malnutrition is a terrible burden to bear, but as Thurow warns, it ultimately affects us all.

Further reading and listening:

• Roger Thurow | The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
• Listen to our podcast featuring child nutrition expert Lora Iannotti from Season 2 of The Boma here

Script written by David Aronson

Roger Thurow is a senior fellow for global agriculture and food policy for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He writes about many of the same issues that animate the work at the International Livestock Research Institute - nutrition, development, hunger, and aid for subsistence farmers.

As a writer, Thurow conveys what the lives of the poor are like in vivid, granular detail. We hear from him about what inspired him to focus on these issues - and how he has seen the lives of smallholder farmers change for the better.

Further reading

• Roger Thurow | The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
• One Acre Fund

Script written by David Aronson

Where does digital technology fit in with livestock farming? Can flying animal vaccines in by drone to remote regions help address gender inequality? Find out on this special episode of The Boma!

In this podcast, we hear about the barriers to digital technology and farming difficulties that women face, then follow how ILRI and the CGIAR are working to close that divide from the example of an innovative vaccine-delivery project in Ghana.

We hear from Agnes Loriba, program lead and Ghana project manager at CARE International, Immaculate Omondi, a gender research economist at ILRI, and Nicoline de Haan, lead of the CGIAR GENDER Impact platform. How do they identify 'gender gaps' in farming and communities - and what does it take to close them?

Read more here

The Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and Canada’s International Development Research Centre

Script written by Annabel Slater

 Every director general knows, at the time they are appointed, exactly when they're supposed to leave because their appointment letter tells them so, says Jimmy Smith, who has been the director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) for the past 11 years. But "I didn't realise how difficult it would be to say goodbye to ILRI and the staff."

In this special episode of The Boma, Jimmy reflects on his time as director general, the state of the livestock sector, and what the future may hold. 

"You guys are coming when we have really suffered, when we have lost half of our herd and also when the vultures are descending from the sky."

So said a Kenyan pastoralist at a meeting about drought response.  What is being done to anticipate drought, rather than to deal with the consequences?  In this episode we look at the effects of the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa, with 17 million people facing hunger and a fifth rainy season on the way.

Experts from the Jameel Observatory, including Guyo Roba, head of the observatory, affiliate researcher Gary Watmough, and Stephen Mutiso from Save the Children, explain how we can hone drought preparation through collaboration and action. 

Jameel Observatory
Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET)
A Dangerous Delay 2: The Cost of Inaction - a report by Jameel Observatory, Save the Children, and Oxfam

Scripted by Madison Spinelli, Princeton-In-Africa Fellow at ILRI.

In 2014 a survey found that a quarter of children under 5 in Siaya County, western Kenya, were stunted. Stunting creates lifelong, chronic health issues and worse mental development. Better nutrition can help avoid stunting, but can be a struggle for families that are already lacking money, resources and access to support.

What if there was a way to empower families by improving a simple resource they already have? Such as chickens, a small but ubiquitous livestock in rural communities. But proving this is not so easy. In our new episode of The Boma, we dive into the questions and answers to see if there really is a link between poultry and children's health.

The study this episode reports on was a finalist for the 2022 Cozzarelli Prize, an award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the scientific disciplines represented by the National Academy of Sciences.

Read more:

• About Siaya County
• Newcastle disease is the main cause of mortality in rural chicken flocks
• 7.5 million Kenyans in rural communities live on less than USD 2 a day
• Vaccinating chickens against Newcastle disease improves the growth of children in rural Kenyan communities
• The 2022 Cozzarelli Prize

Scripted by Annabel Slater, Digital Media Specialist at ILRI.

Droughts have always occurred in the Horn of Africa, but in the past few years they have begun happening much more frequently. 

An award-winning scheme of index-based livestock insurance could provide a lifeline for millions of pastoralists whose livelihoods are affected by drought. There is no need to wait for a drought to become severe, for animals to die, or people to starve. Instead this scheme can help resilent pastoralists deal with climate shocks before they happen.

Presenters Brenda Coromina and Elliot Carleton take a look at how the insurance works, and why it is needed.

The index-based livestock insurance project at ILRI is run with the help of a variety of partners, including the World Bank, Cornell University, UC Davis, and the Kenyan government.

This episode features a clip from a video interview with Guyo Malicha Roba by The Elephant.

Learn more:

ILRI

The Elephant