News

Africa RISING feed

No technician? No problem: Africa RISING releases 35 vernacular DIY videos on maintenance of maize shelling machines for use by farmers in Ghana

It is estimated that smallholder farmers in northern Ghana face postharvest losses ranging between 30–50% of the yields obtained in each cropping cycle. While northern Ghana has a great potential to be a breadbasket region for the country, with almost all crops grown in the country capable of being...

  • Africa RISING communications
Africa RISING feed

Disseminating livestock extension information using text messages in Tanzania

A Maasai pastoralist checks his mobile phone (photo credit: Sven Torfinn/OXFAM blogs). Digital tools and platforms have become a fixture in disseminating knowledge about agricultural technologies to farmers in most farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Their positive effect in transforming the...

  • Africa RISING communications
ILRI News

Millions of new social groups are delivering better agricultural and land management

Etching by Clint Fulkerson. Millions of geographically based new social groups are leading to more sustainable agriculture A new paper in the scientific journal Global Sustainability presents some interesting findings on the rise over the past 20 years in social movements around sustainability...

AVCD program blog

Private sector embedded extension model sustains field activities during COVID-19 pandemic

Measuring weight of animal to determine appropriate dosage for ECF vaccine and dewormer in Muhoroni subcounty, Kisumu County, Kenya (photo credit: AVCD Dairy). Update from the dairy component of the AVCD program In the last three months (April- June), the dairy component of the Accelerated Value...

Africa RISING feed

Not just technology dissemination: the multiple dimensions of scaling initiatives of Africa RISING in sustainable intensification

Written by Million Gebreyes, Kindu Mekonnen, Peter Thorne, Abera Adie A word cloud of Africa RISING partners in Ethiopia (photo credit: authors). The Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian highlands operates in four regions of Ethiopia. The project, in the first phase, focused more on action...

ILRI clippings

Kenyan agriculturist Su Kahumbu on the need for ‘pro-smallholder’ and ‘pro-soil’ policies

Su Kahumbu with John Njure, a small-scale Kenyan dairy farmer (photo credit: iCow). TED Fellow Su Kahumbu is one of Kenya’s most authoritative and sustainable farmers. She is the brains behind two social enterprises: ‘Green Dreams TECH Ltd’, an organic farm and service connecting Kenya’s small-...

Africa RISING feed

Agricultural Extension and Participatory Approaches –co-existence approaches in the agricultural advisory service approaches

Million Getnet Gebreyes works at ILRI as a consultant. He is the National Learning facilitator for SAIRLA- NLA in Ethiopia and Innovation Platform facilitator for Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian highlands. Recently (June 30- July 8, 2018), he was at Haramaya University to teach a course for...

  • Simret Yasabu
AVCD program blog

Improved herd management technologies for enhancing livestock productivity: Embedding innovations through community groups

Livestock production remains a critical pillar that supports the livelihoods and meets the nutritional needs of pastoralist communities occupying the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya. These regions, however, have high levels of poverty (over 60%), exacerbated by poor accessibility and frequent...

Africa RISING feed

Africa RISING Phase I—what it took, what it gave, our proudest achievements

Telling a complete story about the entire Phase I of Africa RISING program in one blog post is a challenging task. But if you are looking for the tell-all of the program’s first phase, please take a look at the recently published report Footprints of Africa RISING—Phase I: 2011–2016 . As you can...

  • Jonathan Odhong
ILRI clippings

Accelerating the development of agricultural value chains in Kenya—AVCD Conference Highlights

Accelerating Value Chain Development in Kenya Conference: Highlights Read more about AVCD here and here , about the Livestock Value Chain component of AVCD here , and about the KAZNET crowd-sourced data collection platform here . View AVCD pictures .

Africa RISING feed

Africa RISING–NAFAKA Project trains government extension staff and farmers in Tanzania on fall army worm management

The Africa RISING–NAFAKA project has trained more than 250 government extension staff and more than 40 lead farmers from Tanzania’s southern highlands on fall armyworm (FAW) management. The training sessions took place from 22 January–6 February 2018 in the districts of Kilolo, Iringa Rural,...

  • Jonathan Odhong
Africa RISING feed

Technologies that transform: A look at select Africa RISING interventions in Babati District, Tanzania

Automated irrigation kit A solar powered automatic irrigation kit is showing promise in helping vegetable farmers in Tanzania, particularly women, use water resources more efficiently in farming. Currently being tested in Gallapo village of Babati District in northern Tanzania, the Smart...

  • Jonathan Odhong