Production of livestock and dairy products in Sub-Saharan Africa has not kept pace with growing demand. The potential exists to close this gap in a climate-friendly way through the introduction of improved forage varieties of the Brachiaria genus. We assess the potential economic impact of the development and release of such varieties in six East African countries using an economic surplus model. Results are presented across a range of potential scenarios involving different adoption rates and percentage increases in productivity.

Consumption of contaminated livestock products is one of the risk factors for the transmission of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in humans. In pastoral communities, livestock is the main source of livelihood providing nutritional, economic and cultural services hence zoonotic diseases tend to be more prevalent in such communities. An understanding of the lay perceptions regarding the transmission of zoonoses can help institute effective interventions. A qualitative study was carried out in Ijara district in Kenya to investigate the lay perceptions of RVF transmission.

West Africa (WA) is among the most food insecure regions. Rapid human population growth and stagnating crop yields greatly contribute to this fact. Poor soil fertility, especially low plant available phosphorus (P) is constraining food production in the region. P-fertilizer use in WA is among the lowest in the world due to inaccessibility and high prices, often unaffordable to resource-poor subsistence farmers. This article provides an overview of soil P-deficiency in WA and opportunities to overcome it by exploiting sorghum and pearl millet genetic diversity.

Ecological restoration through exclosure establishment has become an increasingly important approach to reversing degraded ecosystems in rangelands worldwide. The present study was conducted in northwestern Ethiopia where policy programs are aiming to restore degraded lands. Changes in soil properties following establishing exclosures on communal grazing lands were investigated. A space-for-time substitution approach was used to monitor changes in soil properties after conversion of communal grazing lands to exclosures with ages of establishment ranging from 1 to 7-years.

Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Escuela de Posgrado. Maestría en Producción Animal