ILRI Research Outputs

Means of livelihood, clean environment to women empowerment: The multi-faceted role of donkeys

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Means of livelihood, clean environment to women empowerment: The multi-faceted role of donkeys Ravichandran, Thanammal; Perumal, Ramesh K.; Kennady, Vijayalakshmy; Raw, Z.; Cooke, F.; Baltenweck, Isabelle; Rahman, Habibar Despite the substantial contribution donkeys make to the livelihood of the world’s poorest populations, the existence of donkeys has received little notice worldwide. This article reviews the value of donkeys in a variety of sectors, including agriculture, construction industry, and mining, as well as their role in empowering women and achieving sustainable development goals. However, donkeys and mules are not given enough credit or attention in terms of developing strategies regarding their role in reducing poverty. There is a dearth of information and statistics on their impact across industries, the factors contributing to the donkey population dropping, the socioeconomic status of the dependent communities, and related animal and human welfare issues.

ILRI 2022 financial statements

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

ILRI 2022 financial statements International Livestock Research Institute

Opportunities for growing the pork sector in low- and middle-income countries

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Opportunities for growing the pork sector in low- and middle-income countries Marshall, Karen; Ouma, Emily A.; Unger, Fred

ILRI Capacity Development Newsletter, Issue 3, June 2023

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

ILRI Capacity Development Newsletter, Issue 3, June 2023 International Livestock Research Institute

Ownership of small livestock species, but not aggregate livestock, is associated with an increased risk of anemia among children in Ethiopia: A propensity score matching analysis

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Ownership of small livestock species, but not aggregate livestock, is associated with an increased risk of anemia among children in Ethiopia: A propensity score matching analysis Zerfu, Taddese Alemu; Abera, Amare; Duncan, Alan; Baltenweck, Isabelle; McNeill, Geraldine Consumption of animal source foods, through livestock production, improves children's growth and micronutrient status. However, research on the relationship between livestock ownership and childhood anemia has produced conflicting results. The current study used robust analytical approaches to examine the effect of household livestock ownership on children's anemia using the most recent secondary data from the national demographic and health survey. We followed a 1:1 closest neighborhood propensity score matching analysis. A propensity score was generated using the binary logistic regression model to compute the probability of owning livestock. From a total of 18,008 households enrolled in the latest Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS 2016), data of 721 index children aged 6–59 months from households owning livestock were matched with a comparable number (721) of children from households without livestock. The paired and independent t-test, matched relative risk (RR), and standardized mean differences were used to compare the distributions of hemoglobin concentration and anemia risks between treatment and control groups. Anemia was found in more than half (54.1% and 58.8%) of children aged 6–59 months from livestock-owning and nonowning families, respectively (p > .05). Aggregate ownership of livestock was not associated with hemoglobin concentration or anemia status (RR = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] [0.87–1.04]). Species-wise, poultry was associated with a lower (RR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.84–0.95]) anemia risk, while ownership of goat/sheep was associated with higher (RR = 1.10, 95% CI [1.03–1.17]) risk. In conclusion, ownership of small livestock species (sheep/goats and poultry), but not aggregate livestock ownership, was associated with the risk of anemia among children in Ethiopia. Therefore, agriculture-sensitive nutrition, with a One Health lens approach, is recommended to mitigate the high burden of anemia among children in Ethiopia. In the future, a well-controlled interventional study with more extended periods may be required to fully understand the effects of livestock production and highlight the differences seen across livestock species.

Morpho-biometric characterization of indigenous chicken ecotypes in north-western Ethiopia

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Morpho-biometric characterization of indigenous chicken ecotypes in north-western Ethiopia Muluneh, B.; Taye, M.; Dessie, Tadelle; Salilew, D.; Kebede, D.; Tenagne, A. Morphological characterization of Animal Genetic Resources is the first step to documenting diversity and designing breed specific breeding programs. The current study characterized the morpho-biometric variation of indigenous chicken ecotypes prevailing in northwestern Ethiopia. A multi-stage purposive, stratified, and random sampling method was employed to select the study areas and chickens. A total of 1200 adult chickens were sampled and characterized for 12 qualitative and 11 quantitative traits. Univariate and multivariate data analysis methods were employed to analyze the data using SAS and R statistical software. Red plumage colour (33.2%), white and red earlobe colour (73.8%) and yellow shank colour (57.0%) were the most predominant colour trait categories. Sex, agro-ecology, location, and the interaction of sex and location had a highly significant (p<0.001) effect on all body measurements. Shank traits were found to have the highest discriminating power in both sexes. The overall classification rates for the female and male sample populations were 57.47% and 69.97%, respectively. The squared Mahalanobis distances between sites were significant (p<0.001) for both sexes. The longest distance was obtained between North Achefer and Banja (19.25) and between North Achefer and Dembecha (16.80) in female and male chickens, respectively. In female chickens, canonical variates 1 (CAN 1) and 2 (CAN 2) explained 82% of total variation and distinctly separated the sample populations of North Achefer and Jawi from others. In male chickens, 90% of the total variance is explained by CAN1, CAN2, and CAN3, which distinctly separate the sample populations of the North Achefer, Sinan, and Jawi, among others. Using cluster analysis, the indigenous chickens found in the study area could be classified into four ecotypes: ecotype 1 (Banja, Dembecha, and Aneded), ecotype 2 (North Achefer), ecotype 3 (Sinan), and ecotype 4 (Jawi).

Comprehensive new report tackles food safety risks in the informal sector of developing countries─More sticks, fewer carrots: New directions for tackling food safety risks

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Comprehensive new report tackles food safety risks in the informal sector of developing countries─More sticks, fewer carrots: New directions for tackling food safety risks International Livestock Research Institute

New directions for tackling food safety risks in the informal sector of developing countries

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

New directions for tackling food safety risks in the informal sector of developing countries Henson, S.; Jaffee, S.; Wang, S. Informal food markets are important sources of affordable, nutritious food for millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. However, a large part of the public health burden of foodborne disease is associated with foods that are handled and sold by informal food processors and vendors. In most low- and lower middle-income countries, informal food markets will remain important for food and nutritional security for the foreseeable future. And, under a ‘business as usual’ scenario, we might even expect the problem of unsafe food in this sector to worsen rather than improve over time. To be more effective in addressing unsafe food in informal markets, there is a need for a shift in mind-sets, and a very different, multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional and spatially focused approach which deals with the complex capacity- and incentive-related constraints associated with informal markets.