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How satellites and insurance are securing livestock in East Africa

Developed in partnership with International Livestock Research Institute, Cornell University and University of California Davis, IBLI uses data gathered by satellite to create a vegetation index that can be used to track the density of vegetation available to pastoralists. Continue reading

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Up in the sky, help to keep Africans from starving

Andrew Mude, a Kenyan economist, has a way of explaining satellites. When he’s talking to pastoral in his country’s north — people who roam the earth with a dozen head of cattle and very little else — he talks about the stars that don’t act like other stars. “They’re actually taking pictures of the ground,” Mude says. Herders, a stargazing people, understand. Continue reading

Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Livestock / Pastoralism / SLS / Uncategorized

Characterizing Regional Suitability for Index Based Livestock Insurance

Pastoral populations of Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to environmental shocks, which contribute to livestock mortality and therefore losses in both wealth and productive assets. Although conventional insurance mechanisms covering individual losses are generally not cost effective  (page 2) in low-income pastoral communities that engage in extensive grazing, index insurance for livestock offers a promising … Continue reading

Kenyan accepts 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application at World Food Prize Event in Iowa
Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Livestock / Pastoralism / SLS / Uncategorized

Kenyan accepts 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application at World Food Prize Event in Iowa

Originally posted on ILRI news:
 Andrew Mude, speaking at an event announcing his award held at ILRI in Nairobi, Kenya, 30 Aug 2016 (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan). Researcher Andrew Mude and colleagues are also receiving today a USAID ‘Award for Scientific Excellence’. Both awards honour innovative use of satellite technology and community outreach to develop livestock insurance…

Food prize puts Kenyan researcher on global map—Kenya’s ‘Business Daily’ newspaper
Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Livestock / Pastoralism / SLS / Uncategorized

Food prize puts Kenyan researcher on global map—Kenya’s ‘Business Daily’ newspaper

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Andrew Mude (picture credit: Business Daily) Even with the Tuesday announcement that he had won the award, Andrew Mude, who holds a doctorate in economics, remains a modest man committed to resolving the dilemma that pastoral communities, especially in northern Kenya, have endured for decades. ‘When he was named winner…

Kenyan economist Andrew Mude wins the 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application
Africa / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Livestock / News / Pastoralism / SLS

Kenyan economist Andrew Mude wins the 2016 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application

Originally posted on ILRI news:
Andrew Mude, a principal research scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), in Nairobi, Kenya, was yesterday named the 5th recipient of a prestigious award for his work in providing insurance to livestock herders in East Africa’s drylands through innovative, state-of-the-art technologies. It was announced yesterday (30 Aug 2016) in Nairobi, Kenya, that Andrew…

Africa / Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / Drylands / DRYLANDSCRP / East Africa / IBLI / ILRI / Insurance / Kenya / Livestock / Pastoralism / Resilience / SLS

RESULTS UK policy report features lessons from IBLI

A new policy report published by RESULTS UK this week, highlights the Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) Program in Kenya, as one of the initiatives that are successfully reaching vulnerable people with climate risk insurance in developing countries. Continue reading