The Boma
Welcome to ‘The Boma’—a new podcast about livestock in the developing world—the cattle, camels, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry—that provide billions of people with nutrition, income, resources and livelihoods. How can small scale livestock systems be sustainable, as well as profitable? How can they help protect the environment? Do they harm or enhance human health? Check out The Boma to hear diverse perspectives on some of the hottest topics debated today and dive deep into the best and latest scientific research on livestock and development. ****** The Boma is hosted by Global Livestock Advocacy for Development (GLAD), a project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Episodes
27 episodes
Ethiopia's livestock: An interview with Namukolo Covic
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 Eth...
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38:52
The 'hidden meat' of the world
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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16:55
Animal welfare in lower- to middle-income countries, with Peter Singer
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? ...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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15:54
Roger Thurow on the global burden of malnutrition - Part 2
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?Mal...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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14:37
Roger Thurow on global poverty - Part 1
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, devel...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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14:20
International Women's Day 2023 - Digital apps and drones in livestock farming
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 barrie...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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22:04
ILRI says farewell to Director General Jimmy Smith
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 Resear...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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19:48
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How to stop drought aid 'coming with the vultures'
"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...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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18:49
Can one chicken make a difference to a child's health?
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 strugg...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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18:52
Drought insurance: Breaking the cycle of loss for millions of pastoralists
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 pas...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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16:12
How containing COVID-19 also hurt the world's poorest farmers
Many countries locked down in the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic, trying to protect the public from infections and illness. But a new wave of research is examining how containment measures came with costs, too. Particularly for the 1 in 12 people...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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14:29
Sarah Nyakeri talks about vulnerability in... science?
"I’ve learned that using the simplest words doesn’t make you less of a scientist. It can actually make you a great scientist."Sarah Nyanchera Nyakeri is an MSc fellow at the Interna...
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Season 2
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13:46
East Coast fever: Tackling neglected livestock diseases in Africa
In the early 1900s, cattle herds across South Africa were devastated by a new livestock disease. Today, more than 100 years later, that disease is called East Coast fever, and despite scientists' best efforts to control it, the disease continue...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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16:13
Everything is everywhere: How microbes move through a city
Little is known about how bacteria spread through different sections of a city. Now the most extensive study of its kind uncovers some critical answers of how bacteria move through Nairobi, lessons that could have implications for the wider wor...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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18:49
How - and why - do we talk about science?
If you're not a researcher, why should you care about science? Why does science communication matter to research?In the second of a two-parter featuring ILRI Emeritus Fellow Susan MacMillan, Brenda Coromina and Elliot Carleton question ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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20:41
'Livestock are a vehicle for a better world'
Susan MacMillan knows why livestock matter. An ILRI Emeritus Fellow, she has led public awareness and advocacy communications at ILRI for nearly 33 years. In the latest episode of The Boma, Elliot Carleton and Brenda Coromina find out h...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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16:46
International Women's Day 2022
Livestock provide vital nutrition and income for numerous households in developing countries. And it's often women who do the bulk of the work caring for the animals. But this doesn't mean they reap the benefits. In many communities, women are ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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18:27
Keeping livestock cool during a climate crisis
There's a growing problem across the world, one that could make keeping livestock outdoors almost impossible in just a few decades, and jeopardize the health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. That problem is heat s...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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15:50
Antimicrobial resistance. A tale of two worlds, or a global threat?
As long as we have had ways to destroy microbes, microbes have been fighting back. Alexander Fleming, who discovered the world's first antibiotic, penicillin, warned that misusing antibiotics could lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). <...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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17:36
Phages - Bad for bacteria, good for livestock farmers
Livestock farmers use antibiotics to treat infections in their animals, and may also use them as a preventative. But overuse of antibiotics can create 'superbugs' - antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria which threaten human lives and wellbeing...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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18:52
Animal-source foods for people and the planet
As the pandemic pushes global malnutrition to rates not seen in more than a decade, how can livestock products like milk, meat and eggs help? And how do we weigh the nutritional benefits of livestock, particularly in the developing world, again...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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18:46
Changing climate, changing cattle farming - Part 2
If sub-Saharan Africa produces just 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the livestock sector just a fraction of those, why should the governments of these countries be concerned?Because there's much more to the story. The intensit...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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15:44
Changing climate, changing cattle farming - Part 1
How do we intensify livestock to feed the global south, but also mitigate climate emissions? Is it possible to increase livestock productivity while decreasing its environmental cost?T...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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19:20
Why One Health matters
One Health is traditionally defined as the collaboration of several disciplines working locally, nationally and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment -- but what exactly does this mean, and what does it look...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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18:10
Covid-19: Finding the origins of a pandemic
Covid-19 has had the world at a stand-still since early last year and yet we are still trying to find out how the pandemic started. Did the virus come directly from a bat, a different wild animal, was it spread by frozen food, or was it even le...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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16:47