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sparc-ideas.bsky.social
SPARC
@sparc-ideas.bsky.social
A research-to-action programme supporting pastoralism and agriculture in the drylands of Africa and the Middle East. #SPARCideas

Website: https://www.sparc-knowledge.org/
As the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 begins, read Guy Jobbins and Claire Bedelian in The Conversation about some key lessons from six years of SPARC research ➡️ theconversation.com/africas-dryl...

#SPARCideas #IYRP #IYRP2026 #pastoralism
Africa’s drylands need the right kind of support – listening to the pastoralists who live there
Africa’s drylands need support, but it shouldn’t overlook systems that people rely on.
theconversation.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:45 AM
🎧 Now online: listen to Fulani pastoralist women - in their own words.

This special episode of #DynamicDrylands interviews pastoralists in northern Nigeria about their experience being trained as community researchers - and the long-term impacts on their lives. ➡️ shows.acast.com/dynamic-dryl...
Episode 5: "Invisible, yet indispensable": Fulani pastoralist women - in their own words | Dynamic Drylands
Fulani pastoralists are rarely given their own podcast. In this bonus edition episode of Dynamic Drylands, pastoralist women provide their own perspectives on how a locally led research exercise has i...
shows.acast.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Markets in #Darfur haven’t collapsed. They’ve adapted.

A new #SPARCideas Q&A with a Sudanese researcher explores how people get by through one of the most devastating conflicts: www.sparc-knowledge.org/news-blog/bl...

#Sudan @odi.global @ilri.org
Documenting Darfur’s war economy: interview with Sudanese SPARC researcher
www.sparc-knowledge.org
August 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Reposted by SPARC
👩‍🌾 Women & Pastoral Livelihoods: Innovating for a Sustainable Future🍀

Watch our recent webinar with @sparc-ideas.bsky.social , @mercycorps.bsky.social and partners!

▶️ edin.ac/43Tf61Y

#Gender #Pastoralism #SustainableLivestock
July 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
📍If you’re at the LANDac Conference 2025, join our event on ‘Learning from SPARC research on gender & youth issues in farmer-herder conflicts & pastoral land governance’ on Fri, July 4.

We’ll share evidence from pastoralists in the drylands of #SouthSudan, #Sudan & #Nigeria.

➡️ bit.ly/44sDrLJ
LANDac Global Land Governance International Conference
bit.ly
June 25, 2025 at 4:50 AM
👏Congratulations to SPARC researcher Kelvin Shikuku for being shortlisted (out of 200 applicants) for the Sasakawa Awards at the Global Platform for #DRR for his work on KAZNET - a crowdsourcing mobile phone app. #GP2025

www.sparc-knowledge.org/news-blog/ne...

@ilri.org @undrr.bsky.social
From data to resilience: Kelvin Shikuku and KAZNET shortlisted for 2025 Sasakawa Award
www.sparc-knowledge.org
June 6, 2025 at 7:27 AM
🏆#SPARC_Ideas researcher Kelvin Shikuku shortlisted for 2025 @undrr.bsky.social ‬‬ Sasakawa Award for work on mobile phone app KAZNET.

The winner will be announced today at #GP2025
⌛️18:15 - 19:15 (UTC +2 Geneva) June 5.
▶️Watch live & find out more: bit.ly/45GGy3H
From data to resilience: Kelvin Shikuku and KAZNET shortlisted for 2025 Sasakawa Award
bit.ly
June 5, 2025 at 4:51 AM
🚨 Join us on 22 May for the webinar coorganised by SPARC alongside @socialprotection.org and @odi.global: "Do public works programmes create valuable assets for livelihoods and resilience in #Ethiopia and #Kenya?"

🕛 22 May 2025: 14:00 GMT+1
🔗Register: tinyurl.com/2hhb8fpv #SPARCideas
May 16, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Nigeria's new Ministry of Livestock has been hailed as a key step in addressing worsening farmer-herder conflicts. The reality is more complicated.

📢 Read the new article by SPARC researcher Sarli Nana: www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2025...

#SPARCideas #pastoralism #Nigeria
How to stop Nigeria’s worsening farmer-pastoralist violence
A new Ministry of Livestock has been hailed as a key step in addressing worsening farmer-herder conflicts. The reality is more complicated.
www.thenewhumanitarian.org
May 7, 2025 at 10:03 AM
How can policy & investments empower women & drive prosperity in drylands?

Don’t miss our webinar on May 15 on ‘Women & pastoral livelihoods’ – we’ll explore scalable, #gender-inclusive solutions for resilient & sustainable livestock systems: ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #SPARCIdeas
April 24, 2025 at 12:06 PM
SPARC researchers are working with policymakers in #Kenya to support sustainable development in drylands & protect #pastoralists' rights.

Check our new blog on how we’re supporting the review of Kenya’s national land policy: bit.ly/3Y1wcXQ

#SPARCIdeas @fao.org (📸by Sweder Breet / Unsplash)
April 17, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by SPARC
In the drylands of #Kenya and #Ethiopia, the digital transformation of livestock markets is gathering pace, and contributing to that is a livestock data platform named KAZNET.

Read the story: bit.ly/3QWJaCf

@ilri.org @cgiar.org @bioversityciat.bsky.social @sparc-ideas.bsky.social
April 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
🧵What impact has civil war had on markets and trade in #Sudan?

The latest SPARC briefs shed light on the profound impacts of war on #Darfur's trade networks since April 2023.

#SPARCideas (1/3)
April 15, 2025 at 9:29 AM
How can governments and business better support the livestock trade & pastoralists’ livelihoods?

This new brief sets out how improving access to and delivery of animal health services in Kenya & Ethiopia – including for women – is key: bit.ly/3DRVSPw
#SPARCIdeas #gender @fao.org
Behavioural and norms-responsive animal health systems for pastoralists in Ethiopia and Kenya
SPARC partnered with MarketShare Associates to conduct a field-based study on gender-inclusive animal health services (AHS) delivery in pastoral communities across Ethiopia and Kenya.
bit.ly
April 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Today @ilri.org's Fiona Flintan is sharing #SPARCideas research on how to mitigate impacts of farmer-herder conflict in the #Sahel at a forum, as part of ‘ACRES-WA: Advancing Climate Resilience & Environmental Security in W Africa’ project.

Read our work on farmer-herder conflicts: bit.ly/3FaxskH
Causes of Farmer–Herder Conflicts In Africa
This new report provides insights into the causes of farmer–herder conflict, uncovering trends and potential gaps in understanding.
bit.ly
March 6, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Why have attempts to link #humanitarian help & long-term #development had limited success when tackling #drought in the Horn of #Africa?

Our researchers' new journal article looks at how a lack of #community participation w/ #pastoralists is part of the problem: bit.ly/4jAO5FM #SPARCideas
A review of approaches to the integration of humanitarian and development aid: the case of drought management in the Horn of Africa
This study reviews approaches to the integration of humanitarian and development aid directed at drought management in the Horn of Africa
bit.ly
February 23, 2025 at 5:52 AM
🔭Anticipatory action can help reduce the impact of disasters in the Horn of Africa - so what is preventing it from being scaled up?

Our new blog looks at how existing disaster risk management strategies can inform #AnticipatoryAction: www.sparc-knowledge.org/anticipatory... #SPARCideas
What anticipatory action can learn from existing disaster risk management in the Horn of Africa
www.sparc-knowledge.org
February 23, 2025 at 5:27 AM
⏯️☕️Today's 3-minute #SPARCideas: SPARC researcher Alexis Teyie on #pastoralists' quick take-up of digital technologies, and what this means for future lives and livelihoods in #Africa's #drylands: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHMF... #pastoralism
How are pastoralists using digital technologies?
YouTube video by SPARC Knowledge
www.youtube.com
January 31, 2025 at 9:25 AM
⏯️☕Today's 3-minute #SPARCideas: SPARC researcher Muzzamil Abdi Sheikh on why increasingly complex crises - in countries like his home Somalia - require a change in the way we think about development:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYK...
How can aid be more effective in protracted crises?
YouTube video by SPARC Knowledge
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2025 at 7:30 AM
✏️This week the SPARC team has been busy in Naivasha, working to synthesise 5 years of SPARC research into #drylands #development.

Watch this space for more on our key messages - and stay up to date with our newsletter here: sparc-knowledge.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=... #SPARCideas
January 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
🏆SPARC's partner, the Nigerian NGO FUDECO, has won the UN-POLAC award for its work w/ #pastoralists in Nigeria’s #drylands.

Find out more about the award & FUDECO's work here:👉https://www.sparc-knowledge.org/news-blog/news/sparc-partner-fudeco-wins-un-award #SPARCideas @katharinevincent.bsky.social
January 10, 2025 at 9:43 AM
👁️‍🗨️Spotted: #SPARCideas research in Somali publication Hiiraan Online.

In 2024, SPARC published data on #LossAndDamage across 18 countries in Africa.

It found that, 2000-2021, climate-linked disasters cost #Somalia 4.5% of its agricultural GDP annually.

Read more▶️ www.hiiraan.com/news4/2024/D...
Climate change costs Somalia $2.84 billion in agricultural losses
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia is grappling with the devastating impact of climate change, which has inflicted $2.84 billion in agricultural and livestock losses over two decades. A new report by SPARC (Su...
www.hiiraan.com
January 9, 2025 at 5:07 AM
A look back at #SPARCideas' digital impact in 2024.

✉️SPARC is a research-to-action programme comanaged by @odi.global, @ilri-cgiar.bsky.social, Mercy Corps and Cowater. Sign up to our newsletter to stay updated in 2025: sparc-knowledge.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...
January 8, 2025 at 5:39 AM
We're new to BlueSky!🎉

🖱️Follow us to find out more about SPARC's work informing more effective development interventions in the drylands of #Africa and the #MiddleEast - and find out more about what we do here: www.sparc-knowledge.org #SPARCideas

📸Sam Sheridan/Mercy Corps
January 8, 2025 at 5:24 AM