This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ”Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” It is aimed at celebrating the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. At ILRI, we sought to mark the day by reflecting on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women and the leadership strategies they are implementing to manage the situation. Continue reading
Category Archives: Africa
‘Livestock master plan’ launched to transform meat, milk and poultry production in The Gambia
During a first meeting to launch The Gambia’s Livestock Master Plan, Karl Rich, principal scientist in the Policies, Institutions, and Livelihoods Program of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and Njie Mamud, program director of SRPEP, both pointed to an increasing demand for animal-source foods (milk, meat and eggs) locally and internationally that The Gambia was as yet unable to supply due to challenges in the country’s livestock production and feed systems, fragmentation of its livestock value chains and poor infrastructure. Rich argued that by working with many diverse stakeholders to implement its new livestock master plan, The Gambia will be able to help its smallholder farmers transform their largely subsistence livestock systems into a profitable and thriving livestock sector. Continue reading
Using the livestock master plan process to boost investment in livestock development
The livestock master plan process supports countries to develop a livestock sector strategy and livestock commodity specific roadmaps using a set of analytical tools. The livestock master plan is then incorporated in national agriculture investment plans. Continue reading
How in-kind performance support system is increasing access to high-quality milk in Rwanda
Since 2017, as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and RTI International, the University of Rwanda, and TechnoServe have been implementing a research project that is enhancing the quality and consumption of milk to improve the income and nutrition in Rwanda. TechnoServe’s work focuses … Continue reading
National livestock sector policies and planning under a changing global economy
The production and demand of livestock derived foods (LDFs) could change substantially in the future in many LMICs following major changes in global economic and climate conditions. A recent report assesses a standard global model’s projections of livestock production and the demand for LDFs in Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda, Cambodia, Nepal and Burkina Faso in 2050. Continue reading
Assessing sustainability of smallholder dairy and traditional cattle milk production systems in Tanzania
Both in the scientific community and the media, there are a lot of talks about sustainable livestock systems, what they are and how to promote them. A sustainable farming system is one which is economically viable, socially acceptable, environmentally friendly and transferable to the future generations. But achieving sustainable smallholder milk production systems in developing countries, including Tanzania, is limited by many constraints including low cow productivity, shortage of feed, limited access to inputs and outputs markets and degradation of natural resources. Continue reading
Celebrating achievements of women in livestock development at the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD@10) event
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) supports women in livestock development by ensuring that they benefit and are empowered through livestock. It does this by developing the capabilities of women to benefit from livestock production. Capabilities in this sense can range from developing capacities to access and use productivity technologies to developing aspirations for women to run livestock enterprises. This is in line with the institute’s strategic objective of increasing the capacity of ILRI and its key stakeholders to make better use of livestock science and investments for better lives through livestock. To enhance the capacity of its women scientists, ILRI has benefited from the African Women in Agricultural Research and D Continue reading
Leveraging higher demand for livestock-derived foods to meet nutritional needs of the world’s poor
A recent study of the ‘Contributions of livestock-derived foods to nutrient supply under changing demand in low- and middle-income countries’ shows that demand for livestock-derived foods will grow substantially to year 2050 in eight countries that are currently facing food security and nutrient supply challenges. Continue reading
Trade-offs in sustainable intensification of smallholder livestock systems: Balancing benefits for farmers and stakeholders
According to the study, the attainment of a common ground is realized by recognizing the diverging views of stakeholders and the basics of decision-making in complex systems. This way of thinking ought to be a part of everyday practice. Continue reading
Value chains learning hubs workshop: co-creating solutions for eastern and southern Africa
On 31 October and 1 November 2017, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), welcomed over 20 value chains professionals and experts in ILRI’s Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) campus to discuss the current value chains situation and to work together on defining a path forward. Continue reading