Knowledge to Action:ILRI’s role in pro-poor

livestock research for development

Bruce Scott, Director of Partnerships and Communications

1st General Assembly of the Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative

Addis Ababa, 30 March 2011

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ILRI’s Mission is

“ Livestock Research for poverty reduction”

1. Securing assets of the poor to reduce vulnerability

2. Increasing productivity to improve livelihoods

3. Markets opportunities to increase incomes of the poor as products, employees, market agents

ILRI Spearheading a New Way Forward

Value proposition ILRI creates and integrates knowledge that enables diverse partners to innovate sustainable livestock-based pathways out of poverty.

Dynamic livestock sector

Livestock are the fastest growing part of the agricultural sector,a boom driven largely by anon-going Livestock Revolutionin emerging economies.

Doubling livestock production puts pressure on natural resources: water, land, biodiversity.

Livestock sector trends

A ‘supermarket revolution’ is setting higher standards forfood quality and safety.

Market chains are lengthening, making it more difficult forsmall-scale producers to participate in markets.

ILRI’s niche

in pro-poor livestock research

Livestock research enables3 pathways out of poverty

Securing livestock assets of the poor to reduce their vulnerability.

Increasing livestock productivity to improve livelihoods.

Expanding livestock markets to increase incomes.

Why livestock matterin the new CGIAR

Potential of livestock to reduce poverty.

Potential of livestock to improve nutrition and health of the poor.

Threat of livestock ‘bads’ (methane emissions, emerging diseases, resource degradation).

ILRI Spearheading a New Way Forward

KNOWLEDGE TO ACTIONREDUCTING POVERTY, HUNGER AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

OUTCOMES

OUTPUTS

ACTIVITIES

Research, core competencies and innovations systems framework

DYNAMIC LIVESTOCK SECTOR

Increasing demand in developing countries More complex pathways and longer market chains Supermarket revolution Food safety demands Pressure on natural resources to double livestock production

Science base

Core competencies

Livestock genetics, health and nutrition.

Biosciences, molecular biology and immunology.

Food safety, epidemiology and systems analysis.

Natural resources management.

Livestock economics and social sciences.

Research-for-development paradigm: knowledge to action

Agricultural systems based. Biotechnology and ICTs as key levers.

Increasing private-sector involvement.

Innovation systems mindset.

Knowledge management and strategic communications.

Embedding research in development interventions.

Future directions and challenges

Sustainable intensification

In the face of increasing competition for diminishing land, biomass (e.g. biofuels) and other natural resources, sustainably intensify small-scale mixed crop-livestock systems by improving the system efficiencies of mixed smallholders, largely through better animal feed, health and genetics.

Make use of dairy ‘hubs’, where appropriate.

Reduce vulnerability

Identify livestock interventions that reducethe vulnerability of livestock-dependent households.

Understand relations between livestock systems and other ecosystem services.

Develop and deploy:− livestock vaccines− index-based livestock insurance− payments for ecosystem services rendered.

Adapt to, and reduce,climate change

Help develop livestock-based adaptations.

Assess growing trade-offs between livestock production and other ecosystem services.

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock.

Intensify ruminant production systems.

Sequester carbon in rangelands.

Better target livestock interventions.

Ensure food safety and market access

Address the sanitary and phytosanitary(SPS) issues around growing market requirements for food safety and qualitythat are constraining market accessby smallholders.

Develop appropriate smallholder dairy markets.

Control emergingzoonotic diseases

Combat bird flu and other emerging zoonoses (diseases shared by people and animals) in developing countries.

Understand and map the risks of zoonotic diseases emerging or re-emerging in given places and circumstances.

Predict and prevent outbreaks of zoonotic diseases (e.g. AVID project).

Develop livestock vaccines

Address the common problem of improving livestock immune responses to protozoan parasites.

Improve existing vaccines,e.g. for ECF (East Coast fever) and CBPP (contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia).

Develop molecular approaches to problem-solving (e.g. build transgenic cows that resist trypanosomosis and other diseases).

Conserve and useanimal genetic resources

Set priorities for livestock conservation.

Use appropriate conservation methods.

Make use of advanced reproductive technologies for fast deployment ofimproved genotypes.

Devise livestock breeding programs thatsuit smallholder farming systems.

Knowledge sharingand research platforms

ILRI develops and shares its knowledge with all its partners often through technology platforms, such as:

Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) at ILRI headquarters in Nairobi.

Joint Laboratory for Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources (JLLFGR) at CAAS in Beijing.

Planned joint ILRI, EIAR and RDA training workshop Title of the workshop will be “Artificial insemination and embryo transfer in cattle”

Proposed date of the event will fall in June 2011. Discussions are still underway of the determined number of days of the workshop. The workshop will take place in Addis Ababa, EthiopiaParticipants will represent but not be limited to various pan-African countries

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