Overview of International Livestock Research (ILRI) activities in Ethiopia

Siboniso Moyo

Strengthening CGIAR - EARS partnerships for effective agricultural transformation in EthiopiaConsultative Meeting, 4 – 5 December 2014

Outline

• ILRI’s strategic objectives

• Project highlights (a snapshot)

• The ILRI Genebank

• Influencing – the (Ethiopia Livestock Master Plan)

• Capacity Development

• Upcoming and recently launched initiatives

• How to strengthen our collaboration?

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ILRI acts in three (mutually reinforcing) areas

• To prove that better use of livestock can make a big difference in many people’s lives through improved practice.

• To influence decision-makers so that they will increase investment in livestock systems.

• To ensure there is sufficient capacity in developing countries and among investors to use increased investment effectively and efficiently.

Science based practices for better lives through livestock – strong growth

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LIVES

Livestock and Irrigation Value chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) Project

LIVES Objectives

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• Introduction/adaptation of tested and new value chain interventions for targeted value chains/areas (value chain development)

• Capacity development of value chain actors, service providers and educational institutions (capacity development)

• Introduction/adaptation of tested and new knowledge management interventions in support of value chain development (knowledge management)

• Generation and documentation of new knowledge on value chain interventions through diagnosis, action and impact research studies (action research)

• Promotion of knowledge generated for scaling out beyond the project areas (promotion for scaling out)

LIVES Project Zones

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Africa RISING - Africa Research in

Sustainable Intensification for the Next

Generation

Ethiopian Highlands Project

Project life span – 2012-2016

Funded by USAID’s Feed the Future (FtF) initiative

Principal focus – “Sustainable Intensification” of mixed farming systems

Research outputs FtF outcomes (e.g. food security, income diversification, nutrition, gender equity)

Eight research kebeles in four regions (Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR, S. Tigray)

Partners – nine CG centers, four local universities, four regional research institutes, four woreda agriculture offices, NGOs and farmers

Partnerships facilitated via multi-tier innovation platforms

Africa RISING

Key Themes in the Africa RISING Work Plan

1. Feed and forage development.

2. Field crop varietal selection and management.

3. Integration of high value products into mixed farming systems.

4. Improved land and water management for sustainability.

5. Improving the efficiency of mixed farming systems through

more effective crop-livestock integration.

6. Cross-cutting problems and opportunities.

7. Knowledge management, exchange and capacity

development.

Issues around animal-source foods in Ethiopia

• Low level of consumption of animal-source foods

– Contribute to protein-energy malnutrition

• Presence of hazards in animal-source foods

– Biological hazards (food-borne pathogens)

– Chemical hazards (aflatoxins, drug residues)

• Risky practices at all levels along the value chains

Photo credits: Tamsin Dewe, Elias Walelign, the Compass Edge

ILRI food safety work in Ethiopia

• Biological hazard risk assessment targeting foodborne pathogens in small ruminants

– In slaughterhouses:

• E coli 0157, Salmonella and Campylobacter in meat

• Survey on health status of sheep and goats presented for slaughter

– Rural smallholder producers:

• Coliforms, E coli 0157 and Listeria monocytogenes in goat milk and goat milk products

ILRI food safety work in Ethiopia

• Chemical hazard risk assessment targeting aflatoxins in dairy and poultry food chains

L&F CRP (Focus, focus, focus)!Working in 9 target value chains accountability

PIGS

AQUACULTURE

SHEEP & GOATS

DAIRY

Harnessing Genetic Diversity for improving goat productivity in Ethiopia

Definition of breeding goals and selection objectives for the target goat breeds under different production systems

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12 Nov, 2014

Community and breeds targeted

TankuaAbergelle

Tigray(Abergelle breed)Agro-pastoral1687m a.s.l

Wag AbergelleAmhara

(Abergelle breed)

Agro-pastoral1375m a.s.l

KonsoSNNP

(Weyto-guji breed)Agro-pastoral600m a.s.l

N. GonderAmhara

(CHL breed)Mixed1300m a.s.l

AmboOromia

(CHL breed)Mixed 2400m a.s.l

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

N2Africa – Ethiopia

• Build sustainable, long-term partnerships to enable smallholder

farmers to benefit from symbiotic N2-fixation by grain legumes

through effective production technologies including inoculants and

fertilizers.

The legacy will be strong national expertise in grain legume

production and N2-fixation research and development.

N2Africa’s Vision of Success:

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

MoA

EIAR is among our four partners (EIAR, ARAI,

OARI and HwU), signed MoU, & receives the

largest share of fund (see bar chart on the left)

Four project target regions: Amhara, Benishangul-

Gumuz, Oromia and SNNPR, altogether we work

in 27 Woredas scattered over these regions (see

Table below)

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

EIAR ARARI OARI HwU

USD

Institutions

Amount subcontracted (USD), 2014

‘Realizing the underexploited potential of

multi-purpose legumes towards improved

livelihoods and a better environment in

crop-livestock systems in East & Central

Africa’Conception of HOusehold

Innovations for Creating

legume Expansion

Legume CHOICE

3 years, starting 1 April 2014

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

Legume types

Feed the Future

Innovation Lab for Small-Scale

Irrigation

From Plan to Action

Field Studies and Ex Ante Analysis

Major Elements Small Scale Irrigation Coop Agreement

• Identifying promising, context appropriate, small-scale irrigation interventions, management and practices for poverty reduction and improved nutrition outcomes

• Evaluating production, environmental, economic, nutritional, and gender impacts, trade-offs, and synergies of small scale irrigation technologies and practices

• Identifying key constraints and opportunities to improve access to small scale irrigation technologies and practices

• Capacity Development and Stakeholder Engagement

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

Examples of some of the AWM technologies

Manual wells

Individual pumps

Small reservoirs

Capture

and store

water

Lift and

use water

ILRI/EMDIDI FeedSeed Project

Piloting climate-adaptive forage seed systems in Ethiopia

Project Status, Achievements, Challenges and Next Steps

6 October, 2014

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

EMDIDI

Climate Adaptive Forage Seeds

– Why Climate Adaptive Forages?- Impact on soil/water conservation- Impact on soil fertility- Greenhouse gas reduction

– Project clients are growing legumes, grasses and multi-purpose trees

– Emphasis on forage seed species adaptable to dry conditions – need help of EIAR in breeding climate adaptive forages and food-feed crops (better residues)

– Project partners working in sustainableland management programs receivingsupport, (e.g. MoA/SLMP, FAO)

A nursery site under establishment – Amhara SLMP

Pigeon pea production by a project client (South Wollo)

Pen

nisetu

m rep

ariu

m

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Project Focus on Climate Adaptive Seed

ILRI Genebank

• ILRI hosts a specialized Genebank that conserves more than 19,000 accessions of forages from over 1,000 species.

• The Genebank is the world’s major collection of African grasses and tropical highland forages”.

• Thousands of samples distributed from the genebank and from the seed unit over the past years.

Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa27

Index based livestock Insurance (IBLI)

• Piloted in Northern Kenya from 2010

• Launched in Southern Ethiopia in July 2012 with Oromia Insurance Company

• Monitoring welfare impacts, effects on herd management and natural resources

Influencing

Livestock Master Plan:Roadmaps for Growth and Transformation (2015-2020)In support of the Livestock State Ministry, MOA

Ethiopia Livestock Master Plan (LMP):Origin and GoE Ownership

• MOA State Minister for Agriculture, HE Ato Wondirad asked Jimmy Smith, the DG of ILRI to help create a Livestock Master Plan

• HE Dr Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes became the Livestock State Minister for the Livestock Resources Development Sector, and has guided the development of the Livestock Master Plan

• Livestock Master Plan (LMP) is a value chain investment plan or roadmap (detailed action plan)

• Livestock State Ministry Directors have been fully engaged and own the document

• The LMP team included MOA, EIAR and ILRI staff• LMP work overseen by Technical Advisory Committee

The Core LMP Team – MOA, EIAR & ILRI

Capacity Development

Capacity Development

Dairy Technology

Livestock Systems Research Small Ruminants Production Techniques

Animal Genetic Resources

Capacity Development (cont’d)

Animal NutritionForage Evaluation Techniques

Databanks and Gene Banks

Animal Health and Disease Control

Standardization of Cattle Production and Selection

Community-based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation Systems

ILRI Graduate FellowshipEnd November 2014

• Currently ILRI hosts a total of 227 Graduate Fellows (based in Nairobi + Ethiopia + regions) out of which 57 are

Ethiopians.

M F Total

PhD 12 - 12

MSc 20 6 26

Sub - Total (ILRI GFs) 32 6 38

GFs - Hosted Institutes 13 1 14

Research Fellows 5 - 5

Total 50 7 57

Capacity Building in LIVES

Strengthening capacity public sector staff through PhD/MSc/BSc education

In service training based on TOT/BDS approach: regional –zone/district (eg)

Rapid value chain assessment for potential interventions -teams

Participatory market oriented extension – extension staff

Gender mainstreaming – extension staff

Knowledge management – extension staff

Results based monitoring – specialist staff

Irrigation technologies – specialist staff

Irrigated crop value chain development – specialist staff

Livestock value chain development – specialist staff

Upcoming or recently launched projects/initiatives

Upcoming or recently launched initiatives

• African Chicken Genetic Gains - A platform for testing, delivering, and continuously improving tropically-adapted chickens for productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa (initially in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Nigeria- Nov 2014

• A MoA/EIAR/CGIAR initiative on Sustainable Intensification and Climate Change

• EIAR, ILRI and SUST (Sudan University of Science and Technology) will be carrying out trials on large-scale Prosopis removal with funding from PRIME

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Upcoming or recently launched initiatives

• We are discussing with the Pastoral Areas research office at EIAR on mapping, valuing, servicing and protecting livestock corridors –concept note sent to a potential donor.

• ILRI staff, Fiona Flintan is in the Advisory Committee for writing the National Strategy on Prosopis Management together with staff from EIAR and others from the Ministry of Agriculture

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Upcoming or recently launched initiatives

• ILRI together with partners will be conducting an impact study which is focusing on ILRI’s gene-bank/seed unit, more specifically on the effects of the fodder material it has been distributing in Ethiopia and Kenya. – See brochure for more.

• A conceptual framework of a National Dairy Genetic Gain System for selected countries in Eastern Africa to start next year. The initial meeting to define the focus in Ethiopia was held here at EIAR last month. 41

How to strengthen our collaboration?

• Agree on a shared vision and re-commit to

strengthening our partnerships.

• Agree on priority areas that we will work on together

including joint proposal development for fund raising

purposes.

• Let us commit to meet and review progress at strategic

points

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How to strengthen our collaboration?

• Minimize delays in reporting – technical as well as

financial (as this will delay release of subsequent

installments)

• Let us not over commit our staff time from both sides

to the point where we end up too stretched.

• Let us focus on goals and how to achieve these to

conduct good research that will result in impact.

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The presentation has a Creative Commons licence. You are free to re-use or distribute this work, provided credit is given to ILRI.

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