The document discusses the role of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in various CGIAR research programs focused on livestock and fish, emphasizing efforts to enhance livestock productivity and sustainability through improved feed systems. It outlines key research areas, outputs related to feed resource assessments, and the integration of crop-livestock systems, particularly in humid tropics. The document also highlights ongoing innovation initiatives and the need for a gender perspective in agricultural practices.

1. Livestock feeds in the CGIAR
Research Programs
Alan Duncan
FAO West Africa Regional Workshop on Crop
Residues, Dakar 10-13 December 2012

2. ILRI in the CGIAR Research Programs
 ILRI leads one CGIAR Research Program– ‘Livestock and Fish’.
 ILRI leads a component of one CGIAR Research Program–
‘Agriculture for Nutrition and Health’
This component works to prevent and control agriculture-associated diseases,
including food-borne diseases, zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases.
 ILRI participates in five other CGIAR Research Programs
Drylands
Humid Tropics
Policies, Institutions and Markets
Water, Land and Ecosystems
Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

3. Livestock and Fish: More Meat, Milk and
Fish, For and By the Poor
• Lead centre: ILRI
• Other major centres/partners:
Worldfish, ICARDA, CIAT

4. Basic Idea: Solution-driven R4D
to achieve impact

5. Approach: Solution-driven R4D
to achieve impact

6. Livestock and Fish CGIAR Research Program
More m e a t, m ilk a nd fis h for a nd by the p o o r
SHEEP & GOATS
AQUACULTURE
PIGS
DAIRY

7. Feed in Livestock and Fish
Programme
Pathways
oValue chain framework to define a set of research areas
around:
o producing more and better feeds
o making better use of feeds that exists
o processing, densification, redistribution/transfer
o implications of feeding systems on labour/gender/ecological
footprint etc
Outcome
oBy-product and forage based feeding systems used in VC that
significantly increase per animal productivity such as doubling
milk production thereby reducing the ecological footprint per unit
produce through reduction in animal numbers

8. Example outputs
o Output 2.1: Prevalent feeding system for each
considered VC characterized (2012)
o Major on farm feed resources in developing VC determined and
feeding regimes/feed use characterized (2012)
o Key feeds/feed components on the markets and their price:
quality relations determined
o Regional (above district level) feed resources estimates
aggregated from appropriate administrative units (2013)
o Output 2.2: Feed resource basis assessed relative to
production target (2013)
o Quantitative and qualitative feed availability gaps quantified
relative to VC production targets (2013)
8

9. Example outputs
o Output 3.1: Refined and validated tools and methods for
prioritizing feed intervention (2013)
o Tools such as Techfit field tested and employed in VC (2012)
o Output 3.2: Potentially superior food-feed crop cultivars and
forages for VC identified through CIAT, ICARDA and ILRI
research and development work (2012)
o Potentially superior food-feed and forage cultivars identified (2012)
o Superior food-feed and forage cultivars made available to VC (2013, 2014)
o Output 3.3: Promising feed, fodder and forage processing
options
o Simple on-farm feed processing option for increased feed intake and
decreased wastages available (2013)
o Decentralized business based feed processing enterprises suggested (2014)
o Feed options/livestock productivity compared carbon foot prints

10. Humidtropics: Integrated Systems for the
Humid Tropics (CRP1.2)
• Lead centre: IITA
• Other major centres/partners:
ICRAF, CIP, CIAT, Bioversity, ICIPE,
ILRI, IWMI, AVRDC

11. Poverty status
Ecosystem integrity

13. CRP1.2 locations Africa
Tier 1
Tier 1

14. Potential feed-related research
topics in Humidtropics CRP

15. Crop Livestock integration
• Manure management – labour issues - nutrient cycling
– crop –livestock integration. With increasing livestock
confinement looking at options for tighter manure
management.
• Conservation agriculture – livestock lens. Combining
inorganic and organic manures. Turning some of the
knowledge around manure management and nutrient
cycling into local innovations on the ground –
addressing some of the constraints to sub-optimal
management.
• Modelling on nutrient cycling at different scales (from
field to landscape)

16. Whole farm productivity
• Looking at whole farm productivity. Assess
how interventions in different farming
enterprises (crops, livestock, off-farm) affect
whole farm productivity and environmental
footprint.
• Whole farm modelling approaches.
• Gender angle to this and we could develop
tools and approaches to improve women’s
participation.

17. Simple tools for technology
prioritization
• FEAST (Feed assessment tool) – rapid feed
resource assessment and participatory
development of intervention strategies
• Techfit – tool for prioritizing feed technologies
based on availability and requirements for
land, labour, cash, inputs and knowledge
• SLATE – Sustainable livelihoods assessment
tool. Rapid characterization of farm typologies
to help target interventions.

18. Looking at whole system feed
opportunities
• Feed opportunities often not recognized because they are
not local
• E.g. Cassava peel in Nigeria
– Cassava is one of IITA’s mandate crops. ILRI has strong interest
in CR.
– DM from residue in Nigeria = 1 m tonnes per year 99% of which
is left to rot. Could be recycled through animals.
– Most of the labour for cassava peeling is provided by women.
Could look at mechanisms for value added in favour of women.
– How to feed to animals? Wet or dry? Pelletizing? Ensiling? For
which livestock species? What moisture content allows
processing and so on? Transport options.
• Links with feed component of CRP3.7. e.g. case of sorghum
stover in Andhra Pradesh

19. Mitigating livestock bads
• Environmental impacts of intensifying livestock
production.
• For example
– Intensifying systems in SE Asia – backyard pigs in
areas of high population density. Effects on water
quality, aerial emissions etc.
– Improving livestock production efficiency to reduce
GHG emissions – some desk assessments.
– ILRI has started a mitigation programme to identify
mitigation options (labs in East Africa, GHG
measurements, productivity and economic
assessments and modelling)

20. Innovation (R4D) platforms
• ILRI has a lot of experience now in application of
innovation systems concepts. Many projects in many
locations.
• ILRI has also been experimenting with business
development service hubs in East Africa Dairy
Development project
• Could use this background to develop system BDS hubs
- wider than dairy or even livestock e.g. crop inputs,
livestock inputs, tree establishment inputs.
• Links with CRP2 – ILRI leads the smallholder value
chain component.

21. Livestock-tree interactions
• Potential research areas
– Effects of livestock on tree establishment
– trees and livestock feed
– implications of tree introduction on labour e.g. for
livestock feeding.
– Lots of gender implications.

22. Dealing with biomass crisis
• Devising and assessing ways to derive more
biomass from crop-based systems
– improving residue quality/quantity – assessing
fodder traits of existing cereal cultivars
– relay cropping/inter cropping
– trees on boundaries
• Building on global study on crop residue use in
smallholder systems funded by Systemwide
Livestock Programme.

23. Links
• http://www.ilri.org/animalfeeding
• http://livestockfish.cgiar.org/