Overview of International Livestock Research (ILRI)
activities in Ethiopia
Siboniso Moyo
Strengthening CGIAR - EARS partnerships for effective agricultural transformation in Ethiopia
Consultative 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?
2

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
4

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

LIVES Objectives
• Introduction/adaptation of tested and new value chain interventions for
6
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
7

Africa RISING - Africa Research in
Sustainable Intensification for the Next
Generation
Ethiopian Highlands Project

Africa RISING
 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

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
AQUACULTURE
PIGS
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
15
12 Nov, 2014

Community and breeds targeted
Tankua
Abergelle
Tigray
(Abergelle breed)
Agro-pastoral
1687m a.s.l
Wag Abergelle
Amhara
(Abergelle breed)
Agro-pastoral
1375m a.s.l
Konso
SNNP
(Weyto-guji breed)
Agro-pastoral
600m a.s.l
N. Gonder
Amhara
(CHL breed)
Mixed
1300m a.s.l
Ambo
Oromia
(CHL breed)
Mixed
2400m a.s.l

N2Africa – Ethiopia
N2Africa’s Vision of Success:
• 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.
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)
Amount subcontracted (USD), 2014
Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
EIAR ARARI OARI HwU
USD
Institutions

Legume CHOICE
‘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
3 years, starting 1 April 2014

Legume types
Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa

From Plan to Action
Field Studies and Ex Ante Analysis
Feed the
Future
Innovation Lab
for Small-Scale
Irrigation

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

Examples of some of the AWM technologies
Manual wells
Small reservoirs
Individual pumps
Putting nitrogen fixation to work for smallholder farmers in Africa
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 sustainable
land management programs receiving
support, (e.g. MoA/SLMP, FAO)
Pigeon pea production by a project client
(South Wollo)
A nursery site under establishment – Amhara SLMP
Pennisetum reparium
5
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 Africa 27

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 Health and
Disease Control
Animal Nutrition
Forage Evaluation
Techniques
Databanks and
Gene Banks
Standardization of Cattle
Production and Selection
Community-based Participatory
Monitoring and Evaluation Systems

ILRI Graduate Fellowship
End 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
39

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
40

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
42

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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Better lives through livestock
ilri.org
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