ILRI Blog Posts and News Updates

Tropical livestock systems course equips researchers to advance Ethiopia’s dairy sector

Haimanot Seifu — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Kefale Eniyew, a PhD candidate at the University of Gondar, is studying agroecological transition pathways in dairy systems under Ethiopia's extension services. These pathways are the steps farmers and communities take to shift from conventional livestock production toward more sustainable systems, balancing the need for food security and improved livelihoods with the long-term goals of climate resilience.

When Kefale joined an international course on tropical livestock systems in Hawassa, Sidama Region, the lessons complemented his academic focus. A field visit to the dairy value chain around Yirgalem in southern Ethiopia made that connection tangible, linking classroom theory with the realities of milk production, processing, and marketing.

Kefale Eniyew, a PhD candidate at the University of Gondar.

“We visited a commercial farm, a milk processing factory, a smallholder cooperative, and an agro-livestock input dealer. All these stops offered a clear picture of how the dairy value chain operates in practice, showing both the opportunities for growth and the challenges faced every day,” Kefale said.

Laying out a strategy

Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa. The sector feeds families, creates jobs, and generates export earnings. Yet it stands at a crossroads. Expanding production to meet rising demand for animal-source foods risks increasing emissions and straining resources. At the same time, millions of smallholder households depend on livestock for their livelihoods.

Designing a way forward requires more than technical fixes. It calls for systems thinking; understanding how economic, environmental, and social drivers interact, and which priorities shape the response. This was the central theme of the weeklong course, “The future of tropical livestock systems”, held in Hawassa on 6–10 July 2026.

Over the five days, Kefale was one of 18 PhD candidates selected from universities across Ethiopia along with one postdoctoral researcher from Germany who engaged with lectures, expert talks and case studies covering five broad subject areas: mixed crop–livestock systems, sustainable transition pathways, integrated sustainability assessment, and social inclusion, with a focus on gender and youth.

The program opened with an introduction to systems thinking, system boundaries, components, interactions, and feedback loops. Other sessions examined dairy development at farm, value chain, and sector levels, reflecting on colonial legacies in livestock development. Climate interventions, scaling approaches, and system modeling rounded out the curriculum. Alongside lectures, participants worked in groups to analyze real livestock systems, debated sustainable development pathways, and reflected on how the material applied to their own research.

Exploring the dairy value chain

The field visits brought theory to life. JoJo, a milk processor in Yirgalem’s industry park, was the first stop. The Chinese-owned factory sources its milk locally but relies on imported sweetening ingredients. Despite having the capacity to process more than 10,000 liters of milk per day, the factory collects only around 1,200 liters daily due to the current fuel shortage.

Inside JoJo's milk processing plant. Photo credit: Haimanot Seifu/ILRI

At Sina Hara Cooperative, 450 members, including 175 women, supply milk that is quality-tested twice; at collection and again on arrival at the cooperative. With support from the government, USAID, and SNV, the cooperative provides processed feed, milk containers, cooling facilities, training of milk collectors, and links to artificial insemination (AI) and animal health services. Previously, it supplied Shola Milk, a major dairy processor in Addis Ababa, but the contract was cancelled due to the fuel shortage. Sina Hara now supplies around 500 liters a day to local restaurants and hotels.

Participant speaks with Desalegn Tilahun, a commercial dairy farmer with one of his 22 Holstein cows. Photo credit: Haimanot Seifu/ILRI

Participants then visited Ato Desalegn Tilahun, a commercial dairy farmer who started with two calves and two Holstein cows in the early 1990s and has grown his flock to 22 Holstein cows, each averaging 18 liters of milk a day. Feed is his largest production cost, at USD 1,290-1,935 a year, with prices ranging from USD 41.9 to 48.4 per 0.1 ton of compound feed depending on the supplier.

At a dairy farmers' school in Mesincho Kebele, around 18 farmers meet monthly to work through a 14-topic curriculum covering cow comfort, watering, reproduction management, calf and colostrum management, and clean milk production. Their sessions are complemented by home visits and voice message reminders.

The field visit ended at a livestock input dealer on the outskirts of Hawassa, run by a Hawassa University animal science graduate supplying mixed rations, silage-making materials, and veterinary products across the Sidama region and parts of Oromia. Across the value chain, participants heard recurring concerns: rising feed and forage costs, water scarcity, low farm-gate milk prices, demand fluctuation (particularly during fasting periods), fuel shortage affecting transportation of milk to the market, and the rising cost of improved dairy cows (over USD 1,800).

The visiting delegation and the local agro-dealer exchange a token of appreciation at the close of the visit. Photo credit: Haimanot Seifu/ILRI

Strengthening capacity and collaboration

For Hawassa University, hosting the course reinforced an existing partnership with co-organizers Wageningen University & Research and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). It also underscored the university’s role in nurturing talent, with three of the 19 selected PhD candidates coming from Hawassa.

“The course also revealed gaps in Ethiopian PhD and MSc curricula, particularly around livestock system modelling. Organizers are discussing whether to make this course an annual offering, paired with joint research projects on priority livestock issues,” said Sintayehu Yigrem, associate professor at Hawassa University and one of the resource experts.

The course aligns with ILRI’s 2024–2030 strategy on partnership, capacity development, and scaling research into impact. Kindu Mekonnen, a senior scientist at ILRI who led sessions on concepts central to mixed crop–livestock systems and crop–livestock integration for climate action, noted: “Crop–livestock integration lies at the heart of climate-smart transitions in tropical livestock systems. Training the next generation of researchers with systems thinking is key to translating science into impact.”

By bringing researchers face to face with farmers, cooperatives, and businesses, the course showed how knowledge and community can work hand in hand. This training is vital for Ethiopia’s dairy industry, equipping the next generation of scientists to strengthen a sector that sustains livelihoods and food security across the country.

Acknowledgment

The Future of Tropical Livestock Systems course was organized by Wageningen University & Research, the International Livestock Research Institute (through Livestock, Climate and Environment (LCE) and Policies, Institutions and People (PPI) programs) and Hawassa University.

African ministers commit to scaling up livestock innovations to achieve greater self-reliance

Daniel Hailemichael — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Kigali, September 3 — African ministers of livestock and agriculture, and their representatives from eight countries, pledged to work together to strengthen the livestock sector during a roundtable at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. Their goal is to strengthen livestock value chains, unlock investment, expand market and trade, and build partnerships needed to scale livestock solutions across the continent.

The pledge responds to a widening gap between Africa's potential and its performance. Africa spends between $70 billion and $100 billion on food imports annually, driven in part by lagging productivity compared to other regions. Africa holds around a fifth of the world's cattle but produces just five percent of its milk. Meanwhile, animal-source foods are the most expensive food group for Africans, for whom healthy diets are the furthest out of reach, with demand projected to grow 280 percent by 2050. Ministers agreed that closing this gap is central to food security, job creation, and economic transformation across the continent.

Ministers or their representatives from Nigeria, Uganda, Niger, Mali, Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia as well as Honorable Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, former President of Botswana, took part in the session, convened by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and hosted by AGRA.

They discussed the most promising interventions for improving livestock productivity, from livestock genetics to quality feed and animal health initiatives, as well as what large-scale delivery actually requires, and the conditions needed to move from livestock plans to implementation.

The private sector was given a direct voice in the ministerial discussion. Mucai Kunyiha, Group CEO of CKL Africa, laid out what it takes for the market to deliver at scale. With ruminant vaccinations, he said, the critical challenge is not producing more doses, but to build a sustainable system in which governments, producers, manufacturers, veterinarians, communities and regional institutions continuously build together over time. “Vaccination is a system, not an event,” he said. That, he added, is what transforms a vaccination campaign into a vaccination system and unlocks private sector investment.

“Clearly Africa doesn't lack solutions for its livestock sector. What it lacks is scale and productivity. Closing this gap between what Africa produces and what it imports is the key to delivering on the promise of the continent’s $1trillion annual agribusiness potential,” said Appolinaire Djikeng, ILRI Director General. “Today's commitments show ministers are ready to move from proven innovations to the investment and regional trade that turn them into a continent-wide blueprint for self-reliance.”

Dairy served as this year's illustrative value chain, one proof point among several the Ministerial Platform will examine in future editions. Ethiopia's experience anchored the discussion: the country raised its milk production from 7.1 billion liters in 2022 to 15.7 billion liters in 2025/26, a 122 per cent increase. This was made possible through the government's Yelemat Tirufat (“Bounty of the

Basket”) initiative, with more than 36,000 new dairy villages and 5,000 dairy clusters, and new cross-border trade agreements. Ethiopia's representative was candid that feed production, though it has more than doubled over the same period, remains the binding constraint on further growth.

“Africa does not lack livestock potential. We do not lack animals. We do not lack farmers. We do not lack science and technical knowledge. We certainly do not lack demand. And, increasingly, we do not lack policy recognition. What we have lacked is the ability to connect all these pieces and deliver at scale. Africa’s livestock priority is no longer recognition. It is delivery,” explained Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair of Council Zimbabwe National University of Science and Technology, extraordinary Professor University of Pretoria, Co-Chair Food Planet Prize.

Ministers discussed how transformation happens only where production, trade and governance advance together, rather than as parallel tracks. This is the logic behind the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain (IRLVC) program, led by AU-IBAR, which is already backing more than 30 regional projects, including a dairy market program in East Africa and a regional poultry health program in West Africa, with partners including the European Union, IFAD and the World Bank.

“We already know what works. The task now is coordinating policy and trade across borders, so proven livestock solutions can scale from one country to a continent. That is what the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain program is built to do, and what today's commitments move us closer to,” said Dr. Huyam Salih, Director of the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

Every country that took the floor asked for the Ministerial Platform to continue. The recommendation from the session is to institutionalize it as the political and learning platform for delivery of the African Union's Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain Program — a ten-year program to 2035 reporting through the CAADP Biennial Review. Anchored in the annual Africa Food Systems Forum and building toward the First African Union Summit on Animal Resources Transformation, it would give ministers a standing role in continental delivery rather than an annual conversation.

Five priorities were identified

Financing built for livestock: patient capital and terms matched to biological production cycles.
Open borders to trade: harmonized standards, mutual recognition of certification, coordinated disease control.
Data that proves progress: national herd data, animal identification and traceability, and a shared baseline from Kigali.
Livestock's place in government: dedicated ministries, budget share against the CAADP 10% commitment, representation in AfCFTA.
Peer learning between countries: starting with the unresolved question of who pays for animal health.

Closing the session, Professor Djikeng, ILRI’s Director General, pledged that the Institute would deepen its engagement with governments between Forums: “It is my pledge that our institution will continue to participate in this — in between, not just when we meet at the next forum” adding that ILRI will continue to work closely with AU-IBAR to support delivery on commitments made during the livestock ministerial roundtable.

For more information or for interview requests, contact

Anne-Marie Schryer-Roy

Team Leader, Strategic Communications and Outreach

About ILRI

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve people’s lives in low- and middle-income countries through livestock science that contributes to equitable and resilient livestock systems to deliver food systems transformation with climate and environmental benefits. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centers dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org

About AU-IBAR

The African Union InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialised technical office of the African Union Commission's Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment.Established in 1951 and headquartered in Nairobi,Kenya, AU-IBAR provides continental leadership on animal health, livestock value chains, fisheries and aquaculture, and pastoral systems. Through the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain programme, it works with Member States, Regional Economic Communities and partners to scale proven livestock solutions and strengthen regional trade. www.au-ibar.org

A roadmap for scaling improved indigenous chicken breeds across Kenya

Susan MacMillan — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

The chicken gap

In Kenya today, farmers and county officials wanting to buy one of Kenya's three well-known improved indigenous chicken breeds—KC1, KC2, or KC3—routinely have to wait up to three months. The demand is real, broad, and growing as the country’s counties order the chicks in bulk to support livelihood programs and more and more smallholders invest in locally adapted dual-purpose chicken enterprises, which can grow from a backyard flock of 20 birds to a professional operation of thousands within a few years.

Yet supply of these highly desired breeds persistently falls short. The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), which developed and maintains the KC breeds, has been unable to consistently meet the demand for them. The gap is due not to any failure in KALRO’s breeding work but rather to insufficient infrastructure to commercialize the breeds.

That infrastructure gap was the subject of a 2.5-day workshop held in Naivasha, Kenya, in May 2026. Organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and KALRO and attended by researchers, hatchery operators, county government officials, private-sector poultry actors, development partners, cooperatives, agro-dealers, and NGOs, the workshop set out to convert the KC breeds from promising research products to profitable rural enterprises.

The breeds

The KC1, KC2, and KC3 breeds were developed by KALRO over many years. They are dual-purpose birds, producing both eggs and meat, and do so while remaining adapted to Kenyan conditions in ways that exotic commercial breeds cannot match.

KALRO’s genetically improved dual-purpose chicken breeds (left to right)—KC1 (black-and-white spotted plumage), KC2 (predominantly black), and KC3 (brown)—were developed to deliver high yields of both meat and eggs to Kenya’s millions of smallholder farmers (photo credit: KALRO).

KC1 is valued for its hardiness, early maturity, scavenging ability, and low feed requirements. KC2 is a higher productivity breed, with strong weight gain, high egg numbers and egg weight, and disease tolerance. KC3 is fast-growing and high-laying and has achieved strong market and cultural acceptance, particularly in western Kenya.

What unites the three breeds is the growing demand for them. Christian Tiambo, an animal breeding and genetics scientist at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) and ILRI’s Livestock Genetics, Nutrition and Feed Resources (LGNFR) program who has worked with KALRO for many years, explains. “The breeds are wanted and outperform many others in the country’s smallholder and low-input systems. And consumers, who find the local birds tastier than exotic commercial lines, are willing to pay twice the normal market price for them.”

A new role for KALRO

Until now, KALRO has functioned both as the developer of the chicken breeds and as their primary distributor, selling the birds directly to farmers and county governments. The Naivasha workshop established a clear alternative. KALRO should no longer operate as a direct-sales chicken producer, the workshop participants agreed. Instead, it should function as the genetic and quality authority at the center of a broad poultry network.

Evans Ilatsia, KALRO’s deputy director for livestock, at the workshop (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

As explained by Evans Ilatsia, KALRO’s deputy director for livestock: “In this ‘controlled hybrid model’, KALRO retains exclusive control over the nucleus flocks, parent stock, breed standards, certification, and the KC breed brand. Licensed private hatcheries, accredited multipliers, county governments, cooperatives, agro-dealers, savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs), and NGOs take on the scaling functions of multiplying and distributing the birds, supporting and supplying chicken farmers with inputs, and linking the farmers to markets.”

In this way, KALRO produces parent stock that flows to licensed hatcheries that produce day-old chicks, which move through brooding and mother units to aggregated distribution channels, and from there to farmers, cooperatives, and ultimately markets. Each link in the chain has a defined owner. KALRO anchors the chain at its genetic source, certifying the quality of what flows from it.

Fara Ratalata, who leads business development and industry engagement at ILRI, and a graphic of Kenya's commercial chicken value chain (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

Finding, and fixing, the bottlenecks in scaling

The second day of the workshop made use of a structured, step-by-step method developed by CGIAR for determining both the readiness of an innovation for going to scale and the surrounding “enabling factors” that must be in place for that scaling to happen. What CGIAR’s Innovation Packaging and Scaling Readiness analysis made clear was that the KC breeds themselves are not what is constraining their wide use. The bottleneck, rather, lies in the “systems”—in the organizational, financial, legal, and informational infrastructure needed for KALRO’s innovation to scale.

Graphic showing the 10 levels of an innovation's use, a component of CGIAR's IPSR framework (credit: ILRI and CGIAR).

Nucleus flock: The first and most foundational need is to restructure the grandparent breeding program to provide a stable genetic core. ILRI has offered KALRO its support in developing expanded breeder populations, controlled mating protocols, rigorous performance recording, and strong biosecurity on KALRO’s on-station facilities.

Franchise model: A formal franchise and licensing architecture is also needed. A workshop-proposed “KALRO Chicken Franchise Model” would establish who is accredited to multiply and distribute the breeds, under what operational standards, with what reporting obligations, and with what consequences for non-compliance.

Data systems: Data and traceability systems are also needed. The workshop proposed a “Chicken Data Intelligence System” to track birds from nucleus flock to farm, enable performance monitoring, and give franchise operators near-real-time intelligence about supply, quality, and farmer outcomes.

Contracts: Already existing contracts and memoranda of understanding with multipliers, county governments, feed millers, SACCOs, and NGOs need to be fully activated.

Staffing: In partnership with universities and ILRI, KALRO needs to recruit and train more breeders able to run a sustained genetic improvement program.

Financing: Many small-scale farmers are too poor to buy the birds, feed, and infrastructure needed to become commercial operators. The workshop proposed providing financial support through a “Rural Kenya Credit Guarantee Scheme” and other models as well as group purchasing mechanisms through cooperatives and SACCOs.

As Fara Ratalata, who leads business development and industry engagement at ILRI, put it: “A stronger, healthier, and productive KALRO chicken isn’t just a genetics upgrade—it’s real money in real pockets. KALRO and ILRI are scaling more than a chicken breed—we’re scaling farmers’ incomes.”

The big ambition declared by the workshop participants..

The tangible opportunity

The growing demand for the KC1, KC2, and KC3 chicken breeds is one of Kenya's most tangible opportunities for simultaneously raising smallholder income, improving household nutrition, and creating jobs, particularly for young people and women. Joining up relevant research expertise, scaling methodology, and commercial logic, the new KC breed portfolio offers a practical structured path to meet that demand.

Participants of the workshop (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).

Acknowledgements

The May 2026 Naivasha workshop was supported by ILRI's livestock genetics team, including new staff with expertise in commercial poultry systems; by ILRI’s Impact at Scale program, which includes experts in the CGIAR IPSR method used in the workshop; and by a new CGIAR “Scaling Hub for East and Southern Africa”, which is led by the CGIAR Scaling for Impact program and hosted at ILRI’s Nairobi campus.

See a comprehensive report of the Naivasha Workshop results and business plan. Further descriptions of all three new KALRIO breeds appears in a Jul 2026 article in the Star newspaper: Kalro now unveils improved indigenous chicken breeds. For more information, contact the authors, Ijudai Jasada (i.jasada [at] cigar.org) and Nicoletta Buono (n.buono [at] cigar.org).

New report makes the investment case for the world's rangelands

Anne-Marie Sch… — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Rangelands Rising, launched at UNCCD COP17, calls on investors and governments to recognize the world’s largest overlooked landscape and to back the 500 million pastoralists who sustain it

Rangelands cover more than half the planet's land surface, hold a third of its key biodiversity areas and generate benefits worth an estimated US$21–47 trillion a year (up to US$5,000 per hectare). Yet these landscapes remain almost invisible to the people who finance and govern the natural world. A new global report launched today at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) makes the economic case for investing in rangelands and recognizes the labor and stewardship of the 500 million pastoralists who manage them.

Rangelands Rising: Investing in Sustainable Management and Restoration—published by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), GIZ, the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, UNCCD and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—overturns a century-old assumption. Mobile livestock herding has long been blamed for driving land degradation.

Research increasingly demonstrates that many rangelands have evolved with grazing and that well-managed pastoral systems have created and maintained some of the world's most biodiverse landscapes. Yet that stewardship is under growing strain, as drought intensifies and grazing land is lost to crop expansion, urban encroachment and fragmentation.

“For too long, the world has looked at rangelands and seen empty, degraded land, and looked at pastoralists and seen a problem to be fixed,” said Prof. Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General, ILRI. “The evidence tells a different story. These are among the most valuable landscapes on Earth, and the people who manage them are their frontline investors.”

Far from being the wasteland they are often taken for, rangelands are a mainstay of the food supply, producing high-value animal protein — meat, milk and more — from land that could not support crops without heavy and costly inputs. In Sub-Saharan Africa, pastoralism contributes an estimated 5–10% of national GDP and accounts for 15–40% of the value added in agriculture. But their full worth — in water, carbon, biodiversity and protection against drought — stays invisible to markets. The cost of that neglect is steep. Land degradation drains trillions of dollars a year in lost services, while restoring rangelands typically returns US$4–6 for every dollar invested, and, where public benefits such as water supply are counted, as much as 36 to one.

The report's most striking economic finding is a mismatch between who does the work and who captures the value. In Jordan, reviving a traditional practice of resting grazing land returned just US$0.80 for every dollar the herders themselves spent. But the return to Jordanian society as a whole was 18 to one, driven mainly by groundwater recharge.

It is a vivid illustration of the report's central argument. Pastoralists are already the primary investors in rangelands, putting in labour, knowledge, livestock and generations of stewardship, yet they cannot capture the value they create for everyone else. Public investment is needed to reward that stewardship and unlock the private capital that follows.

“We are not asking for rangelands to be treated as a special case. We are asking for them to be counted. A landscape worth up to US$47 trillion a year cannot remain a blank space on the investment map,” Jonathan Davies, co-author of the report and independent rangelands researcher.

For governments, the report also reframes a familiar budget line. Drought response is overwhelmingly reactive, with aid typically arriving well into a crisis, after families have already started to lose their animals. The bill can be enormous: drought relief reached an estimated 7% of national GDP in Niger during the 2021 crisis. Yet, one evaluation cited in the report found that every US$1 spent on timely support is worth an estimated US$3 in later humanitarian spending. The report's central call to funders and finance ministries is to shift from paying for disasters to investing in resilient rangeland management before they strike.

The report also guides where money should go, noting that the strongest returns come not from the most degraded land, but from restoring lightly to moderately degraded rangelands. Restoring the latter can cost as little as US$20 per hectare, against more than US$70,000 for severely degraded land. It also cautions against “green” fixes — planting trees on natural grassland, or ploughing drylands for crops — that often damage ecosystems adapted to open grazing. For most drylands, the smartest investment works with the pastoral systems already there rather than replacing them.

But money alone is not the answer. The report is clear that financial investment on its own often fails without the conditions that let it work: secure land rights, strong community institutions and inclusive governance. Where tenure is contested or pastoralists are shut out of decisions, restoration funding may go to waste. Where rights are secure and communities lead, it endures. Getting the governance right, the report argues, is as important as the finance itself.

“Rangelands are not marginal landscapes. They cover more than half of the world’s land and are fundamental to food security, biodiversity, water security and resilience to drought,” said Dr. Barron Joseph Orr, UNCCD Chief Scientist. “This report shows that investing in rangelands is not simply about restoring degraded land. It is about recognizing the value of these ecosystems and supporting the pastoralists whose knowledge and management have sustained them for generations. As governments gather at UNCCD COP17, the evidence provides a strong case for putting rangelands more firmly into land restoration, drought resilience and investment decisions.”

The climate opportunity hiding in plain sight

The report makes the case that rangelands’ neglect is the starkest when it comes to climate policy. The word “rangelands” appears in the national climate plans of just 24 countries under the Paris Agreement; “forests” appear in the plans of 181 countries.

That blind spot overlooks two climate services rangelands already provide at scale: they are a vast carbon store and they are one of the world's most effective natural defences against drought.

Rangelands offer mitigation, adaptation and resilience to climate change from a single investment across more than half the planet's land. Writing rangelands into national climate plans, and directing climate finance towards them, represents one of the largest and most cost-effective opportunities for governments and investors seeking greater climate returns.

The report’s launch comes during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists and at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia, one of the world's great pastoral nations, where the future of rangelands and the communities who depend on them is a major focus of the conference agenda. The findings bring new economic evidence to COP17 discussions on land restoration, drought resilience and sustainable rangeland management.

Notes to editors

Funding: This work was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Interviews with report authors and pastoralist representatives are available before and during the launch.
Media contact: Anne-Marie Schryer-Roy, ILRI, a.schryer-roy@cgiar.org

Read the full report: Rangelands Rising: Investing in Sustainable Management an…

Farmer-to-farmer learning helps Kenyan dairy producers adapt to new climate realities

Grace Oduor — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

When more than 100 dairy farmers recently gathered on a 10-acre farm in the quiet hills of Lulusik village in Bomet County, they did not come to listen to government extension workers or agricultural researchers. Instead, they came to learn from three innovative farmers, known as adaptation pioneer farmers.

With climate change impacts intensifying in Kenya, a few resourceful farmers are developing effective adaptation techniques. As local experts, they are well placed to share what works with others in their communities.

“The success of the adaptation pioneer farmer model lies in its simplicity. Farmers identify practical solutions that work under local conditions, evaluate them on their own farms, and then share them with neighbors,” explained Emmaculate Kiptoo, a research associate with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

ILRI and its partners are supporting farmer-led field days for adaptation pioneer farmers to share their innovations with their communities, enabling even more farmers to maintain productive livestock systems under changing climate conditions.

An adaptation pioneer farmer shares climate solutions

Joseph Bett is one of the adaptation pioneer farmers who hosted a field day in Bomet County.

“We decided to host the field day because we wanted other farmers to benefit from what we have learned,” said Bett. “I wanted them to know how to better feed their livestock and how to plan for times of scarcity. I showed them how to do rotational grazing through paddocks, how to make silage, and how to grow nutritious feeds to cope with the dry spells that are becoming longer and more unpredictable. Many were surprised that some of the resources needed were already available on their own farms.”

Farmers learning about silage making from Pioneer Farmer Joseph Bett. Photo credit: ILRI/Polycarp Onyango

By relying on diverse feed strategies, Bett ensures that his 20 Ayrshire and Friesian cattle have a balanced diet throughout the year. During normal times, the animals graze on his seven paddocks, covering about 7.5 acres.

“Pasture plays a very important role on this farm, because it is our primary source of livestock feed, and without pasture our livestock cannot do very well,” Bett said.

Bett also gives his cows a mix of high-protein feeds such as sesbania, lucerne, and sweetpotato vines. An earth dam guarantees access to water throughout the year, and tools to cut and mix fodder help optimize the nutritional content of feed.

In combination, these solutions mean that Bett gets around 10 liters of milk per cow per day — more than what most farmers achieve.

“We need to treat dairy farming as a business,” Bett said. “At the end of the day, we need income for school fees and other family needs. So, our goal is to keep fewer cows that are better fed and more productive.”

Adaptation pioneer farmers boost agricultural extension services

According to Cheruiyot Langat, Bomet County director of livestock production, the adaptation pioneer farmer model is changing how counties such as Nandi and Bomet are reaching communities through agricultural extension services:

“This strategy has become an eye-opener for our extension officers and for the county at large. We have noted that farmers are very interested in learning from other farmers. When the pioneer farmers share information in the local language, with real on-farm demonstrations, other farmers understand it better and are more convinced to adopt those practices. Also, our extension workers are few and can only be in one place for a brief period, but the pioneer farmers remain within the community.”

One participant in the farmer field day was Caroline Tanui, a dairy farmer from the nearby Sachangwan village:

“The field day has been a great day for me because I have learned a lot from other farmers. I discovered better ways of making and storing silage and learned about high-protein livestock feed crops like lucerne and desmodium. I know I will implement these practices and also teach others who could not attend.”

She left the gathering with contact details for people working in artificial insemination, savings groups, and other farm enterprises.

Caroline, a farmer in Bomet County, on her farm. She participated in a farmer-led field day, where she learned alot from other farmers. Photo credit: ILRI/Polycarp Onyango.

The field days also enable adaptation pioneer farmers to generate additional income by selling fodder planting materials and livestock-related products to visitors, while their guests leave with new ideas they can implement immediately.

Building lasting change

Since 2022, ILRI — through its HABITAT project and previous initiatives — has supported more than 25 farmer-led field days in Bomet County. In May 2026 alone, six field days reached close to 1,000 people, with participation from the County Government of Bomet, Kenya Animal Genetic Resources Centre, Equity Group Foundation, and Sistema.bio.

Farmers learning about silage making from Pioneer Farmer Joseph Bett. Photo credit: ILRI/Polycarp Onyango

ILRI and its partners are documenting lessons from the adaptation pioneer farmer model to strengthen farmer-led field days and support wider use of locally developed climate adaptation solutions. Drawing on these lessons, the Bomet and Nandi County governments are developing guidelines to integrate the farmer-to-farmer learning approach into the extension system and explore its use beyond the dairy sector.

To Bett, the adaptation pioneer, success is defined not only by the performance of his own farm, but also by the progress of those around him. His belief is simple: when one farmer succeeds, an entire community can benefit. And in Bomet County, his dairy farm is showing that the most effective path to stronger, more climate-resilient livestock systems may begin with farmers learning from fellow farmers.

Reimagining research: Empowering producer-led innovation for climate resilient livestock

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Zimbabwe’s local innovation fuels regional action through One Health

Pamela Wairagala — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

“Biogas has made a big difference in our daily lives,” says Panashe Gomorago. “Cooking is now faster and cleaner, and we no longer struggle with smoke or delays in starting fires. It has really improved our learning environment.”

Gomorago is one of 764 pupils at Chifamba Girls’ School in Zimbabwe’s Guruve District, where a 13-cubic-meter biogas facility has recently been constructed.

“In the past, we relied on firewood, and cooking was a difficult and time-consuming experience,” continues Gomorago. “It was worst during the rainy seasons, as it was hard to start a fire with wet firewood. We would lose valuable learning time trying to get it to burn. Now we spend more time studying instead of searching for firewood.”

For the school, the benefits extend beyond the classroom. This new source of cooking gas has eliminated the need to cut down trees for fuel wood—safeguarding local forests and woodlands—and the clean gas reduces smoke and other health risks in the kitchen. In sum, one innovation improved health for both students and ecosystems.

“Previously, we used about 12 cords of firewood per term, but this term we have used only three. Our dependence on electricity and firewood for cooking has greatly reduced,” explains Steven Mutaiwa, the head teacher at Chifamba Girls’ School.

Turning waste into a resource

Constructed as part of the Transforming Waste to Resources (TW2R) project implemented by Chinhoyi University of Technology, the school biodigester is one part of a broader effort to rethink waste across Guruve District. It is one of eight projects funded by the Capacitating One Health in Eastern and Southern Africa (COHESA) project to address local challenges across the 12 COHESA countries.

Rather than treating waste as something to dispose of, researchers from the university have been helping communities transform waste into valuable products while improving human, animal, and environmental health.

The challenge is considerable. In 2020, the global direct cost of waste management was estimated to be USD 252 billion. The hidden costs of pollution—such as poor health and accelerated climate change from poor waste disposal practices—push the total cost to USD 361 billion. Without urgent action on waste management, by 2050 this global annual cost could almost double to a staggering USD 640.3 billion.

According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Management Agency, urban councils generate roughly 270,000–500,000 kg of waste daily. Uncollected solid waste is usually disposed of in illegal dump sites, along roadsides, open spaces and water sources, posing a health hazard to humans, animals, and the environment.

This is the problem that the Chinhoyi and COHESA researchers and partners set out to solve by designing initiatives that both turn waste into useful resources and yield health benefits. As of 2026, the project team had trained 240 community members to collect, sort and recycle waste into usable products such as doormats, bags, hats, and decorative bowls from melted plastics. The result is a boost to both household income and the local environment.

COHESA team during a visit to Chifamba Girls’ School in Zimbabwe’s Guruve District where COHESA has set up a biogas facility to support meal preparation at the school (photo credit: CIRAD/ Martha Katsi)

“What was previously discarded is now collected, recycled, and transformed into useful products that generate income for households and the community. We now see waste differently,” says Gogo Rumbidzai Magwaza, a community member.

Waste collection centers have been set up and equipped with plastic shredding machines. Knowledge Chikanya from the Guruve Rural District Council directorate notes that this has not only contributed to human and environmental health, but animal health as well: “We used to lose livestock after they ingested plastic waste. That problem has significantly reduced.”

Researchers are now exploring whether biogas technology can also help reduce deforestation linked to tobacco production, one of the major drivers of tree loss in Guruve. The team has trained 18 community members to construct biodigesters.

“Deforestation is a major problem in Guruve, driven primarily by agricultural expansion and the need for fuelwood, for cooking, heating and tobacco curing,” says Kudakwashe Chitindingu, the project lead at the university.

From local innovation to regional learning

The practical results in Guruve have attracted attention beyond Zimbabwe. Delegates attending a One Health workshop in Zimbabwe, comprising of project country coordinators, policy makers and development partners from the 12 COHESA countries visited the waste management projects in Guruve, to see how a One Health approach can deliver benefits across human, animal, and environmental health.

Their observations informed discussions on establishing a regional One Health network that would build on lessons from the five-year COHESA program. The proposed network aims to strengthen collaboration among governments, universities and development partners, promote evidence-based policymaking, and expand successful local innovations across eastern and southern Africa.

Prof. Prisca Mugabe (3rd Left) from University of Zimbabwe shares the COHESA story at the One Health Summit in Lyon, France

“We have a good story at COHESA,” said Prisca Mugabe from the University of Zimbabwe, when she told a global audience about the experiences from Guruve District at the One Health summit in Lyon. “The lessons we have learned can be scaled beyond our individual countries, to a regional network, where we can share our technical and strategic experiences for the betterment of health across humans, animals, and the environment.”

Resource mobilization is underway to kickstart the network’s operations.

For the students at Chifamba, however, the significance of the project is measured less in policies and more in everyday life: A cleaner kitchen. Less smoke. Fewer trips to collect firewood. More time spent in the classroom.

What began as a biodigester serving one school has become an example of how rethinking waste can improve education, protect forests, strengthen livelihoods, and inspire new approaches to One Health across the region.

Mucuna gains ground as a dual solution for forage availability and soil fertility in Madagascar

Daniel Hailemichael — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In southeastern Madagascar, a legume is emerging as a reliable ally for smallholder farmers: Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens). This slender vine offers a practical solution to persistent challenges in the country’s predominantly mixed farming systems, particularly how to maintain soil fertility, boost crop yields, and secure enough quality livestock feed.

With around 70–80% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, constraints in farming systems have far-reaching effects in Madagascar. The shortage of high-quality forage, driven by climate variability, climate-induced droughts and land degradation, weakens livestock productivity and, in turn, reduces the availability of manure and draft power essential for crop production. This cycle contributes to low overall productivity and limited income for smallholder households.

Addressing livestock feed constraints can therefore generate significant multiplier effects. Improved forage options such as Mucuna enhance animal nutrition and health while contributing to better soil fertility and crop performance, ultimately strengthening the resilience of farming systems and rural livelihoods.

A thriving Mucuna field illustrates the crop's rapid biomass production, offering farmers a valuable source of high-quality forage while improving soil health (photo credit: ILRI/Lamine Diedhiou).

In Vatovavy and Fitovinany regions, the International Livestock Research Institute, in partnership with the Direction Régionale de l’Agriculture et de la Sécurité Alimentaire (DRASA), is introducing farmers to Mucuna as a dual-purpose solution. This fast-growing legume produces abundant, protein-rich biomass for animal feed while improving soil fertility through ground cover, weed suppression, and erosion control. It also enhances the performance of companion crops such as maize.

Peer learning pathways

Early field trials are already generating promising results and sparking interest across villages. Just months after the first sowing in January 2026, farmers are reporting visible improvements in crop performance and increased biomass production in their fields.

Charline Razafindravola from Vatovavy, an early adopter, shares: "I am very satisfied with Mucuna. I’ve noticed a clear improvement in my field, especially when I follow the technical recommendations. Next year, I plan to expand the area under cultivation."

Her success has inspired other farmers in her village. This farmer-to-farmer exchange is accelerating the spread of Mucuna across villages, supported by field demonstrations, training, and regular technical guidance from ILRI and DRASA.

"At first, I received the seeds but did not plant them. I started with a small test plot, and seeing how well Mucuna performed in Charline’s field and mine convinced me to plant the remaining seeds," says Aina, another farmer.

And Armand Razafimandimby harvested higher yields of maize while also producing feed for his animals, thanks to intercropping. Next year, he too plans to expand his Mucuna farming.

Partnerships for scaling

Mucuna is part of a broader portfolio of forage crops being studied by researchers to sustainably improve livestock feeding and soil health in tropical farming system in tropical farming systems.

These efforts are grounded in an integrated crop–livestock systems approach, where forage crops are not promoted in isolation but embedded within existing farming systems. In practice, this includes intercropping legumes with cereals such as maize, using crop residues for livestock feeding, and recycling manure to restore soil fertility. Such integration enables farmers to optimize resource use, reduce external inputs, and strengthen the resilience of their production systems.

“In this region, a variety of forage crops have been tested, including Mucuna, Panicum maximum, Chloris gayana, and Pennisetum purpureum. Among these options, Mucuna stands out as the most promising and farmer-preferred, due to its adapt and rapid biomass production and multiple benefits for both crops and livestock,” said Raharison Joséa, a livestock technician supporting the implementation of ILRI activities in Madagascar.

Farmer-to-farmer learning and regular technical support are accelerating the adoption of Mucuna across villages in southeastern Madagascar (photo credit: ILRI/Clarisse Umutoni).

With encouraging results from the pilot plots, the focus is now shifting toward scaling adoption in the rest of southeastern Madagascar. This will involve strengthening partnerships with regional institutions such as DRASA, improving access to quality seeds, strengthening local technical capacity, and supporting farmer-led dissemination.

By simultaneously improving livestock nutrition, soil fertility, and overall farm productivity, Mucuna contributes directly to the Madagascar Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP) and CGIAR objectives of building more productive, resilient, and sustainable food systems.

This work is being implemented under the FSRP–CGIAR initiative (2024–2026), as part of the FSRP program funded by the World Bank in Madagascar.

Related publications:

The 75-kilo sheep that changed a pastoralist’s mind

Geoffrey Luis Njenga — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Tuitoek Chirchir, a pastoralist from Baringo County, had never seen a sheep so big. Standing beside a 75 kg ram at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)'s Kapiti Research Station in Machakos County, he could hardly believe it was an indigenous sheep like those raised in Kenya's drylands.

"There are no sheep of this size back home," he said.

Tuitoek had travelled with fellow livestock keepers from Baringo’s Irong Conservancy on a two-day farmer exchange visit through Kajiado and Machakos counties. Like the rest of the group, he expected to learn about livestock management. Instead, one animal changed how he thought about improving his flock.

At home, he typically sells his goats and sheep for between KES 3,000 and KES 5,000 (approximately USD 23–39). During the visit, Tuitoek met farmers selling much larger animals for several times that amount. The difference, he realized, was not simply better feeding or animal health. It began with breeding matched with good management. The visit was organised by ILRI’s Livestock Genetics, Nutrition and Feed Resources program in collaboration with Resource Conflict Institute (RECONCILE ) through the support of CGIAR Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods (SAAF) Program. The aim of the visit was to expose pastoralists to best small ruminant management practices for improved productivity.

The animals at Kapiti and across the Kajiado farms are indigenous sheep, similar to those raised in Baringo, though different breeds. However, they are managed differently: separated by sex and breeding function, vaccinated on schedule, fed from feed banks built before the dry season, and watched closely for inbreeding. Fix one without the other, the farmers would learn, and you get only half the animal.

That gap matters to a lot of people. Irong Conservancy is home to more than 14,500 people who live mainly off their herds. Sheep and goats are particularly important because they are easier to keep than cattle during drought. Yet productivity remains low with sheep and goats lambing/kidding once in two years and birth weights ranging between 1.5 and 2Kgs. This eventually leads to loss in productivity and lower prices of animals during sale. With proper management, sheep and goats should lamb/kid twice in a period of 1.5 years and through proper breeding the birth weight can reach 3Kgs as is the case with the Red Maasai breed being bred at ILRI’s Kapiti Research Station. Animals often breed uncontrolled on communal grazing lands, leading to inbreeding, while degraded rangelands and increasingly unreliable rainfall make it harder for livestock to reach their full potential. The exchange visit was built to show what closing that gap actually looks like.

Ten years of improvement

The group’s first stop was a farm in Isinya, Kajiado County, where Moses Munyangai has raised Red Maasai sheep for about a decade with ILRI’s support. The indigenous breed found in pastoral systems of Kenya and Tanzania is valued for its resilience in arid and semi-arid environments and its natural resistance to internal parasites. Key to the performance of Munyangai’s flock is not just the breed but management.

What the Baringo visitors noticed first was the fencing: males in one paddock, females in another. Separate feeding lots for different stages of growth. A logbook recording every mating and every vaccination. In Irong, as across much of Baringo, animals graze communally on open rangeland and mate at will, resulting in widespread inbreeding, smaller animals, and lower prices at market. The contrast was hard to miss.

In Baringo we did not know how to separate the animals. Females separated from males, you avoid inbreeding. And if you keep records of vaccinations, you can identify which animals are sick and which males have mated with which females.

— Tracy Kimelel, sheep farmer, Irong Conservancy

Farmers at Moses Munyangai’s farm in Kajiado County, learning about the Red Maasai sheep (photo credit:ILRI/Geoffrey Njenga).

Six thousand bales

The next lesson focused on drought preparedness. Farmer Harun Suiyan grows Napier, lucerne and Boma Rhodes grass, keeps silage for up to two years, and stores 6,000 bales of hay in his barn.

In Baringo, a dry season usually means animals die or are sold off cheaply in distress, because there is nothing left to feed them. Rather than reacting when drought arrives, Suiyan prepares for it months in advance. During good seasons, he stores surplus feed so that when rains fail, his animals are still well fed and he can sell the surplus.

For Baringo farmers who watch animals die every dry season, Suiyan’s barn offered a concrete model: start small, grow what you can, store before the drought arrives.

Harun Suiyan explains the different forages he grows in his farm (photo credit: ILRI/Geoffrey Njenga).

Twenty years of breeding

The final stop brought the group's biggest surprise. At Kapiti Ranch, ILRI’s 13,000-hectare research station and wildlife conservancy in Machakos County, a selective sheep breeding program has run since 2003. Researchers cross the hardy, disease-resistant Red Maasai with the faster-growing, heavier Dorper. The 75 kg ram that stopped Tuitoek in his tracks was one outcome of more than two decades of patient breeding, supported by careful nutrition, health management and record keeping.

For the farmers, the lesson became clear. Improving livestock is not simply about buying better animals. Good genetics need good management to realize their potential. Likewise, excellent management cannot fully compensate for poor breeding.

We sell our goats for around KES 3,000 to 5,000 while others are selling theirs at KES. 20,000. We need to really look at improvement of breeding for all livestock. I have not seen small local breeds here; I have only seen improved local breeds.

— Tuitoek Chirchir, livestock farmer, Irong Conservancy

Farmers at the ILRI Kapiti ranch learn about the selective sheep breeding, reproduction, feeding and health (photo credit: ILRI/Geoffrey Njenga).

Taking the lessons home

The exchange visit marks the beginning of a wider program by ILRI and Resource Conflict Institute (RECONCILE) to strengthen livestock production in Baringo County. Livestock breeding joined the agenda after a rapid assessment flagged two weaknesses: widespread inbreeding in community herds and weak organization among livestock producers.

The next phase will focus on practical training in breeding, reproduction, feeding and health. Farmers see the outcome first; the methods come after.

Pastoralists learn better by seeing and doing. We want them to carry a vision of what they can do with their animals. When we go through the trainings, they’ll be able to relate what we’re teaching to what they saw on the farms they visited.

— Edwin Pancras Oyieng’, Animal breeder and geneticist, ILRI

This work is in line with Baringo County’s 2023–2027 integrated development plan and is already showing results. A traders’ group born from the partnership has already saved KES 250,000 (about USD 1,900) and plans to use the money to buy better breeding animals.

That shows the process we have started is creating impact. We are really looking forward to having more of these changes.

— Owino Joshua Okoth, PRM coordinator, RECONCILE

Tuitoek went home with a plan: build feed storage, source better breeds, separate animals by sex and breeding function, vaccinate on schedule, and keep proper records. His fellow farmer, Francis Jerono, has another goal.

When we go back to Baringo, we will train others. We have to lead by example if we want to see change.

— Francis Jerono, Farmer, Irong Conservancy

Participants in their own words

This work was conducted as part of the CGIAR Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods (SAAF) Program and multifunctional landscapes program, part of CGIAR’s 2025–2030 Research Portfolio. CGIAR research is supported by contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund. CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future, dedicated to transforming food, land and water systems in a climate crisis. We also acknowledge our collaboration with the Senior Expert Program (SEPII) at Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands.

Farmers from Baringo set out to learn how to manage their livestock better. They returned convinced that transforming their flocks begins with breeding, and that better genetics and better management must go together.

Publication updates from ILRI Asia, January-June 2026

Chi Nguyen — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

We would like to share with our donors and partners the list of publications of ILRI Asia publicized from January to June 2026.

Articles in international and national peer-reviewed journals

Yadav, K.D., Pokharel, A., Gautam, G., Shah, S., Rekik, M., Pratim, D.R., Varijakshapanicker, P. and Devkota, B. 2026. Effects of Calf Sex Altering Oral Preparation on Pregnancy Rate and Female Calf Production in the Buffalo. Journal of Buffalo Science 15:32-40. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183573
Venter, M., Manuguerra, J.-C., Watson, J.M., Fischer, T.K., Blacksell, S.D., Summermatter, K., Damon, I.K., Drosten, C., Alviola, P., Assiri, A., Farag, E., Gangakhedkar, R., Ghosn, N., Guzman, M.G., Happi, C., Kalema-Zikusoka, G., Labbé, N., Myint, K., Hung Nguyen-Viet, Ochu, C., Saijo, M., Sang, R. and Wacharapluesadee, S. 2026. COVID's origins: what we do and don't know. Nature 650: 829-833. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181911
San, S.P., Nicolaides, L., Sinh Dang-Xuan, Grace, D., Young, S., Fidero, K., Chamnan, C., Charaslertrangsi, T., Thorng, R., Kong, L., and Chea, R. 2026. Food safety implementation and associated challenges: Insights from Cambodia’s Pangasius fish and chicken farms. Veterinary Sciences 13 (4): 380. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182567
Lounnas, M., Ayouba, A., Bailly, X., Banuls, A.-L., Benavides, J., Ben Salem, M., Bohin, E., Blandin, G., Bordier, M., Caron, A., Caceres, P., Cardinale, E., Cappelle, J., Charbonnel, N., Chiossi, S., Chevalier, V., Citti, C., Le Coint, V., Debnath, N., De Nys, H., Delabouglise, A., Delaporte, E., Diallo, A., Duboz, R., Ducatez, M., Etter, E., Garchitorena, A., Guinat, C., Goutard, F.L., Gozlan, R.E., Käsbohrer, A., Laury, E., Ladreyt, H., Lefrançois, T., Leger, E., Miguel, E., Morand, S., Mugabe, P., Olive, M.-M., Purse, B., Ross, E., Scagliarini, A., Shafiq, R., Suzan, G., Sironen, T., Trouillet, M., Hung Nguyen-Viet, Vourc’h, G., Walzer, C., Ward, J., Soussana, J.-F., Peyre, M. and Roche, B. 2026. PREZODE: a global co-designed collaboration for preventing zoonotic emergence. Nature Health. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182534
Hung, P.V., Nga, N.T.D., Huyen, N.T.T., Ly, N.T., Ha, D.N., Thinh, N.T., Hung Nguyen-Viet, Sinh, D.X., Delia, R. and Unger, F. 2026. Consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, practices, and trust on food safety in pork value chains in Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences 9(1): 2856-2868. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183645

Presentations at international workshops/forums/conferences/seminars

Sinh, D.X., Hung Nguyen-Viet, Chea, R., Muloi, D., Moodley, A., Phuc, P.T.H., Huyen, N.X. and Phouthana, V. 2026. Antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in livestock production: Insights from Vietnam and regional studies. Presented at the Regional Technical Forum: Actions to mitigate agrochemical use in soil, crop, livestock and aquaculture, Hanoi, Vietnam, 12 March 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183595
Tarawali, S. 2026. Addressing the opportunities: framing new sustainable livestock actions to contribute to food systems transformation in Asia and the Pacific. Presented at the Regional Conference on Sustainable livestock transformation for food systems in Asia and the Pacific, Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-25 March 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183602
Whitbread, A., Mukherji, A., Arndt, C., Cook, A., Cramer, L., Crane, T., Djikeng, A. and Hung Nguyen-Viet. 2026. Considering climate and environment in the design of livestock systems. Presented at the Regional Conference on Sustainable livestock transformation for food systems in Asia and the Pacific, Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-25 March 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183597
Nam, L.H., Hien, N.T.T, Hung, N.Q., Son, T.D., Sinh, D.X., Tung, D.D., Vuong, B.N., Lee, H.S. and Nguyen-Viet, H. 2026. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward transboundary animal and emerging zoonotic diseases among pig farmers in northern Vietnam. Presented at the 28th International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, 16–19 June 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183598
Sinh, D.X., Nguyen-Viet, H., Trang, L.T.H., Unger, F., Phuc, P.D., Alonso, S., Mutua, F. and Grace, D. 2026. Cách tiếp cận ghế ba chân trong an toàn thực phẩm chuỗi truyền thống. Presented at the Food Safety for Agrifood Systems Forum in celebration of the World Food Safety Day, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam, 7 June 2026 Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183647
Sinh, D.X., Hung Nguyen-Viet, Trang, L.T.H. and Phuc, P.D. 2026. Food safety risk management in Viet Nam: emerging risks and challenges across the food value chain. Presented at the 5th technical meeting of Vietnam Food Safety Technical Working Group, Hanoi, Vietnam, 23 June 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183642

Posters

Deka, R.P. and Kennady, V. 2026. Comprehensive Informal Dairy Sector Initiative for Food Safety. Poster prepared for the Regional Conference on Sustainable livestock transformation for food systems in Asia and the Pacific, Hanoi, Vietnam, 24-25 March 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183644

Reports

M. Rashid, K. Anbazhagan, S. Dossou, September. 2025. Developing a Sampling Strategy for Fish Feed Collection and Preparation for NIRs Analysis in Bangladesh, Workshop report. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12348/6722
Ngo Duc Minh, Dang Xuan Sinh, Nguyen Cong Thanh, Tran Minh Tien and Nguyen Viet Hung. 2026. Regional Technical Forum on Actions to Mitigate Agrochemical Use in Soil, Crop, Livestock and Aquaculture. Study Report. Hanoi, Vietnam: Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182456
Chea, R., Tum, S., Koam, S., Vorleak, M., Sinh Dang-Xuan, Hung Nguyen-Viet and Unger, F. 2026. Antibiotic use practices in small chicken production systems in four provinces of Cambodia: preliminary findings from the survey. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: NAHPRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182683
Alemayehu, A., Esatu, W., Hoang, H., Yitayih, M., Unger, F., Nguyen, C., Nguyen-Viet, H. and Frank-Lawale, A. 2026. The Asian Chicken Genetic Gains (AsCGG) costed extension project inception workshops in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the poultry development strategy workshop in Lao PDR. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182738
Nga Bui, T., Phuong Nguyen, T.M., Hoa Hoang, H., Yitayih, M., Dinh Nguyen, C., Son Pham V., Thien Vu C., Quyen Ngo, T.L., Huyen Ninh, T., Thong Tran, T. and Cuc Ngo, T. 2025. The role of gender equality in poultry production, marketing, and consumption in Vietnam. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183535

Briefs and newsletters

Varijakshapanicker, P. 2026. Livestock research and development portfolio in Nepal: Innovations Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182285
Basnet, S., Chherti, A. and Varijakshapanicker, P. 2026. Nepal introduces animal identification and traceability system. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182334
Ojango, J., Basnet, S., Kipkosgei, G., Varijakshapanicker, P. and Chhetri, A. 2026. Digital solutions to accelerate genetic gain in Nepal’s dairy sector. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182553
Nepal, Y., Bhatt, P., Varijakshapanicker, P. and Teufel, N. 2026. Biofermentation of crop residues to improve dairy nutrition and productivity. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182552
Nepal, Y., Devkota, B., Varijakshapanicker, P. and Teufel, N. 2026. FemEXX enhances chances of female calves. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182551
Bhatt, P., Varijakshapanicker, P., Hegde, S. and Teufel, N. 2026. Dual-purpose crops with potential to increase livestock productivity and limit emissions in Nepal. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182550
Nepal, Y., Teufel, N. and Varijakshapanicker, P. 2026. Village livestock promoters link farmers to technology. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182557
Nepal, Y., Varijakshapanicker, P. and Teufel, N. 2026. On-farm feed advisor tool for diet formulation and nutrient balancing. Innovation Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182555
Le Thi Thanh Huyen, Sinh Dang-Xuan and Unger, F. 2026. Strengthening animal and herd health for resilient livestock systems in Son La and Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. Policy Brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182682
Nohrborg, S., Thinh, N.T. and Magnusson, U. 2026. Huy động nhân viên thuốc thú y ứng phó kháng kháng sinh trong chăn nuôi tại Việt Nam. Policy brief. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183643
Food Safety Technical Working Group in Vietnam. 2026. Vietnam Food Safety Working Group E-bulletin, 7 June 2026. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183646

Videos and Digital Platforms

Vietnam’s Livestock Transformation: Building Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems https://youtu.be/FN7KZlc1o2g
Sustainable livestock transformation in Vietnam: Insights from regional conference in Hanoi https://youtu.be/-wNp19EevXQ
Preventing transboundary animal diseases: Biosecurity – A shield against foot-and-mouth disease https://youtu.be/nGZVptATpvU
Africa–Asia Bioscience Challenge Fund (AABCF)- Building the next generation of bioscience leaders https://youtu.be/AIcUf-prATo
World Food Safety Day 2026 https://www.facebook.com/reel/977819525056618/
ADGG Nepal Data Platform: https://portal.adgg.ilri.org/nepal

Media clippings

When the data moves beyond counting cases

Geoffrey Luis Njenga — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

As countries strengthen surveillance for dengue and chikungunya, a workshop in Nairobi challenged public health professionals to move beyond reporting outbreaks and start predicting them. For decades, disease surveillance has largely answered one question: What happened? Today’s public health challenges increasingly demand another: What is likely to happen next?

That question brought epidemiologists, disease modelers and public health officers from across Kenya to a meeting room in Nairobi's Westlands area in March 2026. During the intensive training, participants drawn from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI), and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) explored not only how to build statistical models, but how to question them, interpret them, and use them to support decisions before outbreaks gain momentum.

The statistical modelling for epidemiological research training workshop was the first major capacity-building activity under ARBO-WATCH, a three-year initiative funded by Wellcome Trust and led by a nine-institution consortium including ILRI, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), KEMRI, KNPHI and Ethiopian Public Health Institute. The project is building decision-support tools for dengue and chikungunya surveillance across Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.

Learning to see patterns differently

Before the workshop, most participants were doing what health professionals are trained to do: summarizing data, describing trends, and reporting numbers up a chain of command. What many had less opportunity to do was interrogate the models behind those numbers.

Henry Kissinger, a research biostatistician at JKUAT who helped design and deliver the workshop, watched that change unfold over four days: “By the end of the training, participants were no longer just reading data outputs passively. They were questioning assumptions, identifying potential confounders, and thinking critically about how model results should inform public health decisions rather than simply accepting them at face value.”

Using R, an open-source programming language widely used for statistical analysis, participants progressed from hypothesis testing and regression analysis to time-series modelling through a combination of lectures and practical sessions. The emphasis was less on theory and more on how statistical techniques can support outbreak preparedness, with hands-on exercises using real surveillance datasets running each afternoon.

For Hellen Akengo, a research associate at ILRI, the biggest shift occurred during the time series sessions. Participants learned how to separate disease case numbers into their component patterns, identifying seasonal peaks, longer-term shifts, and background noise, and then using those patterns to forecast future transmission.

“These approaches are directly applicable to tracking and predicting trends in dengue and chikungunya transmission,” Akengo said. “The emphasis on data visualization changed how I think about communicating findings to colleagues who do not work inside statistical models.”

Participants at the statistical modelling for epidemiological research training workshop (photo credit:ILRI/Geoffrey Njenga).

Fostering collaboration across institutions

The workshop was also designed to break down institutional silos. Co-facilitator Caroline Mugo, a biostatistics lecturer at JKUAT, deliberately mixed researchers, epidemiologists, and public health officers across tables.

“This encouraged interaction and mixing among participants from different backgrounds. Participants were encouraged to ask questions relevant to their specific data and work contexts, making the sessions more inclusive and practical,” Mugo said.

Some participants went further, bringing their own datasets to the hands-on sessions for group analysis. Human disease data sat alongside mosquito surveillance records from real surveillance systems, not textbook examples. By the final day, mixed teams were presenting analyses together, often approaching the same dataset from different professional perspectives.

“This group work was particularly valuable, as it fostered peer learning, collaboration, and the exchange of diverse perspectives,” said Mugo.

For a project whose success depends on linking research with routine public health practice, those conversations may prove as important as the technical skills themselves. To ensure lasting impact, each institution nominated a champion to share the skills and knowledge with colleagues after the workshop.

Why modelling matters

The workshop also addressed challenges beyond statistical training. As Francis Ng’ang’a, from NPHI pointed out, Kenya already has a structured surveillance platform under the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response strategy. However, it is “often more reactive than predictive”.

“Data timeliness, quality and completeness remain major challenges, especially at subnational levels where reporting emanates,” he said.

Another obstacle is that human clinical data, animal health information, mosquito surveillance, and environmental datasets are often collected through separate systems that do not easily communicate with one another. Without integrating these datasets, predictive models cannot provide the comprehensive picture that decision-makers need. Even when models generate useful insights, Ng'ang'a said they only have value if they can be translated into clear, actionable evidence that informs policy and outbreak response.

He plans to apply the methods within routine surveillance work while helping colleagues adopt similar approaches: “I hope to contribute to a growing community of practice by sharing knowledge, mentoring peers, and supporting the institutionalization of modeling approaches within public health systems.”

Building the people behind the models

ARBO-WATCH runs until January 2028. In year two, the consortium will run longitudinal cohort studies to validate the predictive models. Year three will translate those models into decision-support tools that frontline health systems can use if a dengue or chikungunya signal emerges.

What this training produced is the human infrastructure those tools will need to produce results: people inside Kenya’s public health institutions who understand what the models are doing and can explain it to the decision-makers.

The question the workshop set out to answer was practical. Can a mixed group of Kenyan health professionals, given four days and the right curriculum, move from describing disease data to modeling it? The answer, based on what happened in Nairobi in March, is yes. What happens next depends on whether their institutions give them the room to use what they learned.