ILRI Blog Posts and News Updates

Measure it, finance it, share it: what Nigeria's livestock climate plan offers other countries

Anne-Marie Sch… — Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

At a COP31 official side event in Antalya, Nigeria laid out one of the most ambitious livestock growth plans in Africa and was candid about the climate questions it raises. The lessons reach well beyond Nigeria.

Many people are quick to point out the greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. But as Alike Peter, Director (Technical) at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, told the COP31 audience, the

That gap between assumption and evidence ran through the whole session, which ILRI co-hosted with the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), Angel Support Foundation, and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. It is also the gap many low- and middle-income countries face as they try to grow their livestock sectors in the face of increasing demand for meat and milk while also meeting climate commitments.

A plan with numbers attached

Nigeria is not hedging its ambitions. Its National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy, a 10-year plan, aims to raise the sector's contribution to the economy from about USD 32 billion to USD 72 billion. The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development is barely two years old, yet 22 states have already set up their own livestock ministries. Nigeria has written livestock into its third nationally determined contribution (NDC) and, with the World Bank, has developed a national framework for measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV).

The ministry was open about the tension between growing the sector to meet national food security needs and keeping its emissions in check. More animals and more output can mean more greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane. When someone in the audience asked how that squares with climate goals, the answer was efficiency: better feed, health, and genetics, so each animal produces more milk or meat with less waste. Jennifer Chow, Senior Director, Agriculture, Water, Food at the Environmental Defense Fund, pushed further. Lower emissions per liter of milk are not the same as lower total emissions, she said, and the sector must be ready to show both. That honesty made the conversation worth having.

Lesson 1: Measure your own herds, not someone else's

Many low-income countries report livestock emissions using global default values, which were built largely on data from intensive systems in high-income countries. Nigeria is replacing those default values with locally calculated and more accurate ones. Netzence Sustainability Limited and the ministry presented findings from Nigeria's livestock methane baseline study at COP31, along with new climate monitoring devices. Their early data suggest some Nigerian systems emit more methane than the defaults assume.

ILRI's own work points the other way on a different gas. Measurements from ILRI's Mazingira Centre found that cattle manure in Kenyan grazing systems emitted around 10 times less nitrous oxide than the defaults suggest, and those data fed into the 2019 IPCC guidelines. Taken together, the lesson is simple: the defaults can be wrong in either direction. Country-specific evidence is what makes a climate claim credible, and what unlocks results-based finance.

Lesson 2: Start with productivity

Farmers are unlikely to change practices just to cut emissions . They need clear benefits for adopting new practices, including greater income. The good news is that the two can go together. Better feed, health, and genetics can cut emissions intensity by up to 30 percent while raising output.

Animal health is the clearest case. Animals that die young, fall sick, or fail to reproduce still emit methane while producing little or no food for human consumption. Livestock disease wipes out more than 20 percent of global animal production every year, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. Tools such as a thermotolerant vaccine against peste des petits ruminants (PPR) developed by ILRI with Hester Biosciences and Mali's Central Veterinary Laboratory, which stays stable for up to nine days, reach herds where cold chains don't. In Nigeria itself, ILRI and partners developed a way to turn cassava peels, a polluting waste, into a high-quality feed ingredient within hours, cutting the amount of costly maize in animal feed and creating new processing businesses that employ many women.

Lesson 3: Give livestock an institutional home to support sector investment

Nigeria's dedicated ministry and its place in the NDC give investors a national structure they recognize, as Ivano Assenza from the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at FAO noted. Other countries can get there through different routes. Livestock master plans, developed with ILRI support in more than 13 countries including Nigeria, have helped governments turn sector ambitions into costed investment cases. In Tanzania, the plan helped secure USD 624 million in proposed investment.

Lesson 4: Design finance to fit the borrower

Livestock receives just a fraction of climate development finance—a World Bank estimate puts that figure at 0.1%. Panelists agreed no single instrument will close that gap. Grants and readiness support can take early risk, concessional loans can build infrastructure, and results-based payments, including carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, can reward verified cuts. But a pastoralist buying feed or vaccines needs a very small loan, and a cold-chain operator needs a large one. For rural women without land or collateral, Helen Teghtegh from Community Empowerment Links & Human Initiative, Nigeria, explained that grants and strong village savings and loan associations are a better starting point than credit.

Lesson 5: Co-create, in the local language

"Participation" is often used to mean inviting people to comment on a finished plan. Panelists called for a shift from consultation to co-creation, working through cooperatives and savings groups that already exist. Digital advisory tools only help if people can use them: one example from Kenya delivers climate information by WhatsApp and SMS in local languages. Maureen Kabasa of the African Centre for Technology Studies described a chatbot, designed and led by young women, that answers farmers' climate questions in Swahili and a local language. She also pointed to Kenya's iCow platform, which gives farmers breeding and feeding tips, a directory of vets, and a way to keep production records. When advice arrives in a language people understand, she argued, they act on it sooner, and their own observations can help county officials make better decisions.

Why this is a justice question

The average Nigerian has access to about 7 kg of meat a year; the average American has access to about 120 kg. Many low- and middle-income countries face a double bind of too little consumption for good nutrition and too much emission per unit produced. Aditi Mukherji, principal scientist at ILRI, explained how closing both gaps at once is the climate justice case for investing in livestock in the Global South, with mitigation as a co-benefit of adaptation, not a reason to hold growth back.

What this means for COP31

COP31 is a decision point for agriculture in the climate talks. The Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on agriculture and food security, the UNFCCC's four-year process on climate action in farming and food, is scheduled to conclude here. Talks on it stalled at COP30, leaving the key decisions to this meeting. Negotiators now have to decide whether agriculture keeps a dedicated home in the climate process, and what that home should do.

By the end of the conference, we hope to see three things. First, a clear future for agriculture and food security under the UNFCCC, one that treats improving sustainable livestock systems as part of climate action and puts adaptation and food security first, with lower emissions as a co-benefit. Second, finance that matches the opportunity: climate finance that reaches producers, and support for the national MRV systems that let countries like Nigeria prove results and attract investment. Third, recognition that a just transition for livestock has to be co-designed with the farmers, pastoralists, women, and young people who depend on it.

Eggs on the table: helping families in rural Ethiopia eat better

Brook T. Makonnen — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In parts of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, families keep chickens, but until recently few of them ate chicken, and eggs were not considered food. It points to a wider problem. Ethiopia has one of the highest burdens of child and maternal malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, and food shortages are only part of the reason. Although the nation has made some progress towards achieving a target for stunting, according to the Global Nutrition Report, 36.8% of children under 5 years of age are still affected.

In many farming and pastoralist communities, people don’t eat a wide enough range of foods, or enough eggs, milk, meat and vegetables, even when these are produced locally. Cost and availability matter, but so do limited awareness and long-held beliefs about what families should eat.

Intervention landscape

The Strengthening adaptive capacity of extensive livestock systems for food and nutrition security and low-emissions development in Eastern and Southern Africa project set out to address this challenge in the Somali and Southwest regions of Ethiopia. It is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and led by ILRI, with Unique Land Use, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) as technical partners.

By collaborating with national universities and local authorities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the project worked with smallholder farmers and pastoralist households to build their knowledge of food and nutrition and to help them use that knowledge when deciding what to eat and how to cook it.

A review of the impact of livestock interventions on food and nutrition security at community-based breeding program (CBBP) sites in Ethiopia found gaps in people’s diets. Families ate few animal-source foods such as eggs, milk and meat, and rarely ate fruit or vegetables. This was especially true in pastoralist communities of the Somali region.

Women of reproductive age and young children were particularly vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies caused by poor dietary diversity. Producing more food would not be enough on its own. Families also needed nutrition education and support to change long-standing habits, including how food decisions are made at home.

A community-centered approach to capacity development

Local woreda experts giving guidance during training programs at the Bonga project site. Photo credit: Unique Land Use

In response, the project supported a year-long social and behavior change communication program with nutrition training, cooking demonstrations, follow-up visits to households and community engagement. Instead of one-off awareness campaigns, the program brought families together regularly over the year so they could put what they learned into practice. Sessions covered the basics, such as why a varied diet matters and what pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children need.

In the CBBP-supported communities of Bonga, in Southwest Ethiopia, some mothers said the sessions changed how they saw the food they already had.

“We are now much more aware that we have all the ingredients here locally to create a balanced diet for our children and lactating mothers. This will help us in diversifying our diets with food items that can help us withstand malnutrition and any other health-related issues.”
– Adugna Haile, a mother in Bonga CBBP site, Southwest Ethiopia

Local health extension workers and public health professionals ran the sessions. Because they know the customs and beliefs of the farming and pastoralist communities they work with, they can discuss sensitive dietary practices with families directly.

One of the first sessions in January 2025, at the Bonga CBBP site, brought together more than 200 people from 135 farming households. Trainers explained what a healthy, varied diet looks like and why the body needs protein, vitamins and minerals.

Engaging men as nutrition champions

The training also made a point of including men. Nutrition programs often target only women, even though men have a big say in household spending, including what food is bought and when livestock are sold.

Sessions on women’s empowerment and male engagement looked at how couples can share responsibility for the health of mothers and children, and why nutritious food should come first in the household budget. Through interactive dialogues and experience-sharing sessions, husbands and wives were informed and encouraged to make decisions together, and men to take a bigger part in feeding and caring for their children.

Many of the men said they had left childcare and decisions about food to their wives, and that they now planned to help more at home and buy more nutritious food for the family.

Learning through cooking demonstrations

Cooking demonstrations were a core part of the training. Trainers showed families how to make balanced meals from ingredients they could grow or buy locally. One example is lentil stew (“misir wot”) served with fresh cheese (“ayib”), vegetables and boiled eggs.

Participants also learned how to plan meals that meet the needs of women and children. The demonstrations used foods that families can produce or find in local markets, such as poultry, eggs, meat, legumes and fruit, so that households were more likely to keep eating them. The project also checked in with households regularly to find out what made the changes hard, from the cost of food to cultural beliefs.

Unique Land Use Cooking demonstrations in Bonga Unique Land Use Cooking demonstrations in Bonga

Food and nutrition training program in Somali region of Ethiopia

“One of the most striking misconceptions was that chickens were seen simply as birds, not as meat, and eggs were not considered food. Animal-source foods were often reserved for sale or special occasions rather than everyday family nutrition. Through training and cooking demonstrations, families changed these perceptions, began eating eggs and poultry, and adopted safer food handling practices. The next step is scaling up these gains through a complete poultry production package.” - Aisha Ougaz, MSc student at Jigjiga University and researcher in the project

Early signs of behavioral change

Feedback from participants suggests that some families have changed how they eat and cook. Households said they were keeping food preparation areas cleaner and giving children a wider variety of foods, and many said they valued how practical the training was.

Community members also asked for regular follow-up. Many said the training was clear and useful, but that they would need continued support to keep up the new habits. The project has responded with repeated visits and learning within the community, instead of one-off training events.

The ACIAR-funded project’s experience suggests that better nutrition depends as much on what families know and believe as on how much food they produce. Nutrition education and cooking demonstrations, delivered to women and men together, helped families in the two regions begin to change what they eat. The project ends this year, but its lessons on changing what families eat can inform similar work elsewhere in Ethiopia.

Eastern Zambia Livestock sector set for transformation

Nathan Ronoh — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is implementing an ambitious initiative designed to transform the livestock sector in Zambia. The initiative is part of CGIAR Scaling for Impact Program under grand challenges and scaling flagships area of work. By targeting the production and strategic preservation of high-quality forage stock feed, the program aims to cushion livestock against the devastating effects of climate-induced shocks, with a target of serving at least 100,000 head of livestock across the country by 2030.

Explaining the vision behind the initiative, ILRI Research Associate Thembinkosi Baleni highlighted that climate change continues to pose severe risks to rural livelihoods, particularly through recurrent droughts that deplete natural pastures and water sources. He noted that the program targets to develop ten (10) livestock forages cooperatives, of which two (2) have so far been formulated and have been equipped with sustainable livestock management practices.

According to Mr Baleni, growing forages will improve resilience of farmers by protecting their livestock (economic assets) from climate change shocks such as drought, while allowing for diversification of farmers’ incomes through fattening, feed production hubs and forage seed/ grain seed trading. This will in turn provide crucial economic stability by allowing households maintain steady streams of income.

To achieve maximum reach and long-term sustainability, the project adopted a peer-to-peer “lead farmer” extension model, where it is currently developing twenty (20) farmer forage production and livestock feeding field schools across ten (10) districts in Eastern province. Under this structure, select agricultural producers receive comprehensive training in forage production, crop-residue mixing, and feed storage, which they are then expected to step down to “follower farmers” in their respective communities.

Crucial to the implementation of this model in the region is the active partnership between the project and local government departments.

Maybin Banda, a Livestock Technician based in Chipata, with the Department of Livestock Development under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, explained how the collaborative framework operates.

“This project is basically collaborating with us as government, and as a department, in a way that we provide human resource, while the project provides key resources such as fuel and allowances to enable our officers to move about during sensitizations,” he explained.

He detailed that Heads of Departments like himself are first trained on pasture and forage production. Afterwards, they train camp staff who are extension officers working directly in the camps, on how to harvest forage, bale feed, and properly feed livestock. These camp staff then go into the field to identify farmers and continuously teach them.

Mr Banda noted that the initiative directly addresses a critical seasonal challenge faced by local farmers, who traditionally rely on natural grazing pastures. As land for grazing is increasingly cut off for crop production and climatic challenges, pasture resources become severely depleted during the hot season, causing animals to lose weight.

“In our district, vendors look at the body condition score when setting prices,” Banda said. “If animals are not fed well during the hot season, their market value drops drastically. Our camp staff go into the fields to sensitize farmers not to burn crop residues after harvesting maize. Instead of burning stover or leaving groundnut haulms in the field, we teach farmers to collect and bale them as supplementary feed for when resources go down, he elaborated”

In addition to crop residue management, the project distributes forage seeds including velvet beans, pigeon peas, and Rhodes grass for farmers to plant, harvest, and bale.

This story was originally published in Times of Zambia. Read full story.

Hidden mastitis, higher emissions: Why early detection matters

Grace Oduor — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000

A dairy cow can look healthy, produce milk that appears normal, and harbor an infection. The cause is often mastitis –– an inflammation of the udder, usually caused by bacteria entering through the teat canal.

Mastitis occurs in two forms. Clinical mastitis causes visible symptoms, such as swollen or painful udders, abnormal milk, and reduced milk production. Subclinical mastitis, however, often goes unnoticed since cows appear healthy despite being infected.

According to research from Kajiado County and recent findings by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), subclinical mastitis affects more than half of dairy cows on many Kenyan smallholder farms.For farmers who depend on a few cows for household income, even modest reductions in milk production can have significant consequences.

The effects extend beyond the farm gate. When mastitis reduces milk production, greenhouse emissions per liter of milk can increase because the cow still requires feed and energy for maintenance while producing less milk. Thus, preventing disease can help dairy systems become both more productive and more environmentally efficient.

To improve early detection and prevention of subclinical mastitis, researchers at ILRI’s Mazingira Centre, Livestock, Climate and Environment program, and Health program are advancing research on mastitis prevention and its links with dairy productivity and greenhouse gas emissions intensity. Working with partners, ILRI has developed science-based resources that help farmers detect infections and prevent mastitis.

Detecting infections early

For many farmers, mastitis has traditionally been associated only with visible signs of illness.

"Everything I knew about mastitis was clinical. I watched my herd carefully for the usual signs and symptoms and normally treated them for signs. But the California mastitis test (CMT) test showed that some cows had mastitis yet they had no symptoms," explains Margaret Wendo, a dairy farmer in Kiserian, Kajiado County.

Since adopting routine CMT screening, Wendo has been able to detect mastitis earlier and take prompt action, even when cows show no visible symptoms.

Her experience reflects a common challenge among dairy farmers. Clinical mastitis is relatively easy to recognize through its symptoms. With subclinical mastitis, however, cows often show no signs of illness while bacteria continue damaging the udder. As the infection progresses unnoticed, milk yield and quality decline, treatment costs rise, and the risk of it spreading through the herd increases.

Because subclinical mastitis has no visible symptoms, routine screening can play an important role in early detection. One widely used tool is the California mastitis test (CMT), which can detect infections before milk production declines.

This simple, affordable, and rapid test involves collecting a small amount of milk from each udder quarter and mixing it with CMT reagent. If the mixture remains liquid, the result is negative. Thickening or gel formation indicates elevated somatic cell counts and a possible udder infection that may require further assessment.

Responding quickly and appropriately

Once mastitis is detected, immediate action depends on the infection type and severity.

If a cow tests positive but looks healthy and produces normal-looking milk, it may have subclinical mastitis. Farmers should regularly screen milk using CMT and seek veterinary or animal-health advice if animals are repeatedly positive. Where possible, a milk sample should be tested to confirm the infection and determine the appropriate treatment.

Changes such as clots or flakes in the milk, or a quarter of the udder being swollen, hot, or painful, may indicate clinical mastitis. In such cases, farmers should consult a veterinarian or animal health worker and, where possible, collect a milk sample before treatment. If the cow is visibly sick, for example, she stops eating, develops a fever, appears weak or dehydrated, or struggles to stand, urgent veterinary assistance is needed.

Where antibiotics are prescribed, farmers should follow veterinary guidance on the drug, dose, and treatment duration, as well as the required milk and meat withdrawal periods.

Protecting cows through good hygiene

While treatment is important, prevention remains the most effective way to protect cows from mastitis. Many mastitis infections occur during milking through contaminated hands, shared towels, poorly cleaned equipment, and through dirty bedding, manure, muddy floors, and other contaminated areas where cows rest.

Simple, low-cost practices can significantly reduce these risks. Farmers should wash their hands before milking and between cows, use a clean cloth for each cow, disinfect teats before and after milking, keep housing, bedding, and milking areas clean and dry, and consistently follow proper milking procedures.

These everyday practices help prevent infections before they occur, reducing treatment costs while improving milk quality and animal welfare. By maintaining milk production, they also help reduce emissions intensity, allowing farmers to produce more milk from the same resources.

ILRI graduate fellow Susan Oyoo collects milk samples from individual teats using a CMT paddle to screen for subclinical mastitis in a dairy cow (photo credit: ILRI/Grace Oduor).

Healthy cows, more efficient dairy systems

Preventing mastitis is about more than animal health. Healthy cows produce more milk, generate better returns for farmers, and make better use of feed and other resources.

“The connection between animal health and environmental performance is increasingly important as the livestock sector seeks practical ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting growing demand for nutritious foods.”says Endale Gurmu, Postdoctoral Fellow in Livestock, Climate and Environment, ILRI Mazingira Centre. “Preventing diseases that reduce productivity is one way of improving emissions efficiency without requiring major investments from farmers.”

To support farmers, ILRI partnered with Mediae, producers of Shamba Shape Up, an East African agricultural television program, to share science-based guidance on mastitis prevention in its June and August 2026 episodes. The institute also developed farmer-friendly resources, including educational posters and short tutorial videos on hygienic milking, early detection, and CMT screening, translating research into everyday actions that farmers can adopt.

Each of the two mastitis episodes aired twice, in English on Saturday and in Kiswahili on Sunday, reaching Shamba Shape Up’s estimated weekly audience of 2–4 million viewers. The episodes were also posted on Mediae’s YouTube channel, Africa Knowledge Zone, where Series 16 drew more than 727,000 views, across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Farmer-friendly posters on CMT and hygienic milking practices to prevent mastitis (photo credit: ILRI).

With practical, affordable measures already within reach, smallholder farmers can reduce the risk of clinical and subclinical mastitis, keep their cows healthier, improve milk production and quality, and contributing to more productive, lower-emission dairy systems.

Explore the knowledge products and resources

Farmer materials

Shamba shape up, June 2026 mastitis feature (video)
Shamba shape up, August 2026 mastitis feature (video)
What is cow mastitis? (farmer resource)
What is the California mastitis test (CMT)? (farmer resource)
Hygienic milking practices to prevent mastitis (farmer resource)
Milking routine for subclinical mastitis control (step-by-step tutorial video)
How to perform the California mastitis test (CMT) (step-by-step tutorial video)

Scientific materials

Preventing mastitis in dairy cows: Practical guidance on understanding, early detection, effective treatment, milking hygiene, and reducing milk losses (training manual)

Acknowledgment

ILRI gratefully acknowledges the contributions of its researchers from the Mazingira Centre and Health program, together with collaborators from Michigan State University, The Roslin Institute, Edinburgh Napier University, and Environmental Defense Fund. We acknowledge support from the Global Methane Hub, Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health, the Ballmer Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, and CGIAR Climate Action Science Program. We also thank Mediae Company for collaborating on the farmer training resources and “Shamba shape up” feature, helping bring research-based knowledge to farming communities across East Africa.

It takes more than good science to scale livestock innovations

Saleef Nyambok — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In Kenya, demand for improved indigenous chickens stands at approximately 120,000 day-old chicks per month. But supply can only meet about a fourth of that need, or around, 30,000 chicks a month.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has developed three popular improved breeds—KC1, KC2, and KC3—but getting enough chicks to farmers remains a challenge. KALRO has largely maintained a centralized production and distribution model, while an earlier attempt to involve other multipliers encountered quality-assurance problems.

The science produced a promising bird. The challenge was building a system capable of getting enough birds to farmers without compromising their quality.

For Ijudai Jasada, a scaling expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), this illustrates an important distinction.

“You can have a very good innovation, a very good breed, vaccine, feed, but as long as it fails to achieve impact, then you can’t say this is a successful innovation,” he said. “There’s a difference between invention and innovation.”

The question is not only whether livestock science can produce technologies that work, but what must happen next.

Moving from invention to impact

This concern ran through discussions at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026 in Kigali, where the Second ministerial deep dive on livestock brought together governments, researchers, regional institutions and private-sector actors.

Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair of Council at Zimbabwe’s National University of Science and Technology, Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria and Co-Chair of the Food Planet Prize, captured the shift: “Africa’s livestock priority is no longer recognition. It is delivery.”

But delivery requires more than technology. Innovations need financing, production, distribution and farmers willing to adopt them. Their quality must also be maintained as they reach more people.

Building a system around the chicken

When ILRI, KALRO and public- and private-sector partners examined the chicken supply problem in May 2026, their conclusion was not simply to produce more birds.

Scaling required a different division of labor. KALRO could safeguard genetic integrity and quality assurance while private hatcheries, multipliers and mother units expanded production. This would require commercially viable businesses, certification and traceability, supported by county governments, cooperatives, feed suppliers, financial institutions and extension services.

“It’s not just a single innovation,” Jasada explained. “There have to be bundles of packages that come to support innovations to scale, looking at the environment, looking at the partnerships, looking at the institutions.”

He described the approach as “controlled decentralization”: expanding delivery while protecting the genetic quality that makes the breeds valuable.

Thinking about the journey before the destination

The KC experience raises a fundamental question: when should scaling begin?

Traditionally, researchers develop and test an innovation before considering how to expand its use.

“We come up with the innovation before trying to see how this innovation fits within the whole ecosystem,” Jasada said.

He argues that researchers should consider delivery models, financing, production, distribution, quality assurance and infrastructure much earlier. Innovations requiring private-sector involvement must also offer businesses a viable commercial proposition.

“If some of those questions had been answered earlier on, we would have been able to think about deployment in a decentralized manner instead of a vertical business model,” he said of the KC breeds.

Researchers cannot anticipate every obstacle, but they can involve potential delivery partners earlier and design innovations with their eventual operating environment in mind.

Fluffy newborn chicks huddled together in a warm brooder. Photo credit: Сергей from Pixabay

Strengthening vaccination systems

Similar challenges arise in animal health.

At the AFSF Ministerial, Mucai Kunyiha, group chief executive of CKL Africa, a company manufacturing and distributing animal-health products across East Africa, including vaccines, observed: “Vaccination is a system, not an event.”

In a subsequent interview, Kunyiha explained that bringing an animal-health product to market requires regulatory approval, evidence of safety and efficacy, financing and distribution. Product development is risky, making commercial investment difficult.

Even an available vaccine must reach an animal.

Vaccination programs are sometimes funded through temporary campaigns, although controlling many livestock diseases requires sustained, coordinated efforts.

“Even if you get money for three seasons, you haven’t solved the farmer’s continuing problem,” Kunyiha said.

The challenge is financing systems that keep vaccines affordable while sustaining manufacturers, distributors and vaccinators.

Aligning new ideas with local contexts

In Kenya, devolved animal-health responsibilities can complicate coordination between counties.

“One county is vaccinating while the other one is not. That helps nobody because the disease doesn’t know the county boundaries,” Kunyiha explained.

Effective vaccination requires connecting suppliers, veterinarians, para-veterinarians and farmers. Kunyiha described arrangements where veterinary associations helped organize farmers while suppliers provided vaccines and animal-health professionals administered them.

“Private companies, for instance, can import a vaccine, but getting it into animals is another challenge,” he said.

Understanding farmer perceptions

Sometimes, the barrier is not financing or regulation, but how farmers interpret a product.

Kunyiha recalled an antibiotic formulated with an analgesic to reduce injection pain. Ordinarily, an animal might kick when injected. When some animals reacted less, livestock keepers interpreted the absence of kicking as evidence that the product was ineffective.

“They thought the product doesn’t work: because the cow is not kicking, it’s not reacting,” he recalled.

The example demonstrates why successful adoption requires understanding farmers’ experiences, expectations and perceptions.

Communication matters, but so does designing innovations around the communities expected to use them.

Designing research with the end in mind

ILRI’s 2024–2030 strategy emphasizes developing and deploying livestock solutions alongside the policies, partnerships and investments needed for impact.

The chicken and vaccination examples show why technical performance and delivery cannot be separated. Effective scaling depends on local markets, institutions, businesses and farmers. A model that works in one setting may not work in another.

Yet the underlying lesson is consistent.

A better chicken breed sitting at a research center does not increase a farmer’s income. A vaccine in a vial does not protect an animal.

The scientific breakthrough matters. So does the system that allows people to benefit from it. Building that system cannot wait until the research is finished.

When Science Meets Climate Resilience: Reimagining the Future of Livestock Farming

Paul Waweru Nyambura — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

As droughts get longer and temperatures rise, livestock keepers need animals that stay productive under stress and feed that holds up when the rains fail. At the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)'s Kapiti Research Station and Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, researchers are working on both.

ILRI's Livestock Genetics, Nutrition, and Feeds Resources team is developing hardier sheep and nutritious, climate-resilient forages such as alfalfa (lucerne) and sorghum. The goal is to increase productivity, keep animals healthy, and secure a reliable feed supply. At the same time, the work helps farming systems adapt to climate change and shrink their environmental footprint.

During a visit to Kapiti, Dr. Samuel Thevasagayam, Director of Livestock at the Gates Foundation, underscored the timeliness of these innovations. As weather becomes increasingly unpredictable, a resilient future for livestock production will depend on sustained investment in improved breeds, climate-resilient feed varieties, and practical solutions for farmers.

“Genetic work on small ruminants and feed is super exciting,” he said. "Combining genetics and animal nutrition together is optimizing return on investment.”

Testing feeds at scale

Kapiti’s forage demonstration plots let researchers work out what improved varieties need at scale: the agronomic and economic requirements and the machinery involved.

Collins Mutai, ILRI's research officer explains forage research at Kapiti. (Photo credit: ILRI/Paul Nyambura)

“Data from the demo plots helps to advice all those who adopt these varieties what works for their environments, and how to take care of the variety that a farmer, aggregator or cooperatives chooses to work with," said Collins Mutai, research officer at the International Livestock Research Institute.

Breeding a hardier sheep

Beyond improved feeds, another promising development at Kapiti is the effort to combine the best traits of two sheep breeds to strengthen livestock productivity and resilience. It is a cross breed between the Dorper and the Red Maasai.

The Dorper is a sheep was developed in Southern Africa in the 1940s by crossing the Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian breeds. Dorper sheep have a striking appearance, with black heads and white bodies. The breed features a thick, well-muscled carcass and a long period of fertility, which comes from its Dorset forebears.

The Red Maasai is native to East Africa. Red Maasai flocks are kept by both pastoralists and smallholder farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The breed is a fat-tailed hair sheep, which does not produce wool and is mostly raised for meat. Though less prolific than some other East African breeds, they are prized for their dry resilience and relative strength against internal parasites.

By combining the traits of these two breeds, the Dorper-Red Maasai achieves faster growth rate and weight gain. It produces more meat and has better carcass quality. It also enjoys a significantly improved resistance to internal parasites and diseases and has better adaptability to harsh and dry environments. Increased lamb survival rates, better feed utilization and hardiness as well as improved reproductive performance are other wins associated with the Dorper-Red Maasai.

Getting the breeding strategy right

According to Edwin Oyieng, an ILRI small ruminant expert, crossbreeding offers an opportunity to produce heavier sheep and increase meat production, but success depends on choosing breeds suited to local conditions.

"The challenge is to improve productivity without compromising the animals’ ability to survive and reproduce in harsh environments," he say. "This requires combining better breeding with good nutrition, animal health care, and management to deliver lasting benefits for farmers."

From research station to farm

As he concluded his tour at Kapiti, Dr. Thevasagayam raised the need to invest in both the science and distribution of this knowledge to everyone along the entire livestock value chain.

“Ultimately, the promise of climate-resilient livestock farming lies not only in developing better breeds and more nutritious feeds, but in ensuring that these innovations reach the farmers who need them most. By combining scientific evidence, sustained investment, and effective knowledge sharing, ILRI and its partners are working to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact."

For livestock keepers facing increasingly unpredictable weather, the goal is clear: healthier animals, more reliable feed supplies, improved productivity, and stronger livelihoods. Investing in livestock science today can help farming communities do more than survive climate pressures; it can help them thrive.

When camel cross borders, so can peace and prosperity

Daniel Hailemichael — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

New initiative to help transform the livestock sector in low- and middle-income countries launched at 2026 Borlaug Dialogue

Anne-Marie Sch… — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

A new flagship series will compile evidence and help coordinate efforts across the Global South to sustainably improve food and economic security through the livestock sector.

October 21, DES MOINES, IA – A new initiative to support low- and middle-income countries to leverage their livestock sectors for sustainable development was launched at the 2026 Borlaug Dialogue, organized by the World Food Prize Foundation.

Livestock Futures, a multi-year flagship series, was announced by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Des Moines, where world leaders in politics, business, academia and advocacy gathered for the three-day event on tackling hunger.

The livestock sector is already a primary economic driver in low- and middle-income countries, contributing around 40 per cent of agricultural GDP and supporting the livelihoods of 1.7 billion people worldwide.

However, healthy diets, which include animal-source foods, remain out of reach for almost 2.7 billion people, according to the latest UN data. Across Africa, where animal-source foods remain essential to nutrition and cognitive development, and where demand is forecast to double by 2050, they are the least affordable.

Livestock Futures will focus on one priority area a year between now and 2030, convening a coalition of experts to fill evidence gaps and outline potential solutions for different livestock production systems. It builds on previous work to develop and scale solutions like genetic improvements to increase productivity, livestock vaccines to reduce losses to disease and index-based livestock insurance.

The four priority areas – identified through a recent review – are livelihoods and food security; climate, natural resources and One Health; climate action and food security; and climate action and livelihoods.

The series aims to connect insights into the livestock sector with those from food systems, climate, health, development, investment and related fields to help guide all stakeholders to engage in a connected ecosystem delivering sustainable livestock systems transformation.

The initiative follows a review of evidence that found four critical gaps holding back the livestock sector from supporting sustainable development. The livestock sector is often missing from research into nutrition, livelihoods, One Health and the environment, while people-focused evidence is lacking. Climate dimensions are also largely absent and rarely linked to food security or livelihoods.

Evidence on livestock emissions and climate risks to livestock is also scarce and does not relate to the other development outcomes, and many reviews do not clearly distinguish between pastoral, smallholder, intensive, or other livestock systems.

“Livestock are much more than a source of commodities. They are a foundation for food and nutrition security, livelihoods, resilience and sustainable development for billions of people,” said Professor Appolinaire Djikeng, Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

“By launching Livestock Futures at the Borlaug Dialogue, we are placing the sector at the very heart of the global conversation around ending hunger. Livestock production systems have a critical role to play in sustainable food systems of the future, and it is vital that the sector develops in step with the broader development opportunities and priorities of the Global South.”

The new initiative was discussed as part of a “deep dive” on livestock during the Borlaug Dialogue, which showcased opportunities to transform the sector to reduce hunger within planetary boundaries and highlighted the need for new conversations that bring in a wide variety of sectors. The session, co-organized by ILRI, University of California, Davis, and Iowa State University, was the first time livestock has featured in the plenary of the Borlaug Dialogue.

Consultations on Livestock Futures are currently under way with the first flagship product expected in 2027.

Ends

For more information or to request an interview, contact

Anne-Marie Schryer-Roy

Team Leader, Strategic Communications and Outreach

When camel cross borders, so can peace and prosperity

Polycarp Onyango — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

For generations, communities living along the Kenya-Ethiopia border – including the Borana, Gabra, Gare, Burji, Sakuya and Somali have shared grazing lands, languages, cultures, trade, and a way of life built around livestock as their primary source of food and income. Yet the region has also lived with recurring conflict, competition over resources and the disruption that insecurity brings to families and communities. For three days in August 2026, representatives of these communities, from Kenya and Ethiopia, came together for the first-ever cross-border camel caravan in Moyale. Along with 12-kilometre journey, came cultural dances and songs, community dialogues, and unique cultural practices, while celebrating the role of camels in their communities.

The caravan revived a long forgotten cultural peace practice called Qumbi. Prior to the event, the Borana and Gabra communities conducted this intercommunal peace ceremony, which involves among others, exchange of customary incense, to bring peace and harmony to the region. The Qumbi ceremony was last held forty years ago.

Elders from the Borana and Gabra communities conducting Qumbi, an intercommunal peace ceremony. Photo credit: SND

The event was officially flagged off by Mr. Benedict Munywoki, Deputy County Commissioner, Moyale Sub-County, Kenya, and Mr. Galma Koropicha, Mayor of Moyale Town, Ethiopia. During the journey, they planted fruit trees in schools and hospitals.

“These fruit trees are permanent footprints and a reminder for the communities and institutions that hosted the caravan,” explains Bethlehem Abebe of IGAD CEWARN.

Through the caravan, communities shared traditions and heritage and rebuilt connections. For women, it was an opportunity to highlight the economic power of an animal they rely on every day. For young people, it offered a glimpse of new businesses that can grow from pastoralism.

More than just an animal

For pastoral families, camels have multiple uses. Asli Ali Dido, a camel owner from Butie, in Moyale Sub-County explains.

“Camels provide milk, even when other sources of food are scarce. It is sold in case of medical emergencies or to pay school fees. It is a means of transport for children, the sick and the elderly people and for carrying household belongings during migration in search of pasture and water.

Because camels have a long lactation period and can produce up to ten liters of milk per day, for women like Asli, this regular income provide a measure of security and independence.

“We get oil from the camel hump. A big camel can give us up to twenty liters of good natural oil that we use to cook and even sell the surplus,” says Hawo Kontoma, secretary of Bakalcha women group in Moyale.

She explains that camels also have deep cultural significance. The families store fermented camel milk for visitors and dry its meat and preserve it for months in a form called ‘nyirinyiri’ or ‘koche.’ Nyirinyiri is an important part of community traditions including marriage.

For these reasons, songs celebrating livestock and the people who care for them are part of the region’s cultural heritage.

Camels during the cross-border camel caravan in Moyale, Kenya. Photo Credit: ILRI/Polycarp Otieno Onyango

Modern camel by products

The caravan also looked towards the future of women and youth in the pastoral economy. The women and youth displayed products made from camel resources, including yoghurt, fermented milk, processed fresh milk, dried meat, and biscuits. One of the groups that displayed their products is Moyale Sessi Camel Milk Cooperative. Asha Diba Nura, one of its members, explains:

“Our cooperative processes camel dairy products. Young people on motorbikes collect milk from livestock keepers out in the rangelands and bring it to our processing facility where we test it, package and sell as fresh or fermented milk and yoghurt. People really love our yoghurts and milk.”

According to Tahira Mohamed, Regional Partnership and Engagement lead based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), these business opportunities are especially important for young people who might otherwise see few prospects in the pastoral economy.

“After the caravan, together with ICRISAT, we trained fifty-five young people from Kenya and Ethiopia in agribusiness opportunities along the camel value chain. The aim is to show them that pastoralism is not simply a way of life inherited from the past, but an economy that can create new opportunities when knowledge, innovation and markets come together,” Tahira added.

The camel caravan, and the image of people from different communities moving together, following an animal that has helped them survive some of the harshest conditions on earth, carried a message that peace and prosperity, like the 12-kilometre journey, are things communities must continue to travel together.

The caravan itself might have only lasted three days, but its significance will stretch much further. The caravan championed peace, camel value chain, environmental protection, and culture. The message was simple: When camel cross borders, perhaps peace and prosperity can too.

Acknowledgement

ILRI, with support from the CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Science Program, IGAD’s CEWARN program and local partners CIFA and SND organized the camel caravan. The caravan was part of the commemoration for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026.

From street corners to fine dining: Kenya’s love affair with the humble egg

Paul Waweru Nyambura — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000

From street corners to fine dining: Kenya’s love affair with the humble egg

It is just after dawn at a bus stage in Nairobi's central business district, and Duncan Muriithi has already sold 120 eggs. His cart holds a tray of hard-boiled eggs, a bowl of “kachumbari” (fresh tomato and onion salsa) and a knife. He peels an egg, slices it open, spoons in the salsa and hands it to a commuter for 30 Kenyan shillings (KES) (around USD 0.25).

On Kenya's streets, this is “nigongee” (literally, “break it for me”). Cheap, filling, and sold almost everywhere, it is a quick snack for many buyers, and for some, the only meal of the day.

The egg doesn't stop at the street corner. At dawn, it sizzles on a roadside pan and is rolled into a chapati (flat bread) for a commuter in a hurry. By evening, the same egg may be poached or baked in an upscale restaurant. Few foods cross Kenya's social and economic divides so easily. As Kenya's appetite for eggs grows, their importance extends far beyond convenience. The appeal lies in a combination of nutrition, affordability, and a production system that connects farmers, traders, vendors, and consumers.

Nutrition in a shell

One large egg carries about six grams of high-quality protein, including all nine essential amino acids. It also provides vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, iodine, and antioxidants that support eye health.

“Eggs combine quality protein with micronutrients, can be produced locally, and fit into many meals," says Christian Tiambo, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Eggs are also among the more affordable sources of animal protein. Research on food prices found that, on the basis of calories and unit cost, the energy cost of eggs is significantly lower than that of other animal-source foods such as meat, poultry, and fish.The yolk is rich in choline, an essential nutrient for brain development. Because the body only makes small amounts, most of the choline must come from food, and eggs are among the best sources. In a Cornell University study, children whose mothers took extra choline late in pregnancy showed better sustained attention at age seven.

That matters in Kenya, where 18% of children under five are stunted: too short for their age because of chronic undernutrition. Eggs alone won't fix that; children and pregnant women need diverse diets. But eggs help. Egg-a-day programs in Kenya and Ethiopia have increased children's dietary diversity by 20%.

In Ethiopia, an ILRI trial that added one boiled egg to the breakfast of schoolchildren aged 6–12improved cognitive performance, school outcomes, and iron status. Establishing poultry farms within schools allowed for sustainable egg production, directly linking poultry to school meals and demonstrating potential livelihood opportunities. The findings demonstrate how a simple, locally produced food can support both nutrition and learning.

From chicken coop to street corner

Behind every nigongee is a hen, and often a woman who keeps it. Across sub-Saharan Africa, 85% of rural households keep poultry, and women own about 70% of the hens. In Kenya ownership of rural poultry is shared among the family members but women (63%) are the primary owners, followed by children (18%).

Those flocks face hard odds, and disease is among the biggest. Newcastle disease can wipe out a village flock in days. When rural Kenyan households vaccinated their chickens against it, their children ate 24% more protein-rich food and grew better. A relatively inexpensive vaccine can protect a family's savings, income, and children's diets at the same time.

Preventing disease helps hens survive, but genetics help determine how many eggs they produce. Indigenous chickens are hardy but lay relatively few eggs. In Ethiopia, ILRI has supported breeding efforts involving the native Tilili chicken, resulting in a 111% increase in egg production within 24 weeks. At the same time, 16-week body weight increased by 68%, yielding more productive birds for smallholder farmers.

In Kenya, ILRI has collaborated with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and other local groups under the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity (SAPLING) to improve chicken production and smallholder farmer livelihoods. According to the initiative's outcome brief, 216 small-scale farming households in Bomet and Kakamega counties, 159 of whom are led by women, have embraced superior chicken breeds and methods, including KALRO, Kuroiler, and Sasso.

Farmers have received better training in chicken husbandry procedures such as housing, feeding, and vaccination, as well as 12,000 chicks for brooding. The project has also provided unique feeding methods, with the production of black soldier fly larvae for chicken feed beginning in Kakamega. Tiambo explains that “improved chickens can lay much more eggs while adjusting to smallholder settings, allowing farmers to boost productivity, improve household nutrition, and make more money from poultry”.

Then there is feed, the biggest cost in producing an egg. When feed prices rise, keeping a nigongee at KES 30 becomes increasingly difficult. ILRI investigated a diet combining flaxseed and plant polyphenol extracts to produce omega-3-rich eggs.

The study found that eating one omega-3-enriched egg three to four times per week could help vulnerable populations meet the recommended omega-3 consumption levels. The science is therefore not only about producing more eggs; it is also about improving their nutritional value.

Making informal markets safer

What makes nigongee great also makes it risky: it is sold everywhere. Eggs can carry Salmonella, and an egg sliced on a street cart and topped with raw vegetables is only as safe as the vendor's hands, water, and knife. Worldwide, foodborne disease kills about 420,000 people a year and makes 600 million ill. That burden is comparable to malaria, HIV/AIDS, or tuberculosis.

Because nigongee is largely sold through informal markets, improving food safety means working with vendors rather than replacing them. Most of the meat, milk, and eggs eaten in Africa are sold in informal markets, and ILRI's research shows that banning or bypassing these markets doesn't make food safer. Working with them does.

There is a One Health angle too. Some farmers use antibiotics to keep their birds alive. Misuse can leave residues in eggs and drive antimicrobial resistance, which threatens people and animals alike. Vaccines, better housing, and good feed reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place. Some farmers use antibiotics to keep their birds alive. Misuse can leave residues in eggs and drive antimicrobial resistance, which threatens people and animals alike. Vaccines, better housing, and good feed reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place.

Keeping a staple on every plate

The egg's journey from backyard to bus stop is a food system in miniature. Demand for animal-source foods in sub-Saharan Africa could triple by 2050. Whether eggs stay within reach of the commuter, the schoolchild, and the pregnant mother depends on what happens long before the pan: healthy and productive hens, affordable feed, safe markets, and fair returns for the women and young people who raise and sell them.

That is where ILRI's work begins. As the world marks World Egg Day on October 6, the humble egg reminds us that ordinary foods can generate some of the biggest returns: for nutrition, for livelihoods, and for the people who bring them to market.

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When camel cross borders, so can peace and prosperity

New initiative to help transform the livestock sector in low- and middle-income countries launched at 2026 Borlaug Dialogue

For more information or to request an interview, contact

Anne-Marie Schryer-Roy

When camel cross borders, so can peace and prosperity

From street corners to fine dining: Kenya’s love affair with the humble egg

From street corners to fine dining: Kenya’s love affair with the humble egg