This week, Livestock and Fish program director Tom Randolph was part of a panel at the ILRI@40
Tropentag 2014 session on ‘Livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security and healthy lives.’

Randolph highlighted the focus of ILRI’s – and ILCA and ILRAD before it – research to benefit poor livestock-keeping households for poverty reduction. He cited examples of achievements addressing each of the livestock-based pathways out of poverty: protecting the assets of the poor, increasing productivity, and improving access to markets.

He explained how the wider context has been changing with events like the food price crisis of 2007 and trends in demand for animal source foods that is expanding the focus from livestock production activities of the poor to also address ensuring adequate access of the poor to affordable animal source foods.

This increased emphasis on food security is leading ILRI to adopt a value chain perspective and consider how livestock agri-food systems can be designed to supply animal source foods to the poor – a challenge that implies the need for new research capacities and development partnerships.

A first expression of this shifting focus is the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish which seeks to concentrate ILRI’s research efforts for pro-poor transformation of selected value chains across the developing world.

See his presentation:

This week, ILRI staff are participating in the Tropentag 2014 International Conference in Prague (17-19 September 2014). There is also a dedicated ‘ILRI@40’ side event on ‘Livestock-based options for sustainable food and nutritional security and healthy lives.’  See all the posters and presentations.