12/10/2017–NAIROBI – The Programme for Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) have commenced a research action intended to scale innovations in the livestock value chain.
The place of livestock as a rich source of protein is invaluable in the increasing need for sustainable food and nutritional security in Africa. The livestock industry constitutes a noticeable proportion of the agrarian livelihood and holds a vital place in the agricultural production system across Africa. While Africa needs to stem up the productivity of its livestock sector to meet its ever-growing food and nutritional demands; a social movement is emerging, pressing for a reduction in livestock production on the basis of its contribution to carbon footprint and climate change.
In the wake of the foregoing, PARI has set up a Livestock Research Cluster to carry out an intellectual inquiry that would generate information for policy and investment direction to ensure broad-based, sustainable innovation at scale. The research cluster is currently led by ZEF and co-led by FARA with lead agricultural research organizations in Benin (INRAB), Mali (IER), Kenya (KALRO) and Ethiopia (ILRI). The IFPRI AGRODEP group is also participating in the cluster to generate typology models for livestock in the countries.
The inception meeting of the Livestock Research Cluster was hosted by KALRO between 7-8 October 2019 at its headquarters in Nairobi. In an opening remark, Dr. Felister Makini, the Deputy Director General of KALRO emphasized the need to appropriately channel knowledge products to drive the livestock sector on the continent. Dr. Wole Fatunbi representing FARA reiterated the resolve of the continental research coordinating body to ensure that the livestock sector runs effectively on the continent with good science. Dr. Carlos Sere, the Livestock expert consulting for ZEF and former Director General of ILRI expressed optimism that the cluster will turn out its first outputs in the early part of 2020.
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