Since 1999, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has partnered with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) to provide capacity building on the sustainable use of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR). This report by Julie Ojango, Birgitta Malmfors, Okeyo Mwai, and Jan Philipsson on Training the trainers – An innovative and successful model for capacity building in animal … Continue reading
Category Archives: Capacity Strengthening
Increasing capacity for knowledge-based smallholder agriculture in Ethiopia
This working paper by Tesfaye Lemma Tefera, Azage Tegegne and Dirk Hoekstra of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), on Capacity for knowledge-based smallholder agriculture in Ethiopia: Linking graduate programs to market-oriented agricultural development: Challenges, opportunities and IPMS experience was released by ILRI in January 2012. Graduate programs in agriculture and allied disciplines in Ethiopia are expected … Continue reading
Strategic partnerships needed to build African scientific capacity for agriculture
A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies provides an overview of agricultural science cooperation within the African research system; the university system; and the role of partnerships with the private sector. The report identifies four key approaches: Focus on Problems. Achieving results will require serious focus. Focus on the most real and … Continue reading
Capacity building helps Ethiopia’s pastoral women transform their impoverished, drought-ravaged communities
Borana girl (photo on Flickr by Gustavo Jeronimo). Layne Coppock, of Utah State University, and Solomon Desta, Seyoum Tezera and Getachew Gebru, of Managing Risk for Improved Livelihoods, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, report in the journal Science this month on a project they conducted in southern pastoral Ethiopia that indicates that capacity building can, and should, ‘set … Continue reading
Livestock capacity development approaches: IPMS project experiences
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Dirk Hoekstra, Azage Tegegne and Berhanu Gebremedhin prepared an issue brief on capacity development approaches in the ‘Improving the Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian farmers’ (IPMS) project … ‘Capacity to innovate’ by value chain actors was identified as a key factor for a participatory smallholder … Continue reading
Investing in people = investing in long-term benefits
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Purvi Mehta, head of capacity strengthening, reflects on ILRI’s capacity development activities. ‘I joined ILRI in 2009. Before working at ILRI, I was director of a non-governmental organization in India that worked with the government and over 68,000 farmers in technology … Continue reading
Australia to set up Africa-focused International Centre for Food Security
Gabrielle Persely at a March 2011 farewell seminar she gave at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), titled ‘Africa, science and agriculture: A 25-year perspective’ (photo credit: ILRI/Mungai). Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced a new initiative to share Australia’s world leading expertise in food production with the people of Africa. The Government will set … Continue reading
Building capacities – building bridges
For the November 2011 ‘liveSTOCK Exchange’ event at ILRI, Purvi Mehta-Bhatt reflects on capacity strengthening at ILRI … ‘ILRI was the only place in Africa, where I could get the international level training in livestock research’; ‘I may now be an African policy maker, but one of the greatest contributing factors to my ability to … Continue reading
Canadian parliamentarians see how markets work for Ethiopian farmers
Members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association on their visit to Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Zerihun Sewunet). On 10–11 October 2011, six members of the Canada-Africa Parliament Association (4 parliamentarians and 2 senators) visited Ethiopia. At the request of the Canadian Embassy, the CIDA-funded IPMS project at ILRI organized a field visit to Ada’a District—one of the project’s … Continue reading
Strengthening laboratory capacity in response to emerging pandemic threats: FAO, OIE and WHO working together
Early detection of zoonotic pathogens emerging in wild and domestic animal populations before they become a threat to human health is a priority for the public health and animal health sectors. An effective and credible laboratory service is an essential component of such early detection systems. As part of the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) … Continue reading