ILRI and TechnoServe jointly convened a stakeholders’ workshop to deliberate on how best to achieve sustainable livestock services in extensive production systems in Africa. Continue reading
Category Archives: Participation
CGIAR integrated systems research for sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong—New book
The CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics) was an agricultural research for development program that aimed for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems to improve the livelihoods of farm households. The Central Mekong Action Area was primarily focused on the complex of rice and non-rice farming systems (plus areas with other land uses) in the non-flood-prone lowlands, uplands and highlands. The Action Area covered six countries (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Continue reading
On more rigorous informed consent in One Health cross-cultural livestock research
This paper outlines two studies on informed consent, for research identifying diseases of animal and human importance, within smallholder livestock value chains. Continue reading
The GCARD3 wake up call for R4D organizations: ‘Walk the talk’
ILRI researchers joined over 500 scientists, civil society, investment agencies, research institutions, policymakers, young agripreneurs, farmers and the media from all over the world gathered at the Global Conference for Agricultural Development (GCARD3) held in Johannesburg 5-8 April 2016 to discuss innovative systems for delivering development impacts. Continue reading
What is ‘complexity thinking’ and what does it have to do with development/aid?
book by Burns and Worsley (available in hardback, paperback and eBook formats) will be of interest to all those looking to make a greater difference in international development (that is, in development parlance, to take solutions to scale). ‘Navigating Complexity in International Development: Facilitating Sustainable Change at Scale’, published by Practical Action Publishing, Oct 2015, 198 pages. Continue reading
Scaling out livestock research: Struggles and successes are key says feed innovation project
Scaling out research results for wider application and use is a goal of every research for development project in today’s CGIAR. It is also one of the most difficult things to achieve. Scaling out was on the agenda of recent end-of-project workshops of the IFAD-financed MilkIT project. At a recent workshop team members and partners listed out some of the critical success factors such a project needs to be able to scale out its results. Continue reading
Driving livestock development through multidisciplinary systems research: An impact narrative
Scaling up transdisciplinary research so that a systems approach can be applied by more and more scientists could make a huge contribution to development in smallholder farming. Continue reading
Power, partnership and participation: Nile Basin Development Challenge in summary
The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) just published a summary of land and water research, lessons and outcomes generated by the Nile Basin Development Challenge in Ethiopia. Continue reading
How participatory agricultural research changes us – researchers share personal journeys
This post was drafted by Terry Clayton based on conversations and interactions with people participating in the Participatory Agricultural Research: Approaches, Design and Evaluation (PARADE) workshop held in Oxford from 9-13 December 2013. We tend to be so preoccupied with how our research does or doesn’t, should or shouldn’t, can or could influence other people, … Continue reading
Joining the PARADE: Lessons on participatory agricultural research by a livestock economist
I joined the PARADE workshop from 9 to 11 December 2013. PARADE stands for Participatory Agricultural Research: Approaches, Design and Evaluation. The PARADE event held this week was an expert meeting at Saint Anne’s College, Oxford, United Kingdom. It was sadly not a vibrant, colourful and noisy display of human diversity… Then again, perhaps it … Continue reading