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Contents Issue #12, September 2020
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Special Announcement
The University of Florida is pleased to announce that a renewal grant has been awarded from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to continue our work. This $19 million grant allows us, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, to build on the past five years of research with a second phase of five years that starts on October 1, 2020.
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Successful livestock research recognized with USAID renewal award
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Our research will continue in places such as Burkina Faso, where raising goats is challenging.
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“This award recognizes the great collaborative efforts of our team and those of our U.S. and foreign partners. It gives us a great opportunity to build on and expand our focus on using animal-source food production to sustainably improve the nutrition, health and livelihoods of the vulnerable,” said our director, Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, about the USAID award renewal. “Our research has already improved livestock productivity, reduced disease prevalence, empowered women, improved food safety, increased incomes, and improved the nutrition of mothers and infants in our focal countries.” The eight focal countries in phase one were Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, Cambodia and Nepal.
The Innovation Lab Approach
USAID’s 21 Feed the Future Innovation Labs, led by U.S. universities, work with partner country researchers and institutions on food security and nutrition challenges and continue to redefine what’s possible in the effort to end hunger and poverty. Our Innovation Lab functions as a partnership of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). In the first phase from 2015 to 2020, we supported researchers at 63 U.S. and foreign universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. These researchers developed 37 innovative technologies, trained 6,131 people, supported 122 degree-seeking students, and published over 200 communication products.
The vision of our Innovation Lab will continue in Phase II with research on solutions to problems identified in Phase I: animal-source food production practices, animal-source food safety and markets, and barriers to animal-source food consumption. In addition, a new and important area of research will be strengthening the resilience of livestock owners and systems.
A Growing Investment
The initial investment from USAID for establishing our Innovation Lab has grown substantially. In February 2017, USAID approved work in Uganda and Kenya on innovative approaches to the livestock disease of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR). In November 2017, $8.7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was awarded to develop strategies to improve the supply of quality livestock feeds and to understand and prevent environmental enteric dysfunction in infants. In addition, our Innovation Lab has indirectly attracted over $10 million for various projects through the work of affiliated UF faculty.
Read the press release from the University of Florida at http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2020/09/21/usaid-renews-support-of-uf-livestock-research-to-improve-nutrition-and-livelihoods-in-africa-asia/.
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Join keynote address to celebrate past and future
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Dr. Adegbola Adesogan will reflect on five years past and five years forthcoming for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems.
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On September 30, you are invited to attend an inspirational keynote talk by the director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, Dr. Adegbola Adesogan. This day marks exactly five years since the establishment of this Innovation Lab, and the following day will mark the beginning of the next five years, based on a renewal award from USAID. “Gbola” as he is widely known, will reflect on the past five years of challenges and achievements, and he will renew the vision of this Innovation Lab as it steps into its next phase.
Registration is not required. Use this Zoom link to join the meeting on Wednesday, September 30 at 9:30 a.m. EST: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/96849953282?pwd=M01Ta3BMZUVTLzZBTFRGdGFiRzV6QT09.
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Interactive workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance Oct. 7
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An interactive online workshop will engage participants in brainstorming about how foresight and futures planning methods can be used to strengthen Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) policy and practice in the livestock sector in low- and middle-income countries. As part of the experience, participants will work in four groups on a prototyping exercise.
Join this event featuring nine experts and international brainstorming:
The workshop's goal is to prototype the use of a modified approach to scenario planning, where participants “think backwards” from possible futures to current policy, knowledge gaps, systems, and practices. This promotes a creative group process that explores the different possibilities for strengthening resilience and the barriers and facilitators to change.
First, short “bullet” presentations will provide an overview of five critical AMR uncertainties in the livestock sector and possible changes over the next five years, especially considering COVID-19. Second, a brief overview of foresight methods will be shared by Dr. Kevin Bardosh from the University of Washington. Participants will then be divided into four groups where they will be given a prototyping exercise. The workshop will end with feedback from the groups and details about a forthcoming manual on the use of foresight and futures planning.
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Two videos from West Africa on livestock feed and value chains
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This video shows impacts from a project in Burkina Faso and Niger on crop-livestock systems.
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This video on YouTube, Impacts of the project: Enabling value chains to create sustainable income, was created by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). It shows how the project, launched in 2018, is progressing on its research of crop-livestock systems in Niger and Burkina Faso. For example, the project simultaneously provided much needed feed for livestock keepers and marketing opportunities for feed traders who were 900 km apart. The project’s principal investigator, Dr. Vincent Bado, speaks about livestock feed issues and other objectives. The video is also available on the project’s webpage.
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This video, in French with English subtitles, presents stakeholder testimonials about lessons learned from the ENHANCE project in Burkina Faso and Niger.
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Take a virtual visit to a West African project with this YouTube video, The ENHANCE program in Burkina Faso and Niger, which was created with support from Mercy Corps. This project has worked with local farmers to create livestock feed that would improve animal weight, health and production. It discusses an experiment with livestock feed using sorghum and cowpea.
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Take a look at the expanding list of journal articles based on our research, and you will see that it has grown beyond 30 articles within the past year alone. Here are highlights of articles published within the past few months.
Special Issue of Global Food Security
Dozens of livestock systems’ researchers are collaborating on a special issue of the journal Global Food Security. Five manuscripts have been published or accepted for publication including the following:
- Serra, R., Kiker, G.A., Minten, B. Valerio, V.C., Varijakshapanicker, P. A and Wane, A. 2020. Filling knowledge gaps to strengthen livestock policies in low-income countries. Global Food Security, Volume 26, 100428, ISSN 2211-9124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100428
- Vipham, J.L., Amenu, K., Alonso, S., Ndahetuye, J.B., Zereyesus, Y., Nishimwe, K., Bowers, E., Maier, D., Sah, K., Havelaar, A. and Grace, D. September 2020. No food security without food safety: Lessons from livestock related research. Global Food Security, Volume 26, 100382, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100382
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“Improved Pig Health and Nutrition” Project
- Chea, B., Kang, K., Vipham, J., Tokach, L. and Tokach, M. 2020. Assessment of Pig Disease Prevention of Smallholder Farmers and Village Animal Health Workers in Rural and Peri-Urban Cambodia. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 10, 572-591. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojas.2020.103037
- Sreng, S. et al. 2020. Effect of Dietary Supplement, Base Mix, and/or Soybean Meal on Growing Pig Performance. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 10, 535-544. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojas.2020.103034
- Sreng, S. et al. July 2020. Nutrient analysis of common local feed ingredients used by swine farmers in Cambodia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, Volume 32(7), Article #103. http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd32/7/mtoka32103.html
- Sreng, S., Keo, S., DeRouchey, J.M., Tokach, M.D., Hok, L. and Vipham, J.L. 2020. Effect of Complete Feed Feeding Level and Morning Glory on Growing Pig Performance. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 10, 493-501. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojas.2020.103030
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The “One Egg” Project
- Stark, H., Omer, A., Wereme N'Diaye, A., Sapp, A.C., Moore, E.V., McKune, S.L. 2020. The Un Oeuf study: Design, methods and baseline data from a cluster randomised controlled trial to increase child egg consumption in Burkina Faso. ition, e13069. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13069
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The Project "Improving the Evidence and Policies for Better Performing Livestock Systems in Ethiopia"
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