Important research issues in West Africa are consistent with ILRI’s global livestock development challenges especially the overarching issues of sustainable intensification of crop livestock systems and sustainability/vulnerability in pastoral areas, with other challenges – market opportunities, use and conservation of animal genetic resources, (re-)emerging diseases and animal health related to these. Local as well as regional policy dimensions impact on a number of these aspects, targeting and innovation approaches play a critical supporting role in the region. Climate change – both targeting (identifying hotspots) and adaptation – will be important in West Africa especially in arid areas. Major outcomes to be addressed in West Africa are summarized here:
The major significance of mixed crop livestock systems in the region, in terms of numbers of people (an estimated 454 million by 2050!) and animals means that issues of sustainable intensification are critical here. For sustainable intensification of mixed crop-livestock systems research will focus on:
- (1) feed (especially interface with crop production) and natural resource management and
- 2) market opportunities – addressing specific value chains and covering institutional and food safety dimensions
(1) addressing institutional, feed and environmental management dimensions of new market opportunities;
(2) institutional, measurement and incentive issues related to new opportunities for ecosystem stewardship
The market dimensions of intensifying crop livestock systems are significant and there is a lot of scope for research on market chains, potentially linked to specialized production aspects in different ecological zones, in feed systems and crop-livestock intensification and in institutional arrangements. There is a lot of regional interest in markets, including issues such as harmonizing policies and regulations. As markets develop, issues of SPS and risk assessment become important.
Animal health is a priority, both for mixed and agropastoral systems. Recent work on emerging diseases includes USAID and World Bank engagement with ILRI in implementing artificial insemination (AI) surveillance and response studies in Nigeria and Ghana. There is currently no research on vaccines in West Africa but we recognize that this is an area in which West African priorities and institutions could be engaged, taking advantage of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub platform. In that regard, the work being done ILRI Biotechnology Theme on the development of CBPP and PPR could of interest to partners such as African Agricultural Technology Foundation (CORAF) and Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
Assessments that provide information on land and water requirements in relation to feed needs are also beginning as is work on trade offs in biomass use.
A cornerstone of ILRI research efforts in West Africa over the next several years will be a broad-based program on endemic livestock funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and linked to a livestock development program funded by the African Development Bank, regional project on sustainable management of endemic ruminant livestock (PROGEBE). The project addresses simultaneously genetics and breeding, market development, natural resource management and policy and knowledge management. With the advent of the Global Environment Facility project, present research in West Africa focuses around two “hubs” one in Nigeria and one in Mali. As a result, ILRI is now well positioned to systematically develop its priorities, partners and research funding needs in a coordinated way that allows the integration of different research components to deliver practical development solutions.
The two hubs in Nigeria and Mali are ideally suited to address the priority outcomes, with both in good proximity to crop-livestock and pastoral systems but presenting different institutional settings. Now is an opportune time to approach the region’s challenges in a systematic way and ILRI can contribute towards the current vacuum in the region with regard to agenda setting, particularly in the livestock sector in collaboration with key partners such as CORAF. In this respect, ILRI proposes to initiate a process along the lines of the “champions model” used in southern Africa that will enable consultations with national, regional and international partners to understand and respond to the priorities.