About us

About ILRI

ILRI works with partners worldwide to support the role livestock play in pathways out of poverty. ILRI research products help people in developing countries enhance their livestock-dependent livelihoods, health and environments through better livestock systems, health, productivity and marketing. ILRI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium of 15 research centres working for a food-secure future. ILRI has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, a principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and other offices in southern and West Africa and South, Southeast and East Asia.

About this blog

This blog was originally set up as an online space to share project news and updates on research by ILRI's Market Opportunities Theme (later renamed Markets, Gender and Livelihoods Theme).

Beginning 2011, CGIAR went through a restructuring process that saw the organization of CGIAR research into new CGIAR Research Programs. At the same time, ILRI was developing a second 10-year strategy for 2013-2022.

Consequently, ILRI's research structure was reorganized to better align it to achieve the planned outcomes of the CGIAR Research Programs and to facilitate the implementation of the new strategy.

Thus, from March 2013, ILRI's three research themes (Biotechnology; Markets, Gender and Livelihoods; and People, Livestock and the Environment) ceased to exist and their respective project teams were reorganized into programs under either Integrated Sciences or Biosciences.

Thus, the research teams that were part of the Markets, Gender and Livelihoods Theme have evolved as follows:

The following teams are now part of the new Livelihoods, Gender, Impact and Innovation Program:

• Innovations in livestock systems
• Smallholder competitiveness in changing markets

The Changing Demand and Market Institutions team is renamed the Policy, Trade and Value Chains Program and, in addition to its former projects, now includes the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System - East and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA).

The Animal Health, Food Safety and Zoonoses team is now the Food Safety and Zoonoses Program and retains its former projects.

All these programs fall under the Integrated Sciences group.

As a result of these changes, from March 2013, the focus of this blog will shift towards ILRI's research on livestock value chains. However, you can keep up to date with the other research programs by visiting the following blogs:

• AgriGender blog (for news about the Livelihoods, Gender, Impact and Innovation Program)
• AgHealth blog (for news about the Food Safety & Zoonoses program and ILRI's research on agriculture for nutrition and health)
• ReSAKSS website (for news about ReSAKSS-ECA)

Happy reading!