New research project aims to improve smallholder livestock production and marketing in Botswana

Goats awaiting sale at a market in Botswana. A new collaborative research project aims to improve smallholder livestock production and marketing in Botswana (photo credit: ILRI).

The smallholder sector produces most of Botswana’s meat and over 70% of the country’s agricultural gross domestic product.

Although past policy and research have focused on the beef export sector, rather little information has been generated on the circumstances and potential of the 80,000 smallholders who own most of the country’s cattle, and the 100,000 households that earn livelihoods from sheep and goats.

This leaves strategies and investments for rural development and livelihood generation without a basis in data and analysis.

For both cattle and small ruminants, more competitive smallholder systems can improve livelihoods.

Several factors constrain the production and marketing of surpluses by smallholders: poor animal health is one example, that is often made worse by the complexities of communal grazing, and by limited access to services.

A new 3-year research project, Competitive smallholder livestock in Botswana, asks the following questions, and engages partners in research industry and government to help answer them:

• What are the characteristics of smallholder livestock producers in Botswana and what factors constrain their livelihoods?
• How can livestock-related marketing systems in Botswana be improved for the benefit of smallholders and the rural population?

The project has three objectives:

• To better define smallholder livestock production systems and to identify the factors affecting the productivity of smallholder livestock producers and assess their competitiveness 
• To understand and improve conditions for market participation and value addition in markets for livestock, livestock products and inputs
• To strengthen the capacity of agricultural education and extension

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is collaborating in this project with the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis and the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture.

The outcomes from the study will be improved and more sustainable livelihoods among smallholder livestock keepers, and increased uptake and use of scientific and economic knowledge by those providing services to smallholders.

The project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and runs from 1 September 2012 to 31 August 2015.

For more information, please contact Sirak Bahta (s.bahta @ cgiar.org)

Tool improves understanding of dynamics of regional trade in agricultural inputs

Mozambican women threshing sorghum. A new tool for tracking trade in agricultural inputs in eastern and southern Africa will lead to better understanding of trade dynamics in the region (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

Agricultural policymakers and other practitioners in eastern and southern Africa will be able to better understand the dynamics of intra-regional trade in seeds, pesticides and herbicides through a new tool that has been developed to track the volume and value of trade in agricultural inputs in the region.

The tool was developed by the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) for Eastern and Central Africa – which is hosted by the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and several national and regional partners. It was presented at a workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya on 16 November 2011.

"There is optimism that continued interaction with the parties involved will help us to further understand the elements of trade and agricultural inputs in the region to continue to improve agricultural productivity and production, and sustainable food security," the workshop organizers said.

Read more on the ReSAKSS blog.

Goat value chain actors in India and Mozambique hold innovation platform meetings

Small-scale goat production and marketing are important sources of livelihood for poor livestock keepers in the arid and semi-arid regions of India and Mozambique.

The Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is leading a project in collaboration with BAIF Development Research Foundation in India and CARE International, Mozambique towards increasing incomes and food security in a sustainable manner by enhancing pro-poor small ruminant value chains in India and Mozambique.

The project Small ruminant value chains as platforms for reducing poverty and increasing food security in India and Mozambique (imGoats in short), which is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), got underway in February 2011.

It uses an innovation systems approach aimed at transforming informal subsistence-level goat production to a viable, profitable model while preserving community and national resource systems. In addition to goat keepers, project beneficiaries include small-scale traders and providers of inputs and animal health services.

Project partners in India and Mozambique recently facilitated inaugural innovation platform meetings in Inhassoro, Mozambique (May 2011) and Jhadol, Udaipur, India (July 2011). Innovation platforms offer an opportunity for the different actors in the goat value chain to gather and exchange knowledge and share experiences towards improving goat production and marketing processes for the benefit of all.

During the innovation platform meetings, participants shared the challenges and constraints they face during goat production/marketing and discussed possible solutions and priority areas for action towards addressing the constraints.

For more details about the imGoats project and to read the meeting reports, please visit http://imgoats.org or contact Dr Ranjitha Puskur of ILRI (r.puskur @ cgiar.org).

Persistence of high food prices in Eastern Africa: What role for policy?

High food prices in Eastern Africa and the role of policy: Dr Joseph Karugia presents at an Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology lunch seminar

The coordinator of the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System for Eastern and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA), Dr Joseph Karugia, today afternoon (30 June 2011) gave a presentation titled “Persistence of high food prices in Eastern Africa: What role for policy?” at a lunch seminar at the Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi. The seminar was organized by the Kenya Chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB).

Dr Karugia presented some regional perspectives to the food price situation in Eastern and Southern Africa and put forward some policy options that would best enable governments and other stakeholders to respond in a timely manner, based on evidence from research data.

Sharing research with the general public: Dr Joseph Karugia does a piece-to-camera  for the Kenya News Agency (KNA) after his OFAB seminar on high food prices in Eastern Africa and the role of policy

Earlier this week, Dr Karugia was also interviewed on the same subject on two live television shows -- The Breakfast Show by NTV and The Platform by Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

Curbing rising food prices: Screen grab of Dr Joseph Karugia (right) in a live Kenya Broadcasting Corporation television interview on 28 June 2011 by journalist Kasujaa Onyonyi (left)

 
ReSAKSS-ECA is based at the Nairobi headquarters of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi under the Market Opportunities research theme.

ReSAKSS is an Africa-wide network established to provide readily available analysis, data, and tools of the highest quality to promote evidence-based decision-making on policy issues on Agriculture in Africa.

To find out more about ReSAKSS, please visit http://www.resakss.org

Persistence of high food prices in Eastern Africa: What role for policy?

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New project to study goat value chains as platform for boosting food security in India and Mozambique

A woman herds her goats in Rajasthan, India. New project targets goat value chains as pathways out of poverty for small-scale goat keepers in India and Mozambique. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

Following a planning workshop in February 2011, a new project on goat value chains is now underway in India and Mozambique to investigate how best these value chains can be used to increase food security and reduce poverty among smallholders.


The main target groups are poor goat keepers, especially women, and other marginalized groups like scheduled castes and tribes in India; households living with HIV/AIDS and female-headed households in Mozambique. These include small-scale agropastoralists who cultivate small plots of land, as well as the landless.


The project, Small ruminant value chains as platforms for reducing poverty and increasing food security in India and Mozambique (imGoats), is led by researchers from the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the BAIF Development Research Foundation in India and CARE International, Mozambique. It is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Download the project brochure in English (Small ruminant value chains to reduce poverty and increase food security in India and Mozambique)

Download the project brochure in Portuguese (Cadeias de valor de caprinos como plataformas para reduzira pobreza e aumentar a segurança alimentar em zonas semi-áridas da Índia e Moçambique)

For more information, please email Dr Ranjitha Puskur at r.puskur @ cgiar.org

Regional experts develop strategies towards better data on formal trade in staple foods in Africa

 "Counting the beans": Regional experts agree on the need for more reliable data on the volume and value of formal trade in food commodities in eastern and southern Africa. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

Regional and international experts in commodity trade met on Tuesday 1 February 2011 at the Nairobi-based headquarters of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) for an intensive day-long workshop to map out pragmatic approaches towards improving the quality of data on formal trade in eastern and southern Africa.

The workshop was organized by the Regional Strategic Analysis Knowledge Support System – East and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA). ACTESA is a specialized agency of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) which seeks to integrate small farmers into national, regional and international markets.

Some 35 participants attended from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia representing national statistics offices, national revenue authorities, research organizations, and ministries of agriculture. Regional economic communities were represented by senior officials from the secretariats of COMESA and the East African Community.

The workshop brought together key stakeholders to identify the factors contributing to the poor quality of reported data on formal trade in eastern and southern Africa with a view to developing appropriate strategies to remedy the situation.

Presentations were made on the inconsistencies in the value and volume of formal trade data on staple foods in eastern and southern Africa, and lessons learned from trade data reconciliation efforts in the COMESA region and Uganda.

During a plenary session, pragmatic action points were discussed at length and specific institutional roles and responsibilities towards improving the quality and consistency of formal trade data agreed upon.

Improving accuracy during data capture and harmonization of data editing procedures were among several key interventions that were agreed upon. The participants also noted that existing gaps in capturing data on informal cross-border commodity trade need to be filled.

For detailed information on the outputs of this workshop, please contact the ReSAKSS-ECA Coordinator, Dr Joseph Karugia (j.karugia [at] cgiar.org).

For more information, visit the ReSAKSS website.

Featured video: The potential of livestock markets in Mozambique

What holds back Mozambican livestock keepers from making a better living from their farm animals are the country’s underdeveloped and unconnected livestock markets.

Find out more in this 6-minute film by ILRI, titled The potential of livestock markets in Mozambique.

Innovation platforms boost livestock value chains in Mozambique

A novel approach to enhancing livestock commercialization is helping to improve market participation by smallholder livestock keepers in semi-arid Mozambique.

The Innovation Platform (IP) approach uses value chain analysis to identify challenges and constraints to livestock production and marketing. Based on these, opportunities to overcome the bottlenecks are then sought.

By collectively engaging all value chain actors, the IP approach strengthens linkages among sector stakeholders thus helping to enhance efficiency through better alignment of livestock production and market requirements. In addition, improved flow of market information results in reduced transaction costs and greater market efficiency.

The Livestock and Livelihoods (LILI) project (Livestock and Livelihoods: Improving market participation of small-scale livestock producers), implemented from 2007, used the IP approach to contribute towards achieving the project's objectives.

These objectives were to: (1) improve market participation of small-scale goat and cattle keepers in semi-arid regions of Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe; (2) evaluate constraints to and opportunities for commercialization of smallholder production of goats and cattle; (3) test and evaluate alternative livestock marketing and input delivery systems; (4) assess the impact of market-led technology change on household incomes; and (5) establish an effective communication strategy to facilitate networking and exchange of information among sector stakeholders.

The LILI project was collaboratively undertaken by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the National Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique (IIAM), the Matopos Research Station of Zimbabwe and the Namibian National Farmers' Union (NNFU). 

Some of the experiences of implementing the IP approach in the LILI project are documented in an April 2010 report, The innovation platform in Mozambique: Evidence from Chicualacuala and Changara, by Dr Manuel Filipe, a scientist formerly with ILRI's Market Opportunities research theme.

"The Innovation Platform can be a platform for constructive debate and problem solving," Dr Filipe notes in his report. "The market actors as well as the local authorities have embraced it and it is being used as an entry point for other initiatives such as training and planning, among others," he adds.

The LILI project was funded by the European Union and supported by the Southern African Development Community.

Download the report

Citation
Filipe M. 2010. The innovation platform in Mozambique: Evidence from Chicualacuala and Changara. Project report. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi. 18pp.