ILRI-led food safety project holds forum to synthesize research findings

Pork and beef sellers in Xipamanine Market, Maputo, Mozambique. The ILRI-led Safe Food, Fair Food project is adapting risk-based approaches to improve the safety of informally sold livestock products in sub-Saharan Africa. (Photo: ILRI/Mann).

The Safe Food, Fair Food project begins its final synthesis meeting today 13 September 2011 at the Addis Ababa campus of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), bringing together 25 MSc and PhD students from 11 different countries to present their research findings and draft/completed theses.

The BMZ-funded project is working to improve the management of food safety in general and the safety of livestock products in particular by adapting risk-based approaches to informal markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

The three-year project, which is scheduled to end in December 2011, is being implemented in eight countries (Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, the Republic of South Africa and Tanzania) in collaboration with universities and national research institutes.

During the two-day meeting, country coordinators will share information on feedback to communities and synthesize the results of the national impact assessment studies. In addition, a writeshop will be held to collaboratively develop a project synthesis book to facilitate dissemination of the research findings to wider audiences. Plans for individual publications and future research activities will also be discussed.

The meeting’s activities will be facilitated by graduate fellow Kristina Roesel and veterinary epidemiologist Kohei Makita, both of whom are working with ILRI's Market Opportunities theme.

For more information, please visit the project website.

Impact case study on Smallholder Dairy Project features on DFID R4D portal

The Research4Development (R4D) portal of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) features an impact case study on the Kenya Smallholder Dairy Project, a research and development project collaboratively undertaken by the Ministry of Livestock Development, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) from 1997 to 2005.

R4D is the portal to DFID centrally funded research. It provides up-to-date information on DFID's current research portfolio as well as information about the research activities prior to 2008 in Rural Livelihoods, Health, Social Sciences, Education, and Infrastructure and Urban Development.

Below is the summary of the case study report, Policy change: Milking the benefits for small-scale vendors.

"Evidence-based research by the DFID-funded Smallholder Dairy Project (SDP) revealed the economic and nutritional significance of the informal milk sector and the potential for improved handling and hygiene practices, which would ensure quality and safety of milk from farm to cup. The second phase of the project (2002-2005) involved more active engagement with policymakers to raise awareness of its research findings on the informal milk market, its importance for livelihoods, and to allay public health concerns while simultaneously working with milk vendors to pilot training and certification approaches that effectively improve quality. Updated dairy industry regulations, designed to streamline licence application processes for smallscale milk vendors, were issued by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development (MoLFD) in September 2004.

"Total economy-wide gross benefits accruing to the sector from the policy change are estimated at US$33 million per annum, as a result of reduced transaction costs and less milk spoilage due to improved practices by newly-trained vendors. More than half of the benefits accrue to producers (increased incomes) and consumers (lower milk prices). Licensing of smallscale milk traders by the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) has also led to formation of groups under the umbrella of the Kenya Smallscale Milk Traders Association. A further legacy of the project is the establishment of self-employed business development service providers, who are paid by dairy companies and traders to provide training on milk handling and business development. The lessons learnt from the SDP are being applied across East Africa, particularly Tanzania and Uganda, and also in India."

Download the full version of the case study (PDF)

Study identifies key elements for successful adoption of rational drug use principles by livestock farmers in West Africa

Selling livestock at Niamana Market in Bamako, Mali. Adoption of rational drug use principles is a sustainable strategy in the fight against trypanosomosis in West Africa. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

Creation of ‘knowledge champions’ through training of farmers, working with the mass media to create awareness and using participatory methods are among key factors necessary for successful uptake of rational drug use principles by livestock keepers in West Africa, according to a study  published in the February 2011 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability.

African animal trypanosomosis is one of the most severe cattle diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in losses valued at an estimated USD 4.5 billion annually.

While the disease may be tackled by keeping of trypanotolerant cattle breeds and controlling the tsetse fly vectors by insecticides, control of the disease-causing trypanosomes by treatment with drugs has been identified as the most important strategy. However, widespread use of trypanocide drugs often results in drug resistance and, consequently, treatment failure.

The adoption of the principles of rational drug use developed by the World Health Organization has been identified as one of several strategies that can help to sustainably combat African animal trypanosomosis in the cotton zone of West Africa where the disease is endemic and trypanocide drug resistance is high.

The principles call for the use of preventive mechanisms to decrease the need for drugs; reduce the use of drugs by substitutes; and ensure that drugs are used only if there is a clinical need for them and at a dose that is adequate.

The study evaluated the impact of training of smallholder farmers on rational drug use with respect to increased farmers’ knowledge and farm productivity.

Results of the impact assessment found that trained farmers were better able to identify signs of the disease, bought trypanocides from safe sources, and administered the medicines better than non-trained farmers, leading to a reduction in treatment failures which could be due to resistance.

In addition, using the appropriate amount of the drug enhanced productivity by way of reduced spending on trypanocides as compared to other vital farm inputs such as animal feeds.

In order to enhance the adoption of rational drug use principles by farmers, however, the study calls for the use of participatory methods that involve the existing village network structures in order to create awareness and transmit knowledge.

Dr Hippolyte Affognon, formerly a postdoctoral scientist with ILRI’s Market Opportunities theme, is a co-author.

Read the abstract and full-text paper here.

Citation

Liebenehm S, Affognon H and Waibel H. 2011. Collective livestock research for sustainable disease management in Mali and Burkina Faso. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 9(1): 212-221.

Find out more about the project on Preventing and containing trypanocide resistance in the cotton zone of West Africa.

Also see these related blog posts:

New journal article: Testing of trypanosomosis control strategies in West Africa's cotton zone (April 2010)

ILRI research report: influence of policy in control of trypanosomosis in West Africa (August 2009)

Study characterizes West African farmers' knowledge of cattle trypanosomosis (August 2009) 

New journal article - Research evidence accelerates process of Kenya dairy policy reform

The collaborative Smallholder Dairy Project which was implemented from 1997 to 2005 played a pivotal role in bringing about dairy policy change in Kenya, speeding up a process and outcome that, without the project, may have come many years later.

This is one of the key findings of a recently published (July 2010, online) ex post assessment of the impact of the revised Kenya dairy policy, carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners.

Titled Kenyan dairy policy change: Influence pathways and economic impacts, the paper is published in the journal World Development.

Funded largely by the UK Department for International Development, the Smallholder Dairy Project was a collaborative research and development project involving the Kenya Ministry of Livestock Development, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and ILRI.

The impact assessment found that behavioural changes in dairy sector participants arising from the policy and regulatory reforms led to an average 9% reduction in milk-marketing margins, and a significant increase in the number of licensed small-scale milk vendors.

The policy change also brought about significant economic benefits to producers, consumers and small-scale milk vendors.

"Small-scale dairy operators have profited from quick, relatively high volume turnovers, and as a result, welfare benefits accruing to small-scale milk vendors increased," the paper reports.

"A large proportion of the small-scale milk vendors are also producers who have substantially benefited from the policy change... some of these benefits were also captured by consumers," the study concludes.

Read the abstract here.

Citation
Kaitibie S, Omore A, Rich K and Kristjanson P. 2010. Kenyan dairy policy change: Influence pathways and economic impacts. World Development 38(10): 1494-1505.

ILRI research report: Influence pathways and economic impacts of policy change in the Kenyan dairy sector

This ILRI research report presents the results of an ex post assessment of the impact of the revised Kenya dairy policy. It outlines the policy change process, investigates induced behavioural changes at the levels of field regulators and small-scale milk vendors, and estimates economic impacts on producers, small-scale milk vendors and consumers.

It also provides a strategic assessment of the research and coordinating roles played by ILRI, recognizing that ILRI was only one partner in a complex project with many people and organizations involved, and estimates how much of the overall gains can be attributed to this research/coordination component.

Citation
Kaitibie S, Omore A, Rich K, Salasya B, Hooton N, Mwero D and Kristjanson P. 2009. Influence pathways and economic impacts of policy change in the Kenyan dairy sector. Research Report 15. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 58 pp.

Access the report