Presentation from the Livestock Inter-Agency Donor Group (IADG) Meeting 2010. 4-5 May 2010 Italy, Rome IFAD Headquarters. The event involved approximately 45 representatives from the international partner agencies to discuss critical needs for livestock development and research issues for the coming decade. [ Originally posted on http://www.cop-ppld.net/cop_knowledge_base ]

1. Global Hunger - Food Security Initiative
(Feed the Future)
Research Priorities by USAID & USDA
Whole of Government Approach to Initiative

2. OVERALL OBJECTIVE of GHFSI
Identify opportunities to impact agricultural
production to:
• Increase incomes
• Reduce poverty
• Decrease under-nutrition (children
<5yrs)

3. OVERALL OBJECTIVE of GHFSI
• Without increasing climate change
• With minimal environmental damage
• With involvement of women
(‘cross-cutting themes’)

4. RESEARCH MANDATE
Define problem-focused agricultural research
that:
•Has a global impact (>individual countries)
•But can be complemented by national &
regional investments in the target countries

6. Prevalence
Sub-national poverty ca.
2005 ($1.25/day)
Number
Source: Stan Wood et al. (IFPRI) 2009.

7. Sectors relevant to food security

8. Which domains to include?
Biological -- Need to be able to produce enough food to feed
9 billion
BUT
Social -- Will children <5yrs have access to the most
nutritious food: intrahousehold & community
food distribution?
Changa’a
(moonshine)
Economic -- Is the food sold to improve living victim
conditions or buy non-nutritious things?
Policy -- Affect of women’s education on child
nutrition

9. Sectors relevant to food security
Food from:
Cultivated Naturally resourced
_______________________________ ______________________
Land Animals Crops Aquatic Agroforestry Fisheries Forests
_________ ________ __________ __________ ____________ __________
Ruminants, Cereal, Aquaculture Living fences, Fish, shellfish Insects,
swine, fruit, fish, livestock feed, fruit,
poultry vegetables aquatic soil fertility plants,
plants enhancement game meat
Biological Research, Management & Policy Policy & Management
+ SYSTEMS RESEARCH: BIOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS & SOCIAL SYSTEMS

10. 6 Concept Notes
• Terrestrial animals (ruminants, swine & poultry)
• Aquatic animals (aquaculture & fisheriers)
• Cereal & vegetatively-propagated crops
• Legumes
• Biophysical systems: water, soil, crops, animals,
conservation ag, IPM etc
• Social systems: economic, social, policy, governance

11. HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE THE ‘CONSTRAINTS’
WITHIN A SECTOR TO SET A ‘GLOBAL’
RESEARCH
AGENDA?

12. Top-down or Bottom-up?
Scientists = supply-driven Scientists
Is the articulated
Will it be employed? problem researchable or
should it be addressed by
Is it relevant? a different sector?
(To a scientist with a Balance needed
hammer, all problems Is the request to treat
look like nails) symptoms rather than
solve the problem?
(Building a better iron-
lung will not solve
pulmonary disease )
User/farmer Farmer = demand-driven

13. Intuitively appealing to draw on knowledge
of the farmer, but limitations are:
• Tend to be near-term outputs and less appreciation for
long-term goals
• Research likely to be local
• Will benefit the farmer but not necessarily the consumer
with price reduction & increased nutrition
• As geographic area increases, difficulty in getting
comprehensive and unbiased view increases

14. Alternative methods to set priorities
among constraints
• Scoring
– Aggregated: Assign value & weight to the dimensions of the
problem (e.g., output, geographical distribution, women’s income)
– Subjective: rating (1-10) based on expert judgment
• Congruence
– Allocate resources proportionately to the importance of the problem
• Benefit : cost approach
– How much it costs/yr for research;
– How much is being lost/yr without a solution;
– Economic surplus analysis adjustment for market changes from
productivity improvements

15. METHOD TO ESTABLISH PRIORITIES
• PRIORITY-SETTING LITERATURE
• CONSULTATION WITH EXPERTS INFORMALLY
• WORKSHOPS OF EXPERTS
• INVENTORY OF CURRENTLY-FUNDED
PROJECTS

16. INVENTORY OF EXISTING PROJECTS
USDA ARS Intramural
USDA NIFA Extramural Grants
USAID Biotechnology Contracts
CGIAR projects
USAID CRSP Grants
NSF Grants
Foundations (Gates, etc)

17. Livestock (cattle) researchable constraints
• Infectious diseases constellation
• Feed and fodder
• Improved genetics for increased production coupled
with disease resistance
East coast fever
(theileriosis)

18. Cattle infectious diseases (problems in intensive
and extensive systems; wildlife-livestock)
Zoonotic diseases that affect production in SSA:
– Tb
– Rift Valley Fever
– African trypanosomiasis
– Brucellosis
Nonzoonotic diseases that affect production:
o CBPP
o East Coast Fever – theileriosis
o Foot and mouth disease

19. Example of entry points for livestock production
An example of a constraint in the livestock sector is Trypanosomiasis in
cattle in Africa which has multiple entry points that fall largely within the
production domain
ENTRY POINT “RESEARCH” APPROACH TIME LINE RISK FOR SUCCESS*
POLICY Raise cattle in tsetse-free Infrastructure issue – no short Low
closed facility researchable issue
HUSBANDRY Dip cattle in arcaracide Develop less toxic dips ? ?
ENVIRONMENT Introduce sterile male Determine environmental Short Low
flies impact of tsetse loss
MANAGEMENT Vale traps for tsetse Develop more sustainable Short Low
traps
BREEDING Nat’ly resistant breeds Improve through better Medium Medium to high
improved for productivity feeds and cross-breeding
for phenotypic stability
TRANSGENICS Make resistant cattle with Insert boutique resistance Medium Medium to high
trans-genes for tryp gene into cattle
resistance
PROPHYLAXIS Generate vaccine Cellular and molecular Long high
biology

20. VACCINES
• While value of livestock life is not equivalent to
human life, it is just as expensive to produce a
vaccine
• It is not enough to know some portion of the
mammalian immune system, need to understand it all
• Similarities among vertebrate immune systems, but
need tools and knowledge to study for each animal
• Some disease may not be ‘vaccinatable’ but need to
identify natural resistance genes for breeding or
transgenics