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AgTalks Session 4

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) invites you to the Fourth Session of AgTalks on 9 July 2015, from 9.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Italian Conference Room, IFAD Headquarters, Rome, Italy. AgTalks presents the latest thinking, trends and research on policies and innovations in small-scale farming. A welcome coffee will begin at 9 a.m.

R.S.V.P. by e-mail to protocol@ifad.org by 8 July 2015

600 million smallholder farmers and herders raise nearly one billion head of livestock

Approximately 95 per cent of livestock keepers live in extreme poverty. This is an alarming figure, considering the increased demand for animal products such as milk and meat. While it is recognized that livestock keeping offers a promising opportunity to combat poverty in many developing countries, most livestock policies and services tend to favour large-scale production. To reverse this trend and take advantage of emerging market demands and reduce poverty, smallholder farmers and herders need access to basic services and technologies, such as veterinary care, good roads and grazing lands, and policies that respond to their needs.

Investing in big and small livestock

Livestock is a form of currency, and for many rural households animals represent a form of savings. Selling livestock head and manure means availing of quick cash in hard times. Income from livestock and the various byproducts such as milk, eggs, meat, wool, leather, honey allows rural families to put food on the table, improve their nutrition, send their children to school and buy medicine for themselves and for their animals.

The fourth session of AgTalks brings together livestock experts, who will share their perspectives and views on the critical importance of livestock to smallholder farmers.

Speakers

• Robyn Alders is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney and a Director at the KYEEMA Foundation. Alders was born and raised on a grazing property on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales in Australia. For over 20 years, she has worked closely as a veterinarian and researcher with smallholder farmers, especially village poultry farmers, in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. Throughout her work she has focused on infectious disease control (primarily Newcastle disease prevention) in animals in rural areas to enhance food security and alleviate poverty. Alders’ current research and development interests include food and nutrition security, One Health, gender equity and science communication. In January 2011, Alders was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her distinguished contribution to veterinary science as a researcher and educator, and for promoting food security in developing countries through livestock management and disease-control programmes. In August 2014, she received the Crawford Fund Medal for continued contributions to international agricultural research and development.
•  Appolinaire Djikeng is the Director of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa - International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub. A strong proponent of capacity-building in Africa, Djikeng’s focus is on building the next generation of African scientists and tapping on bioscience to address agricultural development and public health issues. Djikeng has led the domestication of ruminant species in Africa, including the grasscutter, to create sustainable sources of protein. He first joined the BecA-ILRI Hub in 2009 as Senior Scientist and Technology Manager. He led various teams devoted to the acquisition of high-end biosciences technologies and management of state-of-the-art laboratories; the provision of research-related services to scientists from across the region; and the implementation of integrated research and capacity-building activities. Prior to joining the BecA-ILRI Hub, Djikeng spent over 10 years at the Yale School of Medicine and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI, formerly The Institute for Genomic Research [TIGR]).
• Guillermo Vila Melo is an agronomist engineer, with extensive expertise in livestock production and territorial sustainable rural development in arid and semiarid regions. He has worked with indigenous communities to improve the efficiency of and add value to livestock production. Vila Melo has also worked with a number of multilateral, bilateral and United Nations agencies and has considerable experience working with the private sector, focusing on camelids. A founding member of the Association of Camelid of Argentina (ACA) and member of the Camelid Commission of the Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA), he was the CEO of Llamas Argentinas S.R.L. and Llamichos S.A.
•  Emma Naluyima is a smallholder farmer in Uganda and a private veterinarian focusing on clinical medicine and herd health. She worked for the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank and was in charge of a Livestock Environmental Station in Entebbe. Naluyima has been engaged in improving the herd genetics through artificial insemination, and has served as the Chairperson of the Red Cross in Mbarara. She is the Vice Chairperson of the Green and Fresh Farmers Cooperative; Chairperson of the national multistakeholder pig value chain platform; and a 2015 Aspen New Voices Fellow. She is a farmer from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., a mother and wife from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and a veterinarian from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Social media and webcasting

Participants are encouraged to share their ideas, views and insights via social media channels using #agtalks.

The virtual audience may follow the proceedings and interact with the prominent guests on the social media channels listed below and via webcasting at http://webcasting.ifad.org/agtalks

• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ifadnews

• Blog: http://ifad-un.blogspot.com

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IFADTV

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IFAD

• Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104946654582685330240/posts