Kindu Mekonnen

Dr. Kindu Mekonnen is a Senior Scientist in Crop–Livestock Systems at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), with more than 30 years of research experience in both national and international agricultural research systems. He holds a PhD in Natural Resources Management, an MPhil in Forestry/Agroforestry, and a BSc in Plant Sciences.

Dr. Kindu’s research focuses on the integration of high-value feed and forage innovations, trees, and shrubs into diverse farming systems, landscapes, and watersheds. His work covers nutrient cycling, organic resource characterization and use for soil fertility management, screening of multipurpose tree and shrub species, soil and water conservation, water harvesting, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and the scaling of livestock feed and forage options to support sustainable intensification.

Over the past 14 years at ILRI, Dr. Kindu has contributed to major national, regional, and international initiatives, including the Systemwide Livestock Program, Dairy Intensification programs, Nile Basin Development Challenge, ILRI–UNEP–Wollo University watershed and climate adaptation projects, Africa RISING, LEGUME-Select, AICCRA, and TAAT. He has also been actively involved in CGIAR initiatives such as Sustainable Farming, Scaling for Impact, and Multi-functional Landscapes.

He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and technical publications, provided consultancy support to a range of organizations on research and development projects, and supervised and examined MSc and PhD students from African and European universities. Currently, his work centers on feed and forage research within the context of sustainable intensification and climate resilience, alongside the coordination of some bilateral projects and CGIAR programs for ILRI.