Celebrating the open access week at ILRI

Here’s how the Policies Institutions and Livelihoods (PIL) program at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is contributing towards open research. 

The PIL program’s objective is to maximize livestock-mediated welfare and livelihoods among women and men smallholder and pastoral producers and their communities, as well as to increase the availability of quality animal-source food to poor consumers. 

The program works around the following product lines:   

• Value chains for competitive smallholder systems  
• Human nutrition and livestock  
• Gender and equity including the Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI)
• Policy and foresight  

In marking this year’s open access week at ILRI, here are highlights of some of the recent open access data sets and open access research outputs from the PIL program.   

Open access data sets

MoreMilkiT monitoring survey in Tanzania

The More Milk in Tanzania (MoreMilkiT) project aims to achieve inclusive growth and reduced poverty and vulnerability among people with dairy-dependent livelihoods in selected rural areas in Tanzania. The project is primarily targeted at pre-commercial marginalized smallholder cattle-keeping men and women who do not currently participate fully in dairy value chains. This data set contains monitoring, learning and evaluation data from 461 households for project evaluation and impact assessment.

• 2014: Round 1      
• 2015: Round 2 (WELI open data integrated)
• 2016: Round 3 

Open access research outputs

• Baltenweck, I., Kassie, G.T., Omore, A., Ouma, E., Poole, J. and Teufel, N. 2019. Protocol to guide the testing and evaluation of innovations for improved value chain performance within the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock. Version 1. ILRI Manual 34. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• Omore, A.O., Kidoido, M.M., Twine, E.E., Kurwijila, L.R., O’Flynn, M. and Githinji, J. 2019. Using “theory of change” to improve agricultural research: Recent experience from Tanzania. Development in Practice. 
• Galiè, A. and Farnworth, C.R. 2019. Power through: A new concept in the empowerment discourse. Global Food Security 21: 13-17.  
• Tavenner, K., Wijk, M.T. van., Fraval, S., Hammond, J., Baltenweck, I., Teufel, N., Kihoro, E., Haan, N. de., Etten, J. van, Steinke, J., Baines, D., Carpena, P., Skirrow, T., Rosenstock, T., Lamanna, C., Ng’endo, M., Chesterman, S., Namoi, N. and Manda, L. 2019. Intensifying inequality? Gendered trends in commercializing and diversifying smallholder farming systems in East Africa. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.   
• Flax, V., Ouma, E.A., Poole, J., Izerimana, L. and King, G. 2019. Rwandan government livestock asset transfer program (“Girinka”) is associated with improved child nutrition. Feed The Future Innovation Lab For Livestock Systems project on enhancing milk quality and consumption for improved income and nutrition in Rwanda. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• de Haan, N. 2019. Gender and social equity Initial ideas for integrated core project. Presented at the Livestock CRP Priority Countries Planning Meeting, Nairobi, 26–27 March 2019. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• Teufel, N. 2019. Options for design approaches for evaluation: Initial ideas for design and implementation of the integrated core projects. Presented at the Livestock CRP Priority Countries Planning Meeting, Nairobi, 26–27 March 2019. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• Flax, V., Ouma, E.A., Schreiner, M., Izerimana, L. and Niyonzima, E. 2019. Does the Girinka program improve the nutrition of young children and can the impact be increased through social behavior change communication? Feed The Future Innovation Lab For Livestock Systems project on enhancing milk quality and consumption for improved income and nutrition in Rwanda. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• Bahta, S., Rich, K.M., Enahoro, D., Baltenweck, I. and Staal, S. 2019. A framework for ex-ante impact analysis of livestock research evaluation and prioritization. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.  
• Marchmont Communications. 2019. An analysis of the range, frequency and sentiment of coverage of the livestock for development sector in selected media sources, April 2017 to April 2019. Nairobi: ILRI.  
• Enahoro D, Njuri N, Thornton P, Staal SJ. 2019. A review of projections of demand and supply of livestock-derived foods and the implications for livestock sector management in LSIL focus countries. Mid-Project Research Report of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL) Futures Foresight Component, Module I (Quantitative Scenario Modelling). CCAFS Working Paper No. 262 Wageningen, the Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org  

The Open Access Week, is a global event that is marked annually. It not only offers the academic and research community opportunity to continue to learn from each other, but also has potential to maximize research investments, increase exposure and use of published research among other benefits.  

Find out more about ILRIs Open Access week here.  

Access the presentation dubbed open ILRI here. 

For more information about the PIL program, kindly contact Isabelle Baltenweck the program leader: i.baltenweck@cgiar.org.