Since March 2024, the ILRI Hanoi office has officially assumed the role of Regional Office for Asia, strengthening coordination and strategic leadership across the region. Asia is home to nearly 5 billion people—approximately 58.7% of the global population—and is characterized by rapid economic growth alongside persistent disparities, particularly affecting women and marginalized communities.
Agriculture remains a critical economic sector across East, South and Southeast Asia, contributing on average 9% to GDP, with higher shares (12–21%) in ILRI’s five focal countries: Vietnam, India, Nepal, Lao PDR and Cambodia. Livestock systems are projected to grow annually between 4–7% in these countries, contributing an estimated 18–30% of agricultural GDP.
ILRI’s strategic engagement in Asia prioritizes these five focus countries, while also identifying second-tier priority countries for future investment, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines and China as well as the broader Asia-Pacific subregion.
Responding to regional livestock transformation challenges and opportunities
Asia’s livestock sector faces rapidly growing demand for animal-source foods alongside the transformation of agri-food systems. However, productivity remains constrained by:
- Animal health challenges and zoonotic diseases
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
- Food safety risks
- Feed and genetic resource limitations
- Weak linkages between technologies and delivery pathways
- Limited market access
- Climate change pressures
At the same time, the region presents major opportunities for sustainable livestock transformation through innovation, regional collaboration and growing policy commitment to One Health and climate-resilient food systems. Expanding digital technologies, stronger public–private partnerships, increasing investments in livestock development, and growing demand for safe and nutritious foods provide important entry points for scaling solutions.
To respond to these challenges and opportunities, ILRI works across priority areas including One Health (food safety, zoonoses, AMR), animal health systems, risk analysis, sustainable livestock systems, feed and forage innovations, genetic resource conservation, and climate-resilient livestock development.
The long-term vision is to build stronger research capacity in South and Southeast Asia while fostering South–South cooperation across research and development systems.
