Ballmer joins all-star lineup of philanthropists investing in the future of livestock amid climate crisis

$10 million grant to enhance livestock productivity for Global South while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions

NAIROBI, Kenya—A $10 million grant from the Ballmer Group to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) will support climate-smart innovations in livestock development that target 300 million lives in the Global South.

This significant investment will allow ILRI and its partners to deploy scalable interventions that promise a triple win: improving livelihoods and nutrition, adapting to climate threats such as heat stress, drought, and flooding, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

The investment will also leverage additional grants from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Global Methane Hub. This collaboration highlights the confidence placed in ILRI’s expertise, its robust partner network, and its strategic direction, said Professor Appolinaire Djikeng, director general of ILRI.

‘This grant will enable us to scale our proven innovations that reduce livestock production emissions and enhance adaptation to climate change,’ said Djikeng. ‘In low- and middle-income countries, ILRI research has shown that mitigation and adaptation are two sides of the same coin, addressing both the climate crisis and broader environmental challenges.’

Ismahane Elouafi, executive managing director of CGIAR, added, ‘This support from the Ballmer Group reflects the growing recognition of livestock's critical role in enhancing resilience for smallholder farmers and pastoralists facing climate impacts. While we recognize the environmental challenges associated with livestock production, such as greenhouse gas emissions, this investment will help accelerate CGIAR’s ability to deliver science that supports greater livestock productivity while reducing its environmental footprint.’

Food insecurity and climate change – two of humanity’s most urgent challenges – are inextricably linked. Many of the 500 million small-scale farmers, who provide a third of the world’s food from 83% of the world’s farms, live in regions severely affected by climate change. This not only puts their lives and livelihoods at risk but also threatens the food and nutrition security of millions of people globally who depend on the sustenance they supply.

Well-managed livestock systems that use climate-smart solutions—such as adaptive livestock breeds, enhanced feeding practices, improved manure management, and better-managed rangelands—can offer multiple benefits. These include carbon sequestration, improved soil health, enhanced biodiversity and ecosystem services. Climate modelling suggests that interventions like these could collectively reduce emissions from livestock production by up to 30%.

ILRI is one of 13 research centres within CGIAR, the world's largest publicly-funded agrifood systems research network. CGIAR is a global partnership dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems to secure a sustainable future in the face of climate challenges.

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About ILRI

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is an international non-profit institution working to improve peoples' lives in the Global South through livestock science that contributes to equitable and resilient livestock systems in order to deliver food systems transformation with climate and environmental benefits. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, ILRI has regional and country offices across South and Southeast Asia as well as central, east, southern and west Africa. Visit us at ILRI.org.

About the Ballmer  Group

Ballmer Group’s Climate portfolio is led by Sam Ballmer and funds leaders and organizations dedicated to addressing climate change in the United States of America and globally. Launched as a part of Ballmer Group Philanthropy in 2022, the climate grants focus on limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing tropical deforestation, speeding the global clean energy transition, lowering methane emissions, and de-carbonizing transport.

Ballmer Group Philanthropy was established with a commitment to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States of America through funding groups dedicated to reshaping opportunity and reducing systemic inequities. Climate change is one of the most urgent crises facing kids and families in the United States of America and across the world.

Banner photo: In northeast Kenya, a herder moves along his cattle at the Garissa livestock market, the largest in East Africa. The market attracts sellers and buyers from Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Photo ILRI/Kabir Dhanji