Ethiopia

CGIAR in Ethiopia

CGIAR has a 40 year history of supporting agriculture transformation in Ethiopia. A study in 2020 from the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment found that agricultural innovations linked to CGIAR research have potentially reached between 4.1 and 11 million Ethiopian households.

ILRI hosts 11 CGIAR centers in Ethiopia and all share many administrative and technical services. It is an excellent example of how CGIAR works together. The ILRI Campus also hosts affiliated partners, including AGRA, ICIPE, Venture 27, BMGF and CIFOR-ICRAF.

The livestock challenge in Ethiopia

Livestock play a crucial role in Ethiopia’s national development, accounting for a quarter of national GDP and 40% of agricultural GDP. They provide opportunities for livelihoods, jobs, inclusion and nutrition. At more than 50 million, Ethiopia’s cattle population is the largest in Africa and 8th largest globally.

However, livestock productivity in Ethiopia remains low. The average dairy farming household in Ethiopia is far less productive compared to other parts of the world. Demand for animal-sourced foods is rising faster than supply, particularly for meat and eggs, with food deficits projected to increase over time unless significant advances are made in the areas of animal feed, health, genetics and policies within the context of a sustainable systems approach.

Moreover, the sector is increasingly vulnerable to recurrent and widespread droughts and other climate-related natural disasters. Enabling smallholder farmers—who currently produce most of the milk, meat and eggs in integrated crop-livestock and pastoral systems—to produce competitively priced, safe, and nutritious livestock products offers opportunities for sustainable solutions to economic, environmental, social and health challenges facing the country.