Prof. Appoilinaire Djikeng

Letter from the director general

DG's corner
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Dear ILRI and CGIAR colleagues and livestock supporters everywhere,

It is a great honour to write to you on one of the first days of my tenure as Director General of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the CGIAR Senior Director for Livestock-Based Systems.

I sincerely thank you all – ILRI and CGIAR staff and leadership, the CGIAR board and the ILRI  board of trustees and our many global stakeholders – for the confidence and trust you have placed in me and the team I will lead for ILRI and the CGIAR livestock agenda into the horizon of  2030 and beyond. My wife Lucie (and the rest of my family) will join me on this journey, and together we thank you for all your support thus far. I am grateful to lead a world-class and globally respected organization and champion a noble cause—sustainable and equitable livestock systems—that matters to more than 1.3 billion people worldwide (or approximately 16% of the world population).

This mission is a historical and personal responsibility that I will strive to carry out with humility, honour and respect. I will do so while building on the remarkable accomplishments and contributions made by the inspiring leaders who have, before me, steered our organisation and who have tirelessly championed livestock research for development as a driver for income growth, improved human nutrition and much more.

We must all be proud of ILRI as an institution with a unique and exceptionally strong profile and well-deserved global respect. This global recognition and respect are the result of the outstanding leadership of Jimmy Smith as director general from October 2011 up to December 2022 and which continued up to March 2023 by Shirley Tarawali as interim director general and CGIAR senior director for Livestock-Based Systems. Please join me in extending our most sincere thanks and congratulations to Jimmy and Shirley. I look forward to working closely with both to ensure their legacy continues.

Since the official announcement of my appointment to this role on 20th January 2023, I have received numerous messages and calls from many of you congratulating me, pledging to collaborate with me and sharing some thoughts about ILRI, the CGIAR and the livestock agenda. I have also been able to start engaging, listening and planning the journey with some of you. Two main themes have merged throughout these early interactions: uncertainty and change. These concerns are real, particularly given the current contexts (both local and global). However, with your support, I am confident we’ll work diligently together to address them as we contribute to the next chapter of ILRI and CGIAR.

During my introduction to ILRI staff and partners, I pledged to build on ILRI’s solid foundation and to steer and focus our efforts to ensure that our research and innovation objectives are even more clearly aligned with today’s challenges. Core to my vision will be the following values: empathy, collaboration, leadership, performance, efficiency and responsiveness. In addition, my vision will be underpinned by innovative partnerships to drive equitable and ‘win-win’  collaborations that will connect upstream cutting-edge discovery research to the opportunities and challenges (existing or emerging) associated with sustainable livestock development. 

To start this tenure my priorities for this year include the following: 

  1. Settle in and connect with ILRI’s host countries, with key partners (in our countries and regions of operations), donors and investors, and key collaborators (in industry, universities, and research institutions). 
  2. Strengthen the livestock research discovery, delivery and impact capacity of ILRI and partners, including through mobilizing resources, building the workforce and leveraging innovative partnerships. 
  3. Leading the review and update of ILRI's corporate strategy underpinned by a new livestock science strategy for ILRI and CGIAR to be launched by the end of the year. 
  4. Continue coordinating the CGIAR livestock agenda and promote the importance of livestock to address global development opportunities and challenges.

As I end this message, I want to leave you with a sense of optimism: for the livestock cause; for the relevance of our mission at ILRI and in CGIAR; for our collective ability to make a difference through research and innovations from ILRI and CGIAR; and above all for our commitment to deliver results with our global partners and stakeholders. 

I am delighted to embark on this journey with ILRI, CGIAR and our many partners. I look forward to working with you all. Once again, I thank you for your support thus far.