The work of the MilkIT project to enhance dairy-based livelihoods in India and Tanzania through feed innovation and value chain development approaches was recently reported in IFAD’s 2016 annual report. Continue reading
This extension brief, by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) researchers and their partners in Zimbabwe, explains explains the best cultivation and management practices for lablab bean and its importance as a forage crop. Continue reading
This extension brief by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) researchers and their partners in Zimbabwe, explains the importance of velvet bean as a forage crop and the best practices in managing the crop. Continue reading
This extension brief by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) shares the principles of silage making that smallholder farmers can use to make forage for feeding animals in dry seasons. Continue reading
This poster, produced for the Tropentag 2016 conference, highlights a study that compared digestible organic matter (dOM) and metabolizable energy (ME) estimates of tropical feeds derived from selected equations with those determined by the in vitro gas production method. Continue reading
Multi-stakeholder innovation platforms were set up at different levels as part of the milkIT project, resulting in more milk sales, more interactions and better linkages among different value chain actors in India, and, in Tanzania, access to a larger variety of better feeds. This video explains how the milkIT project worked with innovation platforms Continue reading
The milkIT project hypothesis was that improvements in milk markets would lead to increased productivity by farmers. This video explains the approaches followed: linking farmers to markets (using market ‘pull’ to drive productivity increases) and farmers’ productivity increases which will attract the market to them. Continue reading
The Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST) was one of the key tools used in the milkIT project to assess local feed resource availability and use, guiding targeting and appropriate intervention strategies. This video explains how FEAST was used in the project: Continue reading
Rye grasses are widely grown cool season grasses that are better suited and have greater agronomic potential in the northern mountainous regions of Pakistan. Since 2015, the AIP-ILRI project has been working to improve dairy production through higher biomass production of improved fodder varieties, especially in mountainous areas like Gilgit. Continue reading
The various livestock feed companies in Pakistan are suggesting that livestock farmers must introduce calf starter to their calves at the age of three months, at a recommended dose of 10% of their body weight. The AIP-ILRI project has been working to improve livestock production and create awareness among livestock farmers that they must fatten their calves to get higher economic returns. Continue reading
Feeding innovation 