Development of Strategic Partnership to Improve Smallholder Access to Feed and Fodder in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

[Slp_ grant_ilri07]

full title: "Development of Strategic Partnership to Improve Smallholder Access to Feed and Fodder in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa"

In many regions of the developing world, feed and fodder markets have been emerging spontaneously in response to growing demand from smallholder livestock keepers, whose own on-farm feed resources are insufficient to support intensification. This project seeks to understand the dynamics of these markets and identify opportunities to improve their efficiency and benefits to the poor by characterization through case studies in East Africa (Ethiopia and Tanzania) and South Asia (Bangladesh and India).

The case studies served as the basis for a workshop and synthesis report. Key priorities emerging include: i) improving ability to quantify and project fodder supply and demand spatially and land-use trade-offs with other crops and resource use; ii) understanding fodder market demand and its implications for improving uptake of fodder technologies on-farm; iii) identifying technological and institutional strategies for upgrading of fodder value chains; iv) capturing more value by understanding the relationship between price and fodder quality; and v) formulating strategies to cope with climate-related disruptions to feed availability.

The case studies and synthesis report have provided insights for identifying relevant issues that need to be addressed through development and research, and are therefore influencing the ongoing formulation of funding proposals to donors. Particular attention is being given to developing proposals in which researchers serve as knowledge partners to development agencies implementing large-scale interventions to ‘grow’ the smallholder feed sector by promoting a combination of on-farm and market-level feed strategies. Adopting an integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D) approach – action research embedded within major development projects – will permit scaling up of research on feed and fodder market development to levels of significant impact. This strategy will depend on identifying appropriate development partners with experience in this area.