By Sharon Atieno
Over 15 lower- and middle-income nations are poised to gain from the Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods (SAAF) initiative launched by CGIAR, which was previously called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
The listed nations encompass Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Mali, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, and Guatemala.
During the CGIAR Science Week held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Rodrigue Yossa, who was serving as the Interim Director of the CGIAR Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods Science Program, made a statement.
Yossa states that SAAF's objective is to enhance the livelihoods and overall welfare of individuals in these nations through sustainable changes in animal and aquatic food systems. This transformation seeks to create inclusive, nutritious, and eco-friendly food supply chains that are both climate-resilient and environmentally conscious.
"We aim to enhance the lives of 1.7 million individuals throughout Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and South America by ensuring their access to nutritious and high-quality animal and aquatic products," he stated, emphasizing that this objective will be reached by concentrating on six interconnected fields of activity.
In the "Productivity Plus" sector, CGIAR aims to assist livestock and aquaculture producers in adopting innovative practices that boost efficiency. This approach ensures social inclusiveness while promoting profitability, reducing environmental emissions, and improving the nutritional quality of foods produced.
"This primarily focuses on closing productivity gaps via innovations in genetics, feed solutions, and forage management along with comprehensive health packages... The 'plus' signifies our aim to ensure these systems become profitable, encourage uptake among young people and women, and enhance resilience," Yossa clarified.
Regarding climate and environmental issues, the initiative aims to strengthen local community efforts within both terrestrial and marine food systems. This support will encourage adoption of new approaches designed to enhance social stability, economic growth, and ecological sustainability.
Within the One Health framework, CGIAR aims to create and promote advancements in livestock and aquaculture systems to enhance public health and welfare. "Our objective is to guarantee the security of food generation not only for the wellbeing of animals and aquatic life but also for those who consume these products, along with safeguarding overall ecological health," he stated, emphasizing that their emphasis would be on biosecurity measures, combating antibiotic resistance, and ensuring safer practices across both terrestrial and aquatic food production sectors.
Another focal area for the organization involves enhancing market systems, developing policy solutions, and expanding scale. This initiative aims at bolstering participation from market players such as women, young individuals, and disadvantaged communities within fair, low-carbon, and robust animal and aquaculture food networks.
"We aim to create business strategies centered on livestock and aquaculture production to ease their acceptance and guarantee our connection with expansion efforts aimed at maximizing impact. This ensures widespread uptake and utilization of all the advancements generated via the SAAF initiative," Yossa emphasized.
In terms of gender, youth, and social inclusion, the initiative will assist animal and aquaculture producers as well as their communities in adopting fairer practices that empower both women and young people.
Finally, within the domain of data and digital solutions, the entity will aid in generating scalable innovations at every program level to enhance overall productivity. This data will prove especially valuable for shaping policies.
The six-year initiative (2025-2030) involves a partnership between six CGIAR centers: WorldFish, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the International Center for Agricultural Research in theDryAreas (ICARDA), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).