The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a Feeds Research Officer to enhance the sustainability, productivity and cost-effectiveness of livestock feeding among smallholder farmers in Africa. With increasing pressure on locally available feed resources, innovative solutions are needed to bridge the feed gap and improve livestock productivity. Black soldier fly larvae offer a promising alternative protein source with the potential to transform livestock feeding systems. This role will focus on developing and promoting the adoption of BSFL-based feeding strategies that are tailored to the specific needs and contexts of smallholder farmers in Africa.
ILRI works to improve food and nutritional security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. www.ilri.org
Key Responsibilities:
The Feeds Research Officer will work closely with interdisciplinary teams from ILRI’s People Policies and Institutions (PPI) and Genetics, Nutrition and Feed Resources (G&NFR) programs to conduct research on BSFL breeding, production, processing, and utilization in livestock diets. This includes optimizing BSFL rearing systems, evaluating the nutritional value of BSFL for different livestock species, scaling and developing effective extension strategies to promote uptake of BSFL based livestock diets and frass among smallholder farmers. Ultimately, this position will contribute to building resilient and sustainable livestock systems that improve livelihoods and enhance food security for smallholder farmers in Africa.
Specific duties include but are not limited to:
- Provide specialized technical support for the collection, management, and analysis of data generated from feed resources, including chemical analysis (proximate, fibre, mineral, vitamin, amino acid), and digestibility studies to ensure high-quality data collection, accurate analysis, and effective data management to inform project objectives related to integration of BSFL in animal diets.
- Provide expert support and coordination for the design, development, protocol design, and implementation of animal feeding trials, ensuring high-quality data collection, compliance with institute policies and procedures, and adherence to ethical and scientific standards.
- Support trials evaluating the impact of Black Soldier Fly diets on animal performance, health, and environmental impact, and to work with selected feed companies to optimize Black Soldier Fly Larvae rations.
- Conduct rigorous data analysis of Black Soldier Fly Larvae trial data, generate high-quality outputs including presentations, scientific papers, and tailored dissemination materials, and effectively communicate research findings to diverse audiences, with a particular emphasis on the novel applications, impact on animal productivity, and cost-effectiveness of BSFL integration for smallholder farmers .
- To lead and coordinate the planning, implementation, and reporting of the project focused on use of black soldier fly as animal feed, ensuring the timely delivery of project outputs, effective management of project resources, and alignment with research objectives.
- To develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including private sector entities, government agencies, national agricultural research systems, farmer collectives, and farmers, while actively engaging in capacity-building initiatives and outreach activities to promote the adoption of sustainable animal feed practices and technologies
- Other duties as assigned
