The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a dynamic Forage Scientist with a keen interest in genetic resources, to head the genebank at ILRI and to manage the composition of tropical and sub-tropical forage collections both at ILRI and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This is a joint ILRI/CIAT position that will be based at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The thinking behind that “joint position” thing is explained in the global forages strategy.
Excellent review by Pengelly. My trusted advisor who worked in the tropical pastures programme for 10 years in CIAT informs me of the `white elephant’ nature of a lot of the CIAT collection – stuff animals will never eat. After starting in East Africa in the 1960s as an agrostologist I think the same could be said of the ILRI collection. One problem is the running-down of research on tropical pastures – notably by Australia and at CIAT – no-one to do all that screening and evaluation.
A major lack in the report is over crop residues. These are hugely important and any pastures genebank should have a focus on dual-purpose crops and cut-and-carry systems. ICRISAT allowed local ladies in to their 1700ha compound to take out huge head loads of wild grass fodder. The main road into Hyderabad each night had long convoys of bullock carts taking in sorghum residues to be fed to stalled cattle for milk production.