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Edinburgh Reporter
06-06-2025
- Science
- Edinburgh Reporter
Research in Scotland is revolutionising farming in Africa
Representatives from The Roslin Institute attended the first Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Science Week in Nairobi recently as part of The Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) delegation. CTLGH is a strategic partnership among the University of Edinburgh through the Roslin Institute, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). This partnership aims to contribute to the development of livestock in low to medium income countries (LMICs) through genetics and biotechnological advancements. Although CTLGH is headquartered at the Roslin Institute, it has nodes in Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. By working in collaboration with national and international partners, CTLGH allows the flow of research and knowledge among different players and stakeholders for implementation on real farms. Current efforts have focused on finding solutions to some of the major productivity and health problems facing smallholder farms in Africa. Historically, there have been strong links and connections between Scotland and Africa. Some of these go back to the times of Dr David Livingstone. Over the years, Universities and research institutions in Scotland and different countries in Africa have worked together and even exchanged expertise. Not surprisingly, the current Director General of ILRI, one of CGIAR institution, Professor Appolinaire Djikeng is an affiliated Professor for Tropical Agriculture and Sustainable Development at the University of Edinburgh, a position he held previously when he was Director of CTLGH in Edinburgh. The delegation from the Roslin Institute to the CGIAR Science Week, which included CTLGH scientists and Centre Management staff, was led by the current director of CTLGH and Chair of Tropical Livestock Genetics, Professor Mizeck Chagunda. During the week-long event, which comprised of conferences, side-events, workshops, demonstration stands, the CTLGH had a manned-stand and held a side-event. These activities highlighted the importance of CTLGH's research and knowledge exchange work in contributing to the African Union's Agenda 2063 – The Africa We Want. The CGIAR institutions based in Africa are driving their research and development strategies towards this theme. During such events, CTLGH aims to communicate in simple ways the contribution of advanced scientific endeavours and biotechnologies in tackling global challenges and to the transformation of food systems through improvements in tropical livestock. All this with the goal of creating high-level awareness and an enabling environment to generate the discussion on how to harness the benefits accruing from agricultural biotechnology, innovation and emerging technologies to transform the livelihoods of smallholder livestock farmers in LMICs. CTLGH's Centre Operations Manager at Roslin, Mrs Jen Meikle explained: 'Our booth was visited by farmers, pastoralists, community workers, school teachers, pupils and university students all with an interest in science and increasing livestock production and welfare. CTLGH have a capacity in building knowledge that we hope to be able to expand to schools in Africa. Professor Chagunda added: 'Our work supports the main CGIAR mission to transform food, land and water systems by ensuring that genetic innovations reach smallholder farmers improving productivity, resilience and livelihoods. 'Our presence at the first CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi highlighted the importance of science-based solutions tailored to LMICs (low to middle income countries) and showcased how targeted genetics research can contribute to sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation, environmental impact mitigation and food security.' CGIAR – the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research – is a global partnership engaged in researching ways of combatting food insecurity. Through their research the body hopes to reduce rural poverty, improve human health and nutrition and manage natural resources sustainably. The body has an annual research portfolio of just over $900 million with more than 9,000 staff working in 89 countries and brought together some of the world's leading scientists and decision-makers in agriculture, climate, and health for the very first CGIAR Science Week. This gathering was a key moment to advance research and innovation, inspire action, and establish critical partnerships at the Science Week in Nairobi held at the United Nations compound to discuss the future of farming in the Global South. Part of the conference discussion involved AI and its application to changing food systems which are under pressure from climate change, resource scarcity and hunger. One of the funders of CTLGH is the Gates Foundation and two of the scientists in the film below conduct research work for CTLGH. Food and nutrition security remains a challenge in Africa. However, biotechnologies for livestock conservation and development offer potential solutions. There are African instruments to support the needed transformation, those instruments are embedded in the Agenda 2063-The Africa we want, and in the STISA 2024 to 'Accelerate Africa's transition to an innovation-led, Knowledge-based Economy', and in the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan: 2026-2035 (Building Resilient Agri-Food Systems in Africa). Professor Mizeck Chagunda CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi At the CLTGH booth Professor Appolinaire Djikeng, Jen Meikle, Centre Operations Manager and Andy Peters, Chair of ILRI Like this: Like Related
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
New climate plan launched to boost resilience in Tamil Nadu's drought and flood-prone districts
CGIAR, a global network of agricultural research centres, has launched a new Climate Action Plan for Tamil Nadu to help communities better manage climate risks, especially in districts that frequently experience droughts or floods. At the launch in Chennai on Friday, Giriraj Amarnath, Principal Researcher, Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience Research, IWMI, said that drought-prone districts such as Ramanathapuram, Sivagangai, and Virudhunagar often suffer from water scarcity, long dry spells, and agricultural distress. The Climate Action Plan will align with the ongoing Tamil Nadu Drought Mitigation Project to address these challenges. On the other hand, areas such as Chennai, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Tirunelveli are increasingly vulnerable to river and urban flooding, particularly during the Northeast monsoon. To tackle these issues, the programme will introduce integrated climate risk management approaches, provide real-time weather and farming guidance through digital platforms, and promote anticipatory actions to prepare for extreme weather events, Mr. Amarnath said. As part of the next steps, CGIAR, formerly known as Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, will identify pilot sites and focus areas such as digital advisory services, drought management, and community-led adaptation initiatives. The plan is expected to benefit tens of thousands of farmers by giving them access to digital climate advisories and climate-smart agriculture solutions. 'Water is at the heart of tackling climate challenges, as it has a direct impact on the food system. We are looking to improve water management at different levels, from watersheds to individual farms. The programme will consider how much nutrition, crop yield, and income are generated per unit of water, helping to promote more efficient and sustainable farming in water-scarce regions,' he added. At the launch event, Sudha Ramen, Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission said that better research, and access to clear, visual data would allow local administrators to make informed decisions and take more effective actions. Alok Sikka, IWMI's Country Representative for India and Bangladesh, added that the Climate Action Plan would be implemented in close collaboration with departments such as Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Water Resources, Disaster Management, and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, along with the Institute for Water Studies in Chennai.
Al Etihad
06-04-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
From lab to field: AI chatbot delivers real-time advice to farmers in low-income countries
6 Apr 2025 23:42 ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)In many remote parts of the world, one agricultural adviser is responsible for assisting 5,000 to 10,000 farmers. As climate change brings unfamiliar diseases, shifting crop patterns and new pests, farmers are facing tougher questions - often without anyone to turn to for tackle that, CGIAR is building a chatbot that knows how to talk about pests, crop diseases and drought - not in theory, but in ways that can help real farmers in the middle of a growing season. The tool, AgriLLM, is one of the first AI models fine-tuned for smallholder agriculture in low and middle-income countries."We already have the science," said Khuloud Odeh, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at CGIAR, in an interview with Aletihad."The challenge is how fast we can get it to the people who need it - and in a format that actually works for them."AgriLLM, short for Agricultural Large Language Model, is among the projects selected for a $200 million climate-tech fund announced at COP28 in Dubai. The fund, launched by the UAE and the Gates Foundation, is designed to support AI and advanced technology solutions that strengthen food systems under pressure from climate disruption. A pilot project was launched at COP29 in chatbot is being trained to respond to practical on-the-ground questions, especially around crop diseases, pest outbreaks and other challenges linked to climate shifts. Farmers will be able to interact with the tool via text and voice, in local languages, with the aim of making it accessible in areas with limited connectivity and digital literacy."We want to build an interface that allows farmers to interact with it in a very seamless, user-friendly way. Hopefully, it will include voice integration, so they can ask questions in their local dialect while working in the field and get answers in a timely manner," Odeh is doing that by adapting Falcon, an open-source AI model developed by the UAE's Technology Innovation Institute and Odeh's team is fine-tuning Falcon using CGIAR's own datasets, alongside publicly available information from FAO, the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, and others."We're starting with an initial corpus of data and fine-tuning Falcon at different sizes. That's the beauty of the model. It gives us both lightweight and larger options, so we can adapt it to different needs," she conventional AI applications, this one will also be publicly shareable. Odeh added that the team plans to publish model weights so others in the agriculture and AI communities can build on their work instead of duplicating it."And we realised that if assigning weight to agricultural information and evidence improves outcomes for farmers, then we need to share those weights. We don't want people to reinvent the wheel."Validation is another major part of the process. The team intends to benchmark the tool's responses against certified advisers in the field, and its results will be measured against current tools being used in the field, some of which rely on generic AI. The chatbot will also be piloted with farmers directly, to test how well it performs in actual use, Odeh the technology is central, the aim remains grounded in people: improving access to trusted advice for farmers who would otherwise go without it. "Our goal, really, is to reach 500 million farmers - or even more - because this is just an indicative number. We hope that we don't leave any farmer behind, especially in remote and vulnerable climate areas."
