Global livestock centre marks five-year milestone
Researchers at the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health reflect on the first five years and plan for the future.
A global livestock research partnership based at the Roslin Institute has marked a double celebration.
The Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH) marked the achievements of its first five years and the signing of a collaborative agreement between its founding partners for the next five years.
At an informal celebratory event at the Roslin Institute, collaborating researchers from Roslin, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the Africa-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) celebrated the fifth birthday of CTLGH.
The heads of the three founding institutes signed a collaborative framework agreement that will support the work of the centre for the next five years.
Productivity focus
With research nodes in the UK, Kenya and Ethiopia, CTLGH is a flagship livestock research and development centre with the mission to enhance food security in low- and middle-income countries.
It seeks to achieve this via increased productivity, adaptability and sustainability of livestock in tropical production systems, through genetic improvement.
The centre’s focus is to mobilise the scientific advances in genetics and genomics that have led to substantial gains in temperate livestock productivity.
These are applied to improve livestock productivity in tropical environments, for the benefit of smallholder livestock farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
The centre is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the UK Department for International Development (DfID), the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA).
Strategic plans
The event followed a week of meetings in Edinburgh, at which scientists from CTLGH’s three nodes met to share the research advances of the past 12 months with the centre’s researchers, collaborators, management, funders and international advisory committee.
Meetings were also held to review CTLGH’s progress, identify opportunities and set the stage for the centre’s long-term strategy.
We are delighted with the significant progress that CTLGH has made since it was established in 2014. This includes the delivery of ground-breaking scientific programmes that will define and position the centre as an innovative global research and development partnership.
We are determined to ensure that the centre will continue to leverage many years of innovations that our respective institutions and other key partners have developed, to help strengthen livestock development globally.
Strategically CTLGH research is positioned for discovery. However, by establishing strong collaborations with industry and farmer-facing programmes and institutions, the research generated by CTLGH can be translated, adopted and applied in the field for the direct benefit of livestock producers.
This week has been a great opportunity to celebrate CTLGH’s unique and world class achievements over the last five years and plan for the future. The centre is indebted to the support and continued commitment of its programme leaders, scientists, students, generous funders, collaborators and dedicated advisors and principals.
** The Roslin Institute receives strategic investment funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and it is part of the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. **
Related links
Click here to download a copy of the CTLGH Five Year Highlights document
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