ILRI-CGIAR poultry research facility: A research and development hub open to the global scientific community

In a world facing mounting food security challenges, poultry research is becoming increasingly important.

For communities in Africa and beyond, chickens have proven to be the gateway to nutrition and income.

But for poultry to deliver on its potential, we need infrastructure that generates new knowledge and turns that knowledge into practical solutions.

Established in 2018, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) poultry facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is doing just that. It is CGIAR’s only poultry facility.

Created in partnership with the University of Edinburgh and with support from the Roslin Foundation, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and ILRI’s livestock genetics, nutrition and feed resources program, the facility is a centre of excellence for research in poultry genetics, health and nutrition for the scientific and education community.

‘This facility stands on the shoulders of strong partnerships and years of scientific research progress,’ says Wondmeneh Esatu, an animal geneticist at ILRI.

‘It is a platform where feedback from the end users of our innovations, is being used to develop animal breeds that are appropriate to smallholder farmers.’

Open to researchers, students and the public and private sector alike, the facility is advancing science, supporting education and training, and enabling partnerships that drive tangible impact in poultry systems.

‘This facility serves not just ILRI’s research goals, but the broader needs of a growing scientific community that is looking to tackle challenges in the poultry sector through real-world solutions,’ says Olivier Hanotte, a geneticist at ILRI and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health.

The facility consists of indoor and outdoor poultry raising structures, allowing researchers to simulate and test controlled trials alongside smallholder conditions.

The indoor facility has 20 pens that host up to 4,000 adult chickens, plus an incubation and hatching room.

The outdoor spaces consist of four large open fields, each measuring 400 square metres, mimicking the semi-scavenging conditions of raising poultry in smallholder settings.

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Photo: Smallholder poultry farmer in Sidama, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Kettema Yilma)

Curated by Tezira Lore, Communication Officer, ILRI