The workshop underscores the power of a collaborative approach in strategic planning. (Image source: AU-IBAR)

Nigeria’s first Analytics and Implementers' Workshop on pastoral livestock marketing yielded exciting outcomes

The workshop marks a pivotal moment in understanding and improving pastoral livestock marketing dynamics in Nigeria as the project's lighthouse country. Bringing together key stakeholders, the workshop represented a critical step in developing evidence-based strategies for one of Nigeria's most important agricultural sub-sectors, livestock development and marketing.

It underscores the power of a collaborative and participatory approach in strategic planning with the aim of validating situational analysis of pastoral livestock marketing; identifying key challenges in current livestock value chains; developing actionable strategies for market improvement and creating a comprehensive implementation roadmap for execution.

Henri Hekman, CEO of AgroCares (left) and Casper Niesink, Director Global Solutions and Services at Trouw Nutrition. (Image source: AgroCares)

AgroCares and Trouw Nutrition have announced the renewal of their NutriOpt On-site Adviser agreement, aiming to provide real-time, comprehensive nutritional insights that can directly benefit farms’ and feed mills’ operational efficiencies, economics and sustainability efforts

Combining Trouw Nutrition’s institutional knowledge and nutrient database with AgroCares’ proprietary portable NIR scanner technology, the partnership aims to provide real-time, comprehensive nutritional insights that can directly benefit farms’ and feed mills’ operational efficiencies, economics and sustainability efforts.

Leveraging Trouw Nutrition’s extensive nutrient knowledge and database, the NutriOpt On-Site Adviser can assess raw ingredients and finished feed for a specific species in less than five minutes. Species-specific nutrients are available for swine, ruminants, and poultry. New hardware developed and manufactured by AgroCares empowers farmers and feed producers to apply the nutrient profile of raw materials, silages and complete feed to make species-specific decisions.

Trusted by thousands of farmers and feed producers worldwide, the NutriOpt On-site Adviser helps producers meet market demands, such as information on the environmental footprint of food production. Henri Hekman, CEO of AgroCares, remarked that the technology draws on the innate strengths and market leadership of each partner.

The renewed contractual agreement reflects both partners’ commitment to make the equipment and nutritional data insights available to even more businesses worldwide. Ultimately, the collaboration aims to accelerate feed management, feed efficiency, sustainability and farm profitability for users, while aligning with both partners’ continued ambitions to invest in innovation and sustainability.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with AgroCares, whose technology has been instrumental in delivering the precision and reliability our customers expect. Our joint efforts have already made significant impacts in the industry to date, and we are committed to driving further innovations that benefit both our customers and the planet,” stated Hekman. “We are convinced that our species focused knowledge/ingredient profile offers the opportunity to further boost precision nutrition.”

NutriOpt Technologies was also one of the exhibitors at EuroTier 2024 which took place from 12-15 November in Hanover, Germany.

Technology developed by the Scottish biotech, which has announced its latest investment round, is set to revolutionise the dairy farming industry. (Image source: Business Wire)

Scottish biotech company, Biotangents recently announced its latest investment round, that is set to revolutionise the dairy farming industry with the world’s fastest on-farm, point-of-care diagnostic device aimed at addressing disease in dairy cows

Bovine mastitis is a serious and expensive problem costing the global dairy farming industry around US$25.4bn every year. Given the timeframe of existing diagnostics, which take so long that farmers resort to treating herds, predominantly with antibiotics.

The excessive use of antibiotics which that is unnecessary for 40% of cases increases the anti-microbial resistance of the herd, decreases life expectancy, and increases milk wastage, leading to negative environmental impact and significant costs. 

Biotangents developed its technology to enable farmers to make an informed treatment decision. Its solution comprises a cost effective, innovative on-farm molecular diagnostic device that provides highly accurate results in less than two hours. 

“Biotangents is on the cusp of full market launch with a technology that leads to better herd health, much improved productivity, and significantly higher levels of sustainability,” said CEO of Biotangents, Fiona Marshall.

Biotangents sees future applications for its technology not only in animal health, but also in human healthcare and environmental monitoring. Following the investment, Biotangents will commence on-farm trials across the UK and internationally later next year.

Developed under the AADGG, the app enables users to search and view historical data on each individual cow. (Image source: AADGG)

In an attempt to boost productivity and support smallholder farmers, an advanced livestock monitiring app has been launched under the African Asian Dairy Genetics Gains Project (AADGG)

As part of the combined effort from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), this tool offers real-time capabilities in livestock health, feed management, and artificial insemination data collection, none of which were previously available with the commonly used Open Data Kit (ODK) system.

How it works

The app replaces a simpler ODK data-gathering system that could be accessed through a tablet or laptop but could not be accessed by farmers, while also making it relatively difficult to retrieve collected data. Developed under the AADGG, the app enables users to search and view historical data on each individual cow. It also makes it easier to register farms, farmers and their livestock, enabling the recording of household information, health, breeding, and productivity data on individual cattle by farmers, researchers, and AADGG collaborators. With improved visibility and data quality through this mobile app, efforts to select adaptable, high-yielding dairy genetics for smallholder dairy farmers in Africa and Asia will be significantly strengthened.

"The app is a game-changer for us, providing a long-term sustainability path for our data collection. It gives us many more opportunities for data capture and of higher accuracy," said Raphael Mrode, ILRI Principal scientist and researcher at CTLGH.

Some of the features and benefits of the application include:

1. Real-time data collection: Enables instant recording and feedback on livestock health, breeding, and productivity.

2. Advanced modules: Tracks pedigree, milk output, farm size, animal traits, and more, offering comprehensive insights.

3. Historical data access: Provides farmers with visibility into past records, enhancing decision-making.

4. User-friendly design: Runs on Android smartphones and is designed for accessibility, with future plans for local language translations.

The AADGG-Dairy Data App runs on Android smartphones and was rolled out by a multi-national team in four African countries, namley, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and in Nepal during the months of September-October. Jennifer Volk, senior Information and Data Systems Lead at CTLGH emphasised that the app's interface and real-time feedback greatly helped farmers to better manage their livestock, while also addressing the key challenges faced by them.

By advancing sustainable livestock management, ILRI and CTLGH have embarked on a quest to empower smallholder farmers through innovative solutions. They have also invited stakeholders, policymakers, and development partners to join efforts in scaling its impact and transforming farming practices globally.