The first day of October was not only exactly eight years to the day since I joined ILRI as Regional Representative for Asia, but also the ILRI@40 event in Nairobi at which we recognized 40 years of livestock research at ILRI/ILRAD/ILCA with staff and stakeholders.

There were introductory remarks from representatives of the organizations that signed the document which established ILRI, a speech delivered by Prof Fred Segor (Principal Secretary for Livestock and ILRI Board Member) on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Government of Kenya, and a keynote address ‘Why invest in livestock-based options for livelihoods, healthy lives and a sustainable environment?’ by Modibo Traore, our former Board Member and former FAO Sub-regional Coordinator for eastern Africa and Representative to Ethiopia, the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Ed Rege then facilitated a panel discussion on the most critical livestock issues to invest in for better lives through livestock. I was very pleased that the topics that were identified by the panelists were those that ILRI is either already working on or we are planning to work on, giving us confidence that the Science Strategy that we are finalizing is taking us in the right direction. In the afternoon our visitor got the opportunity to see and hear about some of our work. I received very positive feedback from many of them, so a big thank you to everyone who planned, organized and implemented the day.

I have been working on the ILRI Science Strategy, developing a short 10 page version that crystallizes the priority areas for ILRI’s research and how we will deliver on them. An early draft was discussed at the Institute Research and Management Committee in September and very useful comments received. An updated version was presented to the ILRI Board and has been circulated to scientific staff for a final round of comments.

The month ended with the All Africa Conference on Animal Agriculture in Nairobi. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the whole conference but ILRI played a major role in the conference organization. Okeyo Mwai was Chair of the Program Committee and several ILRI staff contributed to the development of the program and organized sessions.  There was a special session on the second day organized by ILRI as part of the ILRI@40 celebrations at which Jimmy gave a keynote presentation.  ILRI staff also presented a number of papers and posters.  I want to thank everyone from ILRI who participated in the conference. Your input and presence really raised our profile at a very successful event.  There are too many of you to mention by name, but I do want to especially thank Okeyo Mwai for leading the Program Committee, for organizing such an interesting and stimulating program and for facilitating ILRI’s involvement in the conference.

November was an exceptionally busy month. We had the Board Meeting in Addis Ababa, followed by two days of celebration of ILRI@40. The Board Meeting was conducted in a very positive atmosphere and while, as might be expected, the management team and the DG were queried and held to account on a number of issues there is no doubt that the Board feel that ILRI is headed in the right direction.

H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia

The ILRI@40 event in Addis was a highlight of the year. On Day 1 we were at the Sheraton Hotel with a large number of VIPs, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia, the Minister of Agriculture, two State Ministers (HE Wondirad Mandefro, our Board Member and State Minster for Agricultural Development; and HE Gebregziabher Gebreyohannes, State Minister for Livestock Resources Development), other stakeholders and many former and current staff.

The highlights for me personally were the many very positive messages from the dignitaries about ILRI.  We are held in high regard by the Government of Ethiopia, which, to be honest, has not always been the case. We have worked very hard over the past three years to build that relationship and it was very gratifying for me to see that hard work paying off as we have built our program in Ethiopia.

At the end of the month I attended the 15^th anniversary conference of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The CGIAR had a prominent role and ILRI facilitated a number of side events. I particularly want to thank Iddo Dror and Stuart Worsley for organizing these events and Ewen Le Borgne and Muthoni Njiru of our Communications and Knowledge Management Team, backed up by Peter Ballantyne for the effort put into the CGIAR communications. However special mention must go to Jimmy, who worked tirelessly throughout the event. He participated in the opening session, was a panelist in two discussions and attended many of the other sessions and side events. He actively promoted the CGIAR, ILRI and the livestock research agenda in Africa and it was obvious from the comments made by many of the speakers and participants that ILRI and Jimmy personally are held in high regard by the agricultural research community in Africa.

Finally I want to thank the many, many people who have sent me their good wishes, either by email or personally on my appointment as DDG Integrated Sciences.  It is gratifying to know that I have the support of my colleagues in this position.  I need you support and look forward to working with you all. I want to end by sharing with you the last paragraph of the covering letter I submitted with my application for the job:

‘I joined ILRI in 2006 because I was passionate about its mission and I wanted to use my skills and experience to help fulfil that mission. I believe my track record since then has shown that I have been able to do so in a number of ways.  I am probably even more passionate about ILRI’s mission now than when I joined. I greatly relish the opportunity and challenge to continue to work at ILRI as Deputy Director General – Integrated Sciences, to help develop ILRI into the global force that it is capable of becoming, and to achieve better lives through livestock.’

Till next time

Iain