The Fodder Experiment

Adequate year-round supply of fodder is one of the biggest problems faced by livestock keepers in developing countries. While the underlying reasons for this may be different, the fact remains that access to fodder ranks alongside animal health as key to success.

The Fodder Innovation Project (FIP) project deals with the central questions emerging from recent efforts to use the innovation systems concept to address some of the shortcomings of commonly-used agricultural research practices. Namely: How can the capacity to innovate be strengthened in different rural settings? The project focuses on fodder, as this is a key constraint in almost all of the production systems important to livestock-dependent poor people. The point of departure for the project is the idea that technology is not the primary limitation in dealing with the fodder problem. Rather the key issue is about how to mobilise and utilise the different technologies and pieces of information needed to make use of existing and new technology, ideas and resources. The project is addressing this through a series of action research experiments in India and Nigeria. 

This project is being conducted in collaboration with the International Livestock Policy Institute (ILRI) and other partners. The project is funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID).