International Livestock Research Institute

What International Livestock Research Institute does

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is a non-profit international agricultural research organization established in 1994 through the merger of ILRAD and ILCA, operating as CGIAR's only institute dedicated exclusively to livestock research. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with regional offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Hyderabad, India, ILRI serves smallholder livestock farmers, national agricultural research systems (NARS), government ministries, and public health agencies across 13+ countries in Eastern/Southern Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and East/Southeast Asia.

ILRI's core technology platform comprises 11 specialized research facilities, including the ILRI Genebank for livestock genetic resource preservation, the Mazingira Centre for greenhouse gas measurement and climate research, the One Health Centre Africa, a Genomics Platform, the Bioscience Facility, the CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, the Tick Unit, the BecA-ILRI Hub, the ILRI-CGIAR Poultry Research Facility (the only CGIAR poultry facility), and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (a joint initiative with the University of Edinburgh). These facilities generate open-access research outputs including peer-reviewed publications, datasets, and applications distributed through CGSpace under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licensing.

ILRI does not sell products; its revenue model is grant-based, with primary funding through the CGIAR Trust Fund supplemented by project-based grants from donors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and the Roslin Foundation. Key research programs include the Tropical Poultry Genetics Solutions (TPGS), Asian Chicken Genetic Gains (AsCGG) Phase 2, the Digital Innovation in African Livestock Systems (DIALS) portfolio, and the Platform for Alternative Feed Ingredients Evaluation (PAFIE). Director General Apollinaire Djikeng leads an organization with 501-1,000 employees organized around five impact areas: climate adaptation and mitigation, environmental health and biodiversity, gender/equality/youth/social inclusion, nutrition/health/food security, and poverty reduction/livelihoods/jobs.

Name

International Livestock Research Institute

Legal name

International Livestock Research Institute

Website

https://ilri.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ILRI is a CGIAR-affiliated non-profit livestock research institute headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya that operates specialized facilities for livestock genetics, health, nutrition, and climate research, serving smallholder farmers, national agricultural systems, and government agencies across Africa and Asia through open-access grant-funded research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research Services

NAICS

All Other Animal Production (11299)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Livestock & Herd/Flock Operations Management Advisory (Nutrition, Housing, Performance) (AFACAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Breeding Program Design & Genetic Consulting (Mating Plans, EPD/Index Selection) (AFACAEAD), Diagnostics & Laboratory Coordination (Sample Collection, Lab Liaison, Interpretation) (AFACALAE), Genetic Testing & Genomic Profiling Services (Parentage, Trait Testing) (AFACAEAE)

Keywords

• Livestock genetics research
• Animal health research
• One health solutions
• Climate-smart agriculture
• Food security research

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. CGIAR Trust Fund: Primary funding through CGIAR System Organization with contributions from various donors supporting international agricultural research for development

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ILRI operates specialized livestock research facilities (including the ILRI Genebank, ILRI-CGIAR Poultry Research Facility, Mazingira Centre, One Health Centre, Genomics Platform, and CGIAR AMR Hub) that generate scientific knowledge on livestock genetics, health, nutrition, and climate adaptation. Outputs are delivered as open-access publications, datasets, breeding programs (TPGS, AsCGG), and capacity-building partnerships with smallholder farmers, national research systems, and government agencies across Africa and Asia.

Product overview

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is a research organization, not a commercial product company. Its 'products' consist of research facilities, knowledge repositories, datasets, and development programs. The core offering is a portfolio of specialized research facilities (including the ILRI-CGIAR Poultry Research Facility, Mazingira Centre, One Health Centre, Genebank, and Genomics Platform) that generate scientific knowledge, publications, and datasets on livestock genetics, health, nutrition, climate adaptation, and food safety. These facilities serve the global scientific community, students, and development partners. Research outputs include publications, datasets, videos, podcasts, and training materials distributed through the CGSpace institutional repository. Notable programs include Asian Chicken Genetic Gains (AsCGG) and Tropical Poultry Genetics Solutions (TPGS) for poultry improvement, and the Digital Innovation in African Livestock Systems (DIALS) for climate resilience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Publications and Knowledge Repository

Quantifiable outcome

• 68% increase in Tilili chicken body weight at week 16
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Innoterra LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Strategic collaboration to develop and scale biotechnology-driven alternate feed solutions converting underutilized crop residues into high-quality livestock feed, combining ILRI's scientific competence with Innoterra's manufacturing and digital farmer-outreach platforms.
• P V Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Conducting nutrition and on-station studies for the alternate feed solutions initiative, leveraging university's veterinary and animal nutrition expertise.
• Palamur Genetic ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Partner in nutrition and validation studies for alternate feed solutions, contributing genetic services expertise.
• Queensland University of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026International partner supplying materials for bio-fermentation research on crop residues into livestock feed.
• FAOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2026Partner in World Food Safety Day 2026 communication initiative in Vietnam, promoting One Health solutions for safer food.
• WHOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2026Co-organizing World Food Safety Day 2026 activities in Vietnam, supporting translation of food safety research into scalable actions.
• Mekong InstitutesecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2026Partner in World Food Safety Day 2026 initiative supporting communication and capacity building across Vietnam's food systems.
• Thai Nguyen UniversitysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2026Academic partner in Vietnam food safety initiative, hosting Forum and participating in student competitions.
• World Agriculture ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2026Hosting the WAF Kenya Country Council launch to accelerate agricultural transformation through AI and bioengineering convergence, aligning with Kenya's national strategies.
• GALVmedcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2026Co-organizing livestock disease detection workshops with the TAHSSL platform, focusing on strengthening veterinary laboratory networks and disease reporting systems.
• ClinglobalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2026Partner in TAHSSL platform operation for improving livestock disease detection in Kenya, contributing regulatory and laboratory expertise.
• African Animal Breeding Network (AABNet)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2026Launching reference book on conservation of African livestock genetic resources, consolidating research on breeding and climate resilience strategies.
• CTLGH (Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2026Partner in AABNet publication on African livestock genetic resources, contributing to conservation and breeding improvement efforts.
• AU-IBAR (African Union - Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 February 2026Partner in publication on African livestock genetic resources, positioning organizations as coordinators for continental genetic improvement.
• CGIAR Science Program on Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods (SAAF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Organizing workshop on zoonotic disease risks in Vietnam's captive wildlife farming sector under the SAAF program.
• CGIAR System OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerILRI is a CGIAR research center operating within the CGIAR system with shared funding through the CGIAR Trust Fund and participation in CGIAR Research Initiatives.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in establishing the ILRI poultry facility and Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health, contributing academic and research expertise.
• National Agricultural Research Institutes (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with national institutes including NAHPRI (Cambodia), NIAS (Vietnam), NAFRI (Lao PDR), TALIRI (Tanzania), KALRO (Kenya), and others for livestock genetic gains programs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute): CGIAR sister center focused on food policy research. Shares ILRI's CGIAR non-profit structure, donor mix, open-access publication model, and headquarter-in-the-Global-South footprint, making it a direct operational peer.
• WorldFish: CGIAR sister center focused on aquatic food systems. Same CGIAR operational model, donor base, Africa/Asia geographic presence, and smallholder-development value proposition as ILRI.
• CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center): CGIAR sister research center focused on maize and wheat improvement. Operates the same non-profit, donor-funded, open-access model as ILRI, delivering improved crop genetics to smallholders in developing countries — directly comparable mandate, scale, and funding architecture.
• EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation): Brazilian publicly funded agricultural research corporation of comparable scale (~10,000+ staff) operating genetic-improvement, climate, and One Health-adjacent livestock programs — a direct peer in non-CGIAR publicly funded tropical agricultural R&D.
• ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics): CGIAR sister center working on dryland crops in Africa and Asia. Mirrors ILRI's smallholder focus, multi-region model, breeding-program structure, and CGIAR Trust Fund funding profile.
• IRRI (International Rice Research Institute): CGIAR sister center and one of the largest institutes in the system. Highly comparable non-profit research model, genetics-improvement programs, donor mix, and South/Southeast Asia footprint with strong African operations.
• CIP (International Potato Center): CGIAR sister center working on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots/tubers. Shares the CGIAR non-profit structure, donor-funded breeding programs, and global-South research-for-development mission with ILRI.
• ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas): CGIAR sister center focused on dry-area agriculture, livestock, and crops. Directly comparable as a CGIAR institute with combined livestock/crop research in arid and semi-arid regions overlapping ILRI's geographies.

Broad incumbents

• CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australian government national research agency covering livestock genetics, animal health, and climate adaptation. Comparable scientific depth in livestock R&D with much broader portfolio scale, making it a broad-incumbent peer to ILRI.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service: U.S. Department of Agriculture's in-house research agency operating animal production, genetics, and One Health programs. Comparable livestock-research capability at significantly greater scale, functioning as a broad-incumbent peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ilri
• GitHubgithub.com/ilri
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ILRIFILM
• Facebookfacebook.com/ilri.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/2705833
• Instagraminstagram.com/whylivestockmatter
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ilri

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Livestock Research Institute