Nourishing Prosperity Alliance: Learnings and Insights from Partners
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The cost of cow feed is 60 to 70 percent the cost of producing a liter of milk in Kenya. For dairy farmers, it means that using improved forage varieties and nutritionally balanced rations makes a genuine difference to their income. What’s more, the higher likelihood of drought and high temperatures in eastern Africa — an effect of climate change — underlines the need for a stronger forage market system.
To tackle these challenges, the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance is leveraging animal nutrition to unlock the productivity potential of cattle, leading to higher income for dairy farmers and greater food and nutrition security. Moreover, by improving dairy cow productivity through optimized nutrition, farmers are able to reduce methane emissions per liter of milk. The pilot has resulted in an average 46 percent rise in annual milk output and 26 percent decrease in dairy methane emissions intensity for participating smallholder farmers. Announced by USDA at COP27, the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance was selected as an AIM for Climate (AIM4C) innovation sprint partner for its role as a leading solution for addressing climate change and global hunger.
Join the partners of the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance as they share the successes of this innovative "alliance model" that brought together private sector actors across the full value chain to strengthen forage market systems. The alliance is made up of Land O'Lakes Venture37, Corteva Agriscience, the International Livestock Research Institute, and Forage Genetics International. What started as a pilot in 2021 is now expanding into Ethiopia, impacting the lives of thousands more farmers.
Moderated by Land O'Lakes Venture37, the panel discussion will highlight each partner as they present their perspective on the alliance and their role in supporting low- and middle-income farmers in Kenya. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the discussion, which will be addressed during the panel Q&A.
This webinar is made possible by the partners of the Nourishing Prosperity
Alliance: Land O'Lakes Venture37, Corteva Agriscience, the International Livestock Research Institute, and Forage Genetics International.
Speakers
Krista Maruca
Program Manager, Nourishing Prosperity Alliance
Land O'Lakes Venture37
Krista Maruca has 10+ years in international development practice across public, private, and nonprofit sectors, driven by a passion to support the growth of sustainable, inclusive rural communities in Africa. At Venture37, Krista contributes to the design, implementation, and reporting on agricultural development projects, supporting both the Strategic Partnerships & Growth team and the Program Management team. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Morocco), Krista most recently worked at OCP, a Moroccan agribusiness company, to develop strategic partnerships and communication for sustainability. Krista holds masters’ degrees in international development from Columbia University and Sciences Po in Paris and a bachelor’s degree in the same from American University.
Jennifer Billings
Global Agriculture Development Leader
Corteva Agriscience
At Corteva, Jennifer Billings leads global collaborations with key International Organizations (IOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to advance strategic advocacy, business, and sustainability priorities in focus markets. Together with key stakeholders, Corteva is leveraging science and technology to deliver technologies to farmers worldwide to address food security, climate change and energy goals, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Mrs. Billings currently resides in the Dominican Republic, and has lived previously in Nepal, Jerusalem, Afghanistan, South Africa, and Italy. She has an MSc in Agribusiness and is a U.S. Army veteran.
Dick Kauffman
Research Agronomist and Manager of the Alfalfa Research Station
Forage Genetics International
Dick Kauffman is a research agronomist and the manager of the Forage Genetics International alfalfa research station near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. He has worked in this capacity for more than 30 years. The Pennsylvania location is a key site for winterhardy and semi-dormant germplasm improvement and for selection and evaluation of potato leafhopper resistant cultivars. He has also had sales support responsibilities in the northeastern USA.
Chris Jones
Program Leader, Feed and Forage Development
International Livestock Research Institute
Chris Jones is program leader for feed and forage development, a multidisciplinary research program involving a team of plant molecular biologists, physiologists and geneticists, and animal nutrition scientists. His work is directed towards accelerating the genetic improvement of feed and forage species in support of livestock production in developing countries. He has a PhD from the University of Dundee and has researched all aspects of plant biotechnology from academic to highly commercially driven projects. He Joined ILRI in July 2015 from the New Zealand Crown Research Institute, AgResearch.
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