McPeak receives grant for West African agricultural research project

The Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program (LCC CRSP) has awarded more than $1.3 million to Syracuse University and South Dakota State University for scientific research projects to improve the lives of livestock producers and increase the resilience of livestock production systems in West Africa. Led by associate professor of public administration and international affairs John McPeak of the Maxwell School, a project titled “Managing River Systems for the Future” will provide information and facilitate the development of community land use plans to ensure that livestock and agricultural production can be sustained and intensified.

McPeak and a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M University, along with partners in Mali and Senegal, will work to find solutions to land-use and climate changes that maintain livestock production systems while allowing for increased cultivation. Taking a comprehensive approach, the team will combine information about livestock feed quality, characteristics of movement along livestock migration corridors, and household patterns of crop and livestock production to help communities develop land-use management plans and improve income and nutrition for the inhabitants of the areas studied.

The project is engaged with universities in West Africa and will support students working on graduate degrees, thus strengthening the skills, competencies and abilities of the next generation of scientists and development professionals.

The Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program was established in May 2010 through a five-year, $15 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Livestock-Climate Change CRSP supports research projects that take an interdisciplinary research approach to problems in semi-arid regions to better the lives and livelihoods of small-scale livestock producers by developing strategies to help them cope with the impacts of climate change. For more information about the LCC CRSP, visit http://www.lcccrsp.org.