be-troplive a Belgian Platform on Tropical Animal Health & Production 2006-2016
WHY? Starting from an initial question from DGDC (current Directorate General for Development - DGD) Who is doing what in livestock development? Where can we gain information? Need for a focal point
Belgian actors indeed diverse and disseminated Academic institutions NGO s Consultancy & private companies Research Institutes Tropical Animal Health & Production Experts Belgian Development Cooperation Directorate General for Development (DGD) Belgian Development Agency (BTC) Ministries of Education
2004 Veterinary department of the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITM) asked to facilitate First meeting on 19 October 2004 with UGent Veterinary medicine, Ulg Veterinary medicine, FSA Gembloux, VSF Belgium and ITM Decision to start with a platform first tentative name: be-ptahp
2005 DGD and BTC joined the founding steering committee (chairman Pierre Dorny, ITM) Start of the identification of the Belgian expertise (workforce financed by BTC 0.2 FTE for six months snowball method ) Obtaining funds from DGD for the period 2006-2007 (through Frame agreement FA2 DGD-ITM) Choice of name and logo
and the baby was born surrounded by the founding fathers and mothers!!
Name: be-troplive
Objectives Informal and multidisciplinary network, allowing exchange of information about Tropical Animal Health and Production, to stimulate synergy and coherence in the field Increase the overall visibility of the Belgian expertise Promote the One Health principles and improve relations with the agricultural and the medical sector
Objectives ctd. Participate in advocacy for keeping livestock on the agenda Formulate policy and research recommendations for sustainable livestock development Participate in platforms coordinated by DGD
Creating a website 2006 Making publicity for the platform (will be a continuous process) Membership through online registration first symposium Strengthening the livestock services in the tropics (host ITM Antwerp - 120 participants)
Website :www.be-troplive.be Links to other platforms and initiatives Online registration for members documents from be-troplive symposia & workshops other documents (concept notes, proceedings, mid-term evaluation ) vacancies & announcements (since 2010 also by mail)
2007 Consolidation year be-troplive presented at different international meetings (Elidev meeting in Bern, AITVM conference in Montpellier). Associated members (first alumni later extended) Workshop Sustainable livestock production in the tropics (conference centre Egmont Palace Brussels 70 participants) New steering committee elected (FUNDP Namur, UCL, consultants joined chairman André Buldgen)
Membership (strict) Members (since 2006) and Associated Members (since 2007) (Membership with conditions, but free of charge) Associated members are important for the transfer of knowledge to end-users
network to network links expertise Alumni Projects End-users be-troplive (In)formation
Evolution membership 2006-2016 In 2016 a total of 431 members (162 strict and 249 associated)
Strong diversity of specialities (2015)
2008 Frame agreement FA3 DGD-ITM 2008-2013 : funds + 0.30 FTE be-troplive and outcomes workshop 2007 presented by VSF-B at CIRDES workshop in Niamey, Niger Delivering the concept note on livestock research: Facing the major challenges of the 21st century's livestock production in the tropics Symposium Integrating livestock in farming systems: a guarantee for sustainable agricultural development (host Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech 125 participants 22 nationalities facilitator Dirk Barrez)
2009 February : our chairmain André Buldgen (Gembloux) passed away Jean-Paul Dehoux (UCL) took over December: be-troplive concept note on livestock development in developing countries delivered to DGD as support for new strategy plan. Workshop Socio-economic Approaches and Livestock production in the Tropics focus on social sciences and multidisciplinarity Colonster castle ( host ULg) 102 participants
2009 be-troplive goes even more international : organization of the Livestock Week in May at ITM hosting IADG-meeting (Livestock Inter-Agency Donor Group) and ELIDEV-meeting (EU Expert Group on Livestock Matters in Developing Countries). Started with an academic session with theme: Hunger, Health and Climate Change prioritizing research efforts
2009 Chairing at EC a CTA Brussels development briefing on The Role of Livestock for ACP countries: challenges and opportunities ahead and participation in briefing From Global Food Crisis to Local Food Insecurity Meeting at the French Parliament in Paris with France Vétérinaire International (FVI) and the Swiss LivestockNet to discuss possible synergies and common activities. Invited by Heifer Nederland and Agri profocus in Veessen (NL) to present the experience of be-troplive
2010 a mid-term evaluation was commissioned and performed by South Research. Positive outcomes participation in meetings of the DGD platform agriculture and food security and in the elaboration of the new related DGD strategic note new Steering Committee elected for 2011-2013 (Ugent faculty of bioscience engineering joined Chair Jean-Paul Dehoux) Organisation of a joint Symposium (host ITM Antwerp - 224 participants)
Joint symposium 5 th November 2010: Intersectoral collaboration between the medical and veterinary professions in low-resource societies Where medics and vets join forces. Presentation at the Livestock week Nairobi 2011 Follow up in ITM / DVTD Joint Colloquium on Zoonoses and Neglected Infectious Diseases of Africa, Nov 2011
2011 be-troplive presented to the DGD Platform of agriculture and food security Symposium Veterinary Medicine in the tropics To celebrate the veterinary profession & the global eradication of Rinderpest (hosted by Ulg Faculty of Veterinary medicine 100 participants)
At the symposium hosting the first BEDIM André Buldgen Prize awarded to Ir KOUAKOU N Goran David Vincent for his work on Guinea pigs in Côte d Ivoire
2012 Start co-sponsoring activities members (small-holder livestock keeping event) Symposium Fibrous feed resources for livestock in the tropics Host Ugent Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Aula Oeho 135 participants - facilitator Dirk Barrez second BEDIM André Buldgen Prize awarded to Selene Nogueira and Sergio Nogueira-Filho (Brazil) - work on wildlife farming and resources conservation in the forests of the neotropics
2013 Co-sponsoring (food safety & periurban, international training dairy production) Symposium Pastoralism where does it go in an ever changing context?" Interaction People, Culture and Nature Hosted by DGD and Foreign Affairs at the Egmont Palace Brussels - 177 participants facilitators: team and Jan Leyers, godfather VSF-B
And at that moment it was time for me to leave
and I turn now the floor to Marta Lourenço
2014 Recommendations to the policy brief (n 15) of GRAP3A on Pastoral Systems in Niger Feedback on the DGD/BTC program to support the livestock sector in Mozambique by Belgian bilateral Cooperation Symposium in Ath, 14 th Nov 2014, The benefits of animal biodiversity in family farming: facts from the field New website Participation on the PASA/PLVZ meetings Yearly report and evaluation of the 3 year frame agreement 2011-2013
Do we need livestock? 2015 Instead of a symposium debate sessions on the future of livestock: Do we need it? How to feed it? What policies should we strive for? Strengthening the individual relationships of the different members of the steering committee: Brainstorm with DZG how to make students more aware of the role of livestock in developing countries Creating opportunities for vet students to travel to developing countries Are livestock eating the world?
2015 Update flyer about be-troplive One Health workshop and conference Participation on the PASA/PLVZ meetings Upgrading the new website Yearly report to evaluate activities of 2014
2016 Continuation of debate sessions Celebration of 10y of existence Attending PSA/PLVZ meetings Yearly report 2015 Eat or feed, that s the question! About (un) sustainable livestock policies and practices. Brain storm of the new frame agreement, in synergy with DZG: 5 year plan, with an yearly theme Active publications (policy letters, recommendations form the conferences and/or debates) and active lobbying Actively spread information on who are we? and what do we do? Shared resources with DZG
Future? Be-troplive ITM Be-troplive BTC/DGD Be-troplive others?
Future?