Update on the Ethiopia sheep and goats value chain
development project
Barbara Rischkowsky
ICARDA
Ethiopia small ruminants value chain strategy and implementation
planning workshop, Addis Ababa, 13-14 June 2014

THE CORE PROBLEM
THE
CAUSES
Insufficient feed
resources (climate
and land availability)
Poorly
developed
markets
Lack of effective
policies and
institutions
Feed shortage
and/or utilization
Lack of research
and technology
transfer
WHOLE VALUE CHAIN
INPUTS & SERVICES PRODUCTION MARKETINGPROCESSING CONSUMPTION
High morbidity
and mortality
High market pricesLow income of VC actors Food insecurity
Malnutrition Hidden hungerPovertyTHE IMPACT
Degradation
of resource
base
Lack of knowledge and
skills in SR management
Poor performance of sheep and goat value chains
ASF quality and safety
Inadequate
input supplies
Weak linkages between
producers and markets
Disease
pressure
Problem statement

Objective: to improve the performance of sheep and goat
meat value chains in Ethiopia and in doing so to improve
livelihoods, incomes and assets, particularly of women,
through increased productivity, reduced risk and improved
market access along the value chain.
Vision: By 2020, we see poor men and women enjoying
increased levels of production, income and nutritious
consumption derived from sustainable sheep and goat
value chains
Objective and vision

Intermediate outcomes
• Priority VC constraints lessened or resolved
• Partnerships with major stakeholders established and
additional investments aligned
• Herd productivity increased by 25% (measured as increase
in offtake (proportion of animals (kg) sold or consumed in
a year of total animals (kg) kept)
Ultimate outcomes (after scaling phase)
• 7000 SR producing households at seven sites participate in
the program
• Farmers and other value chain actors have increased
access to livestock inputs and outputs services
• Increase in annual sheep and goat meat production of 250
tonnes for urban and export markets
VC Outcomes

The process in Ethiopia up to now

From assessment to interventions: steps taken
1. Consultative site selection process through national and regional
consultation meetings and site visits (June-Oct 2012)

Selected sites Region District Partner project Research Center
Goat Value Chains
Abergelle Amhara/
Tigray
Sazba (Amhara)
Felegehiwot
(Tigray)
BecaHub Goat
Project
Sekota
TARI
Negelle Borena Oromia Dillo (Borana) Bore
Goat and Sheep Value Chain
Shinelle Somali Shinelle Haromaya
University
Sheep Value Chains
Menz Amhara Molale and Mehal
Meda
Debre Berhan
Horro Oromia Horro/Shambu Bako
East Tigray Tigray Atsbi LIVES Mekelle
Adillo/Wolaita SNNP Doyogena SARI Funds Worabe
Selected sites for sheep and goat value chains

Selected sites for sheep and goat value chains

From assessment to interventions: steps taken
1. Consultative site selection process through national and regional
consultation meetings and site visits (June-Oct 2012)
2. Rapid Value Chain Analysis (VCA) at seven sites (Nov 2012-May
2013)
3. Three multi-stakeholder meetings for prioritization and planning
of site-specific interventions involving about 70 persons
(March/April 2013)
4. Testing/Implementation of prioritized best-bet interventions (July
2013-Dec 2016)
5. Workshop to define impact pathway s defined for four major
intervention areas identified in the MS meetings (Feb. 2014)
6. Evaluation of interventions (pilot on CBBP in 2014)

Complimentary activities
1. Situational analysis (July 2013-June 2014)
2. Quantitative VCA (November 2013-September 2014)
3. Partnership consultations and landscaping (ongoing)
4. Reviews on technical intervention areas
5. Production Systems Studies
6. Feed Resource Assessment (FEAST) and Feed technology
screening (TechFit)

Accomplishments

• Desk study on best practices and successes & failures of feed
interventions (online)
• Community-based breeding programs – state of the art and
Research Priorities (online)
• Sheep research in Ethiopia: Review of projects and thoughts on
strategies (online)
• Goat Research and Development in Ethiopia: Review of projects
and thoughts on strategies (final stage)
• SR Fattening Systems in Ethiopia (draft)
Review Reports

Value Chain analysis
Rapid (qualitative) Value chain analysis
• Toolkit for rapid VCA for small ruminants (in Ethiopia)
• 8 site reports from rapid value chain analysis including
challenges and proposed interventions
(http://livestockfish.cgiar.org/2014/04/10/ethiopia-vcreports/)
• Synthesis report on rapid VCA (final stage)
• Technical briefs on VCA results in English and Amharic (in
preparation)
• Review of Ethiopia small ruminant value chain rapid
assessment: from a gender perspective (online)
• Safe Food, Fair Food qualitative integrated assessment of small
ruminant value chains in Ethiopia (completed)
• Review of SFFF assessments from a gender perspective
(completed)

Value Chain analysis (cont.)
Benchmarking (quantitative VCA)
• Toolkit for SR VC in Ethiopia developed (incl. additional food
safety assessment module for three sites)
• Sampling strategy developed
• Mobile data collection with ODK tablets fully functional
• Producer data (collected as part of the in-depth VCA) will also
serve as baseline
• Data collection at three sites completed

Research outputs
Breeding and Genetics
• Data Recording and Management System for SR (DREMS)
• Evaluation report on sheep breeding programs at two VC sites
• MSc thesis On-farm phenotypic characterization and
performance evaluation of Bati, Borena and short eared Somali
goat populations of Ethiopia
• PhD thesis Effect of genetic improvement of sheep in Ethiopia:
Systems analysis
• PhD thesis Design of community-based breeding for Gumuz and
Abergelle goat breeds
• 8 ISI publications (2012-2014)
• 7 contributions to ESAP Conference in Aug. 2013

Research outputs
Feeds and Forages
• 14 village reports on feed resources and technology
assessment for 3 sites (online)
• NIRS equations on barley developed and shared through CRP
NIRS platform
• Database on nutritional quality of food-feed cultivars in lentils,
chickpea, field pea and faba bean with Ethiopian national
programs (ongoing)
• Database on Dryland Feeds (AFAWA)
Marketing
• MSc thesis on determinants of the decision to participate in the
marketing of goats by rural households in Ethiopia
• MSP platform report on marketing in Atsbi

Capacity development
Post-Graduate training
• 7 PhD students on breeding/modelling (2 completed
and 5 ongoing)
• 1 PhD on quantitative VCA (started)
• 1 PhD on Desho grass, a local forage grass (ongoing)
• 4 MSc students on production system/breed
characterization and marketing (2 completed)
• 2 MSc students on food-feed traits in lentils and
chickpeas (ongoing)
• 1 PhD on crop residue utilization with Africa Rising
(started)
• SFFF: 3 MSc students on pathogens in slaughterhouses
(ongoing)

Capacity building
Short-term training Courses
• Rapid VC and food safety assessments
(ILRI partner project SFFF), in Addis
and Awassa, Nov. 2012
• Writeshop to complete VCA reports,
in Addis, Feb. 2013
• Phenotypic Characterization of SR
genetic resources, in Addis, Dec. 2012
• Molecular Characterization of SR genetic resources in Addis and
Holetta, Sept. 2013
• Data recording and management system and estimation of breeding
values, in Addis, Sept. 2013
• Quantitative VCA, in Addis, Nov. 2013
• FEAST and TechFit, in Addis, Nov. 2013
19

Testing of Interventions

Implementation of prioritized best-bet interventions
Best-bets research interventions initiated
• Genetic improvement program for sheep and goats at 5 sites
(Menz, Horro, Abergelle, Atsbi, and Doyogana)
• Pilot Multi-stakeholder Platform at district level marketing and
market information initiated for Atsbi sheep (ILRI (LIVES)-ICARDA-
SNV)
• Optimizing SR Fattening Systems in Ethiopia (review, piloting and
assessment tool)
• Improving crop residue quality of grain legumes (jointly with
Ethiopian national breeding programs)
• Studies of meat safety in selected slaughterhouses
21

• Continuation of community-
based breeding programs in
three sites (Menz, Horro and
Bonga)
o Performance recording
o Community selection and
sharing of breeding rams
o First evaluation report of
progress
Example: best-bet on improving genetics
o Data Recording and Management System (DREMS) incl.
mobile data recording in the field developed with Embrapa
o Establishment of breeding cooperatives
• Implementation framework for sheep breeding programs at
new sites (draft report under review)

Planned best-bet Research and Development Interventions
• Forage development and seed delivery in Doyogana (linked with
CRP DS)
• Parasite control and feed intervention in Borana (jointly with
CRSP-Livestock Climate Change Project in Borana)
• Assessment of safety of milk fermentation techniques (ILRI SFFF)
to be linked with improvements in processing
• Assessment of safety of raw meat (ILRI SFFF)
• Diagnostic and epidemiological studies to identify key diseases and
assess their economic importance
• Smart marketing at 4 sites
• Farmers’ trainings on improved husbandry measures (jointly SNV,
LMD and LIVES)
23
Implementation on prioritized best-bet interventions

Partnership Development

Well-established partnerships
• National and regional research institutes (research centers next to
the sites)
• Bureaus of Agriculture at district levels
• Ethiopian Universities (Jimma, Haramaya, Addis Ababa)
• Embrapa, Boku, OSU, CSU, University of Hohenheim
Planned
• WUR (and SLU?)
25
Partnership building: R4D partners

Initiated/ongoing
• LIVES: integrated sheep VC sites in Atsbi with shared responsibilities
• ILRI livestock master plan development: sceanarios for SR VC
• SFFF: Assessment of safety of milk fermentation techniques
• CRP DS: Forage development and seed delivery in Doyogana
• SNV/LIVES: MSP in Atsbi
• Africa Rising: crop residue utilization; food-feed cultivars; joint
trainings; FEAST and TechFit too improvement
• FAO: employment opportunities in SR VCs
Planned
• IFAD: collaboration with PCDPII and RUFIPII
• SNV, LMD and LIVES: Capacity building program on improved
husbandry measures for farmers; support for farmer and women
cooperatives through LMD calls
• SNV: fattening system guide for farmers
• FAO: PPR control, PE studies
• Innovation Lab Livestock Climate Change Project: Parasite control
and feed intervention in Borana
26
Partnership building: areas of collaboration

Resource Mobilization

Project proposals in 2014
• CRP3.7 USAID Linkage Smart marketing along the small ruminants’
value chains in Horro and Menz ; ICARDA-ILRI; 40K, 7 April 2014
• IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development)
Strengthening institutional platforms for participatory actions
towards sustainable sheep production in fragile ecosystems in
Ethiopia , ICARDA, 200 K, 11 April 2014, pending.
• IFAD Grant (Country Office) Improving the Performance of Pro-
Poor Sheep Value Chains for Enhanced Livelihoods, Food and
Nutrition Security in Ethiopia; ICARDA-ILRI, 1.2 Million, in revision
• USDA Innovation Lab Livestock and CC (CSU): Improving livelihood
of pastoralist communities in Borana through strategic feeding and
gastro- intestinal nematode parasites control in goats; US$ 50 K,
9 June 2014
• BMZ small grant: related to Feed and Forages (in preparation)

Thank you!
http://livestock-fish.wikispaces.com/VCD+Ethiopia
http://livestockfish.cgiar.org/category/countries/ethiopia

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in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable across the developing world.
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