Introducing the ICARDA-ILRI Training
Course on Methods and Approaches on
Phenotypic Characterization of Animal
Genetic Resources (Goats)
Addis Ababa, 20-21 December 2012
Halima Hassan (ICARDA)

2 Projects

Project 1:
Improving the livelihoods of smallholders through implementation of
sustainable small ruminant (goats) improvement programs
Objective(s)
 Compile the state of knowledge on Ethiopian goat populations to
identify traits of economic importance (reproduction, growth, age
at maturity, disease and parasites resistances) to be targeted and
plan field studies for selecting study regions and goat populations;
 Characterize selected Ethiopian goat breeds both at morphological
and molecular levels for economic importance traits;
 Undertake association mapping to identify diagnostic markers to be
used in marker assisted selection (MAS) breeding program;
 Strengthen NARS through human resource capacity development
for enhancing technology generation and transfer. 3

ICARDA and EMBRAPA
Duration:
 2 years (2013 to 2014)
Donor:
 Africa-Brazil-LAC Agriculture Innovation
Marketplace

Project 2: Harnessing genetic diversity for
improving livestock productivity: goats
Objective(s)
 Exploration of the goat genetic landscape;
 Strengthening national goat breeding programs leveraging
 genetic diversity information;
 Capacity building, information gathering and sharing.
ILRI BecA-Hub
Duration: 3 years (2012 to2014)
Donor: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
(Sida)

About the Training Course
Targeting
 Researchers from National Agricultural Research
System
and ICARDA & ILRI graduate fellows
Output
 21 professionally trained NARS partners (EIAR,
RARIs’
and IBC) and graduate fellows

Course Outline
 An Overview: More milk, meat, and fish by and for
the poor CGIAR Research Program (CRP 3.7)
 Conceptual framework of AnGRs characterization
 Operational framework of AnGRs
 Data collection, data management and analysis
 Reporting and communication
 Checklist
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