Review of small ruminants value chain impact pathways
developed for Ethiopia
Barbara Rischkowsky (ICARDA)
Livestock and Fish Small Ruminant Change Pathway Validation Workshop
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
3-4 March 2015

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 2023, people in Ethiopia benefit from equitable,
sustainable and efficient sheep and goat value chains: their
animals are more productive, livestock markets work for
producers, consumers and business, there are more, more
affordable and healthier small ruminant products, and the
livelihoods and capacities of people involved in the whole
chain are improved.”
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 suggested key interventions areas
 Need based capacity building of extension agents and producers on SR
management (input supply and production)
 Animal Health (input supply and production):
 Diagnostic and epidemiological studies for key diseases, assessment of
economics, capacity building of producers
 Delivery services: delivery of quality vaccines, and drugs, organizing delivery of
sustainable services
 Feeding (input supply and production) – plus other production issues
 Site specific interventions based on available feed resources (adapted forages or
shrubs, efficient utilization of crop residues, improved fattening)
 Organization/Institutional Interventions related to marketing:
 Strengthening/Establishing producer marketing cooperatives
 Multi stakeholders platform to identify the major bottlenecks, find common
solutions and create market linkages between producers and other actors
including awareness of market demands
 Providing market actors, in particular producers, with up-to-date market price
information
 Processing
 Capacity building on transport, slaughtering, safe preparation and handling of ASF

The proposed four main impact pathways
• Innovative approaches to increase the capacity of small
ruminants value chain actors,
• Innovative models for developing small ruminants value
chains markets and institutions,
• Efficient and sustainable strategies for improving small
ruminants health,
• Efficient and sustainable strategies for boosting small
ruminant production and supply.

Innovative
models for
facilitating
local farmer
groups access
to credit
PROGRAMOUTPUT
IMMEDIATE
OUTCOMES
INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES
Efficient
models for
delivering
informatio
n and
training
Models for
linking extension
systems with
Agricultural and
Market
Information
systems (AMIS)
Increased household income
CHANGEINKNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDEANDPRACTICES
Innovative and
sustainable
multi-
stakeholder
organizations
for sharing
knowledge,
experience and
evidence
Improved market
participation of
actors
Enhanced value
chain actors’ access
to financial
resources
Strategies for
linking
universities and
research
institutions to
private, public
and non-
governmental
extension
systems
Innovative
strategies
for
fostering
farmers
group
formation
Embeddi
ng
extension
delivery
in
business
planning
modules
Improved
animal
productivity
Improved capacity of
extension providers
Enhanced value
chain actors’
access market
orientation
Efficient
and
sustainab
le
farmer-
hub
models
Strengthened linkages
between value chain
actors
Impact pathway 1: Innovative approaches for increasing the capacity
of value chain actors
Value chain actors’
knowledge base
increased

Innovative and
efficient input
delivery
enterprises
PROGRAMOUTPUT
IMMEDIATE
OUTCOMES
INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES
Methodology to develop
innovative institutional
arrangements
Increased household
income
CHANGEINKNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDEANDPRACTICES
Evidence generated on
market integration and
price volatility
Improved delivery of and
access to livestock inputs
and services
Innovative institutional
arrangements that
increase market
participation
Improved animal
productivity
Enhanced bargaining
power
Better profit margins
Improved household nutrition
Increased market
participation
Increased access to small
ruminants meat/increased
supply of small ruminants
meat
Impact pathway 2: Innovative models for developing the value chains
markets and institutions

Innovative
models for
delivering
veterinary
inputs and
services
PROGRAMOUTPUTIMMEDIATE
OUTCOMES
INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES
Research on
vaccines for
major
diseases
Increased household income
CHANGEINKNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDEANDPRACTICES
Evidence of the
Epidemiology and
diagnosis of major
diseases using
recognized
epidemiology
approaches
Improved access to
new/improved
technologies/innovations
Innovative
strategies for
building the
capacity of public
and private
Community Animal
Health Workers
(CAHWs)
Improved animal
productivity
Profitable production of
sheep and goats
Efficient and
sustainable strategies
to support the
regulation and
monitoring of
veterinary inputs and
service delivery
Adoption of effective
and sustainable
vaccines and disease
control programs
Access to high
quality
veterinary inputs
and services
Improved access
to veterinary
inputs and
services
Increased adoption of
new/improved
technologies/innovations
Reduced disease prevalence
and mortality
Impact Pathway 3: Efficient and sustainable strategies for
improving small ruminants’ animal health

Appropriate and
localized breeding
programmes
PROGRAMOUTPUT
IMMEDIATE
OUTCOMES
INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES
Tested animal husbandry practices including
feed development and feeding practices
Increased household income
CHANGEINKNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDE
ANDPRACTICES
Improved capacity of farmers
to select animals with high
productivity potential
Farmers own genetically
superior and locally
adapted animal
Adoption of improved feeding
practices and other animal husbandry
Better feed
efficiency
Enhanced farmers focus on
producing quality animals and
products
Increased supply of quality
sheep and goat meat
Improved animal
productivity
Better household
nutrition
Impact pathway 4: Efficient and sustainable strategies for
boosting small production and supply of small ruminants meat

Underlying Assumptions
• Addressing whole value chains will improve uptake of innovations
• Work on localized solution will generate regional and global public
goods
• Significant numbers of poor smallholders can become market oriented
through intensifying small ruminants production
• Pro-poor development of small ruminants value chains can generate
sufficient incentives to promote investment
• The poor will consume more goat and sheep meat if availability of
these products improves
• Higher household incomes will lead to improved nutrition for all
household members
• The program will generate significant interest to stimulate investment
and buy-in of partners
• Identifying and working with right partners will ensure impact at scale
• The program will generate convincing evidence to influence positive
policy towards the sector

CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for a food secure future. The CGIAR
Research Program on Livestock and Fish aims to increase the productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems
in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable across the developing world.
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish
livestockfish.cgiar.org