This document outlines strategies to improve the small ruminant value chain in the Tanqua Abergelle region of Ethiopia. It identifies challenges such as high disease rates, inadequate veterinary services, limited access to improved feeds, and information asymmetry along the value chain. The vision is to have a sustainable and market-oriented goat farming sector by 2020 that benefits all actors and satisfies consumer needs while improving nutrition. Strategies proposed include improving veterinary services and feed supplies, establishing community breeding programs, improving dairy processing, and building producer and extension agent capacities.

1. • Sustainable feed supply strategies
• Improving timeliness and efficacy of
veterinary services (input supply and
production)
• Improving supply of and access to market
information and developing the culture of
collective action at farmers’ level
• Establishing community-based breeding
programs, including improved
reproductive technologies
• Improved processing of dairy products
• Needs-based capacity building for
producers and extension agents (on
efficient utilization of feed resources and
finishing goats for markets)
Research and development ‘best
bets’
Challenges in the value chain
Small ruminant value chain
development in Tanqua
Abergelle, Ethiopia
Our vision: “By 2020, we endeavor to see (safe)
sustainable and market oriented Abergelle goat
farming benefiting all actors and satisfying
consumer requirements and contributing access to
balanced nutrition for all”
• High incidence of infectious diseases and parasites (pasteurellosis,
PPR and sheep and goat pox)
• Inadequate animal health services (supply of services, drugs and vet
equipment, incapacity animal health workers, efficacy of drugs)
• High incidence of abortion and high kid mortality
• Low access and use of improved feed technologies
• Farmers have limited selling options – buyers’ market.
• Information asymmetry and limited horizontal and vertical integration
along the value chain
• Shortage of quality goats on the market
This is a product of the CGIAR research programs on Livestock and Fish (2012-2016) and LIVESTOCK (2017-2022) as
well as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded SmaRT Ethiopia Project - Improving the
Performance of Pro-Poor Sheep and Goat Value Chains for Enhanced Livelihoods, Food and Nutrition Security in
Ethiopia. The project is led by ICARDA in close collaboration with ILRI, national (MoLF, EIAR, TARI) and other
international partners. The Project thanks all donors and organizations who globally support its work through their
contributions to the CGIAR system.
Altitude 1590
Habitat lowland
Distance from Addis 820
Production system Crop-livestock
Human population 93,185 (as of 2013)
% of female headed household 20%
Major products Meat (live animals), milk
This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. April 2017
More meat milk and eggs by and for the poor