The document summarizes an initiative in Ethiopia that established low-cost, mobile reproductive labs to deliver artificial insemination and other services to support community-based sheep and goat breeding programs. Researchers and staff received advanced training in small ruminant reproduction. The labs achieved fertility rates up to 89% for natural mating and 61% for artificial insemination using a simple protocol. The initiative aims to gradually transfer the platform to national agricultural institutes and develop public-private partnerships to scale the approach in other countries.

1. Low-Cost, Low-Infrastructure
Reproductive Platform to Nurture
Community-based Breeding
Programmes in Ethiopia
POVERTY REDUCTION,
LIVELIHOODS & JOBS
Partners
Regional Agricultural Research Institutes in
Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia
Outcomes
§ First time ever in Africa, a network of reproductive hubs was
established in proximity of the main sheep and goats breeding
programs
§ The low-infrastructure, mobile laboratories are operational
delivering artificial insemination and other reproductive services .
§ Researchers, vets and extension staff have received advanced,
focused trainings on sheep and goat reproduction and
reproductive biotechnologies.
The CGIAR Research Program on Livestock thanks all donors & organizations
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Trust Fund. cgiar.org/funders
This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International Licence. June 2020
Location and breeds of the six community-based breeding programs
(CBBP) in Ethiopia
Context
• After successful establishment of pilot community-
based sheep and goat breeding programs in Ethiopia,
the next step was to develop strategies to reach a
larger proportion of the sheep and goat populations
• Solutions for wider dissemination of improved genetics
had to be efficient, low-cost and be built preferably on
locally accessible inputs
Our innovative approach
Establish low-cost, low-infrastructure reproductive
platform combining:
• Low-cost synchronization: a simple protocol of 2
injections of a prostaglandin analogue (Enzaprost) 11
days apart achieved fertility levels of up to 89% in
natural mating and up to 61% in artificial insemination.
• Service delivery for ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis to
accompany the synchronization protocol, to assess
success of artificial insemination and to screen for
reproductive pathologies
• Low infrastructure artificial insemination protocols with
fresh and cooled semen
Future steps
• Gradual handover of the platform to the National
Animal Genetic Improvement Institute.
• The reproductive platform presents several
opportunities for public-private partnerships and
business models in artificial insemination.
• Development of similar reproductive platforms to
support scaling of CBBPs in Tanzania and Sudan
Mourad Rekik, ICARDA
M.Rekik@cigar.org
GENETICS
Abergelle
Menz
Horro
Doyogena
Bonga
Konso
45.45
34.07
44.94
60.87
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1 2 3 4
Conceptionrate(%)
1. P4 + eCG (PMSG)
2. PGF2α analogue
dinoprost
3. PGF2α analogue
dinoprost (7 days)
4. PGF2α analogue
dinoprost (11 days)
• P4 + eCG (PMSG): standard protocol using progestogens priming and
gonadotropin
• PGF2α analogue dinoprost: single injection of prostaglandin
• PGF2α analogue dinoprost (7 days): 2 injections of prostaglandin 7 days apart
• PGF2α analogue dinoprost (11 days): 2 injections of prostaglandin 11 days
apart
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
3
4
5
6