A flock monitoring study on 60 households as undertaken from October 2008 to September 2009 to measure productive and reproductive performances; determine socioeconomic benefits and husbandry practices; and identify production barriers and suggest intervention options in Alaba Special Woreda. The Woreda was stratified on the basis of sheep and goat densities and the respective sites and households were selected using multistage (purposive and random) sampling techniques. Mean land holding per household was 1.5 ha.

The objectives of this study were to describe the production environment and production systems, characterize (phenotypic) and evaluate on-farm performances of Abergelle and Central Highland goat breeds. A total of 256 farmers in Ziquala (68), Tanqua Abergelle (70) and Lay- Armachiho (118) districts were interviewed for the household survey.

The Nile basin experiences wide spread poverty, lack of food and land and water

degradation. Because poverty is linked to access to water for crop, fish and

livestock based livelihoods, improving access to water and increasing agricultural

water productivity can potentially contribute substantially to poverty reduction.

The major goal of the Nile Basin Focal project is to identify high potential

investments that reduce poverty yet reverse trends in land and water

degradation. This is done through the implementation of six interlinked work

PN37 (Increasing Water-Use Efficiency for Food Production through Better Livestock Management -

The Nile River Basin) set out to improve food security, reduce poverty and enhance agroecosystem

health by managing livestock for more effective overall use of water. PN37 responded to water

challenges posed by the CPWF, to the Nile Basin Initiative’s goal of better sharing benefits of water

use, and to global need for the livestock sector to use agricultural water more efficiently and