Livestock kept or produced in smallholder farming systems are an important component of the agricultural economy in the developing world. The role of livestock on smallholder farms varies widely, providing draught power for crop production or as a production activity for subsistence needs or market sale under systems ranging from extensive pastoralist to intensive, peri-urban feeder and dairy systems.

Describes effects of feeding Bunaji cows supplements of cottonseed cake, molasses-urea or fodder bank on birth & 1-year weight of calves and their viability to 1-year, and milk yield, for both calves & humans, of cows under an agropastoral management system.

This study describes the livestock keeping objectives of female and male Somalia pastoralists, for camel, sheep, goat and donkey. The objectives were assessed using a matrix scoring approach, implemented during participatory rural appraisals conducted in 20 settlements in northwestern Somalia, involving 254 female and 252 male participants.

Discusses pastoral systems research (PSR) within the framework of the experience of livestock and pastoral development in Africa during the last 50 years, analyzing data on livestock population & productivity in relation to the welfare of pastoralists; and examines previous efforts in pastoral development relevant to PSR approach.

Discusses the importance of wealth differences among producers in traditional pastoral production systems, describing a rapid method, dependent on informants, for determining the wealth rank of producers within a given community in order to stratify a population of producers before sampling.

Discusses the need for identifying sociological and economic possibilities for improvement in pastoral production systems, mentioning the major steps involved, particularly, identification of potential improvements, prediction of their likely impact on net production & quality of life; prediction of the probability of adoption; and assessment of the rapidity with which the improvements will bear fruit.

The livelihoods of pastoralists revolve around their indigenous livestock. Combining high

production with disease resistance using genetic engineering is a biotechnological intervention

hailed by some as a promising avenue to mitigate food insecurity and poverty. Considerable

human and financial resources have already been devoted to exploring this option. However, the

challenges are enormous. It is unlikely that such livestock would survive in the harsh ecosystems