Helping smallstock keepers enhance their livelihoods:improving management of smallholder sheep and goats by utilising local resources.

Abstract

In large parts of the tropics small ruminants, especially goats, are an essential component of maintaining the livelihood of the urban and peri-urban populations. This has been recognised by the United Kingdom Department for International Development's Livestock Production Programme, managed by NR International who have commissioned projects in several different target countries. In order to ensure that there is exchange of expertise between these projects and, therefore, an increase in their combined impact, a meeting of the participants of three projects, from Tanzania, Zimbabwe and India, was held in Udiapur, India in September 2000. This meeting clearly achieved its objectives and a follow-up meeting was recommended, but this time increasing the participation to include projects supported by other agencies. A workshop was, therefore, held at the University of Sokoine, Morogoro, Tanzania in January 2002. This volume presents the proceedings of that meeting, where the findings of the individual projects were presented. The workshop formed the focus for the creation of a network of workers all with the common aim of increasing the impact of projects designed to improve the livelihood of under-resourced livestock farmers. The success of the meeting owes a lot to Professors Abiliza Kimambo and Louis Mtenga of the University of Sokoine, who acted as hosts for the meeting and undertook so much of the local organization. This publication is an output from a research project funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID. R7798, Livestock Production Research Programme.