Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa. According to a CSA (2021) livestock sample survey, the country possesses 70.3 million cattle, 42.9 million sheep, 52.5 million goats and 8.1 million camels. The livestock sector contributes about 45% of the agricultural GDP, 18.7% of the total national GDP, and 16–19% of the total foreign exchange earnings of the country (Behnke and Metaferia 2011). In Ethiopia, dairy production depends mainly on indigenous livestock genetic resources of cattle, camels and goats.

Two consecutive workshops were conducted on 20th and 27th of July 2021 at Bahir Dar and Debrezeit, respectively. The workshops were aimed at engaging Ethiopian Universities in up-scaling of community based breeding programs (CBBP) through incorporation of CBBP in animal breeding curriculum and being involved in the implementation of CBBP in the vicinity of the Universities.

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face multifaceted and co-existing risks, such as human and animal diseases and pests. Even though smallholder farmers often experience these challenges simultaneously, interventions to address these challenges are often implemented in a piecemeal fashion. However, managing agricultural production constraints without alleviating human and livestock health burdens might not generate significant and sustained benefits to achieve the desired development outcome (e.g., reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty).