While goats are an important pillar of livestock and agriculture sectors in East and Horn of Africa,
little research is being published and access to unpublished data is very difficult. This working
paper attempts to review the male and female reproductive characteristics of goats in 11 countries
of East and Horn of Africa (Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia,
Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda), and to summarize studies that have looked at the improvement

Analysis of hydro-climatological time series and spatiotemporal dynamics of meteorological variables has become critical in the context of climate change, especially in Southern African countries where rain-fed agriculture is predominant. In this work, we compared modern unsupervised time series and segmentation approaches and commonly used time series models to analyse rainfall regime changes in the coastal, sub-humid and semi-arid regions of Southern Africa.

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) is a developing region characterized for its importance for global food security, producing 23 and 11% of the global beef and milk production, respectively. The region’s ruminant livestock sector however, is under scrutiny on environmental grounds due to its large contribution to enteric methane (CH4) emissions and influence on global climate change.

This manual is a protocol developed as part of the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities for the One CGIAR Initiative Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition and Gender Inclusion (SAPLING). It describes the processes for obtaining baseline data on value chain performance and inclusion, as well as innovation use by service providers, which will be applied for each of SAPLING’s 15 focal livestock value chains. The actual data collection tools are annexed.

Edible crickets are among the praised insects that are gaining recognition as human food and livestock feed with a potential of contributing to food security and reduction of malnutrition. Globally, the sustainable use of crickets as food or feed is undermined by lack of information on the number of the edible crickets, the country where they are consumed, and the developmental stages consumed. Furthermore, lack of data on their nutritional content and the potential risks to potential consumers limits their consumption or inclusion into other food sources.

A key factor hindering the advancement of agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa is inadequate agricultural technologies that address specific local problems. The modalities employed for technology transfer often overlook the unique local contexts and the specific needs of the intended recipients. This study investigates various approaches that can be used to effectively disseminate livestock production technologies through radio received by smallholder farmers.

Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are highly contagious epidemics with the potential for very rapid spread, causing serious economic and sometimes public health consequences while threatening farmers' livelihoods. TADs often cause high morbidity and mortality in susceptible animal populations. Some TADs are also emerging infectious diseases, food-borne diseases and/or zoonoses: these are covered in other chapters.

Ethiopia is the world’s second largest producer of faba bean (Vicia faba L.), and the crop has largest share of area and production of all pulses grown in Ethiopia. Faba bean is valued for its source of protein, income, and animal feedstock, and an important rotational crop. However, its current productivity is very low due to an emerging faba bean gall (FBG) disease and other biotic constraints. Initially, FBG disease-causing pathogen remained unconfirmed, but it was assumed to be caused by Olpidium sp.

This paper analyses the ways in which CGIAR Centers use digital sequence information (DSI) in their efforts to conserve and sustainably utilize the world’s most important crop and livestock genetic diversity.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a leguminous and oil crop with rapidly growing importance and demand in Africa following the increasing demand for oil and livestock and poultry feed in sub-Saharan Africa. However, soybean productivity is low in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in West Africa, where productivity is below one ton per ha. Hence, concerted soybean varietal development and testing efforts have been underway by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), collaborating with the various African and US-based soybean breeding programs.