World agriculture is based on a small number of animal species and a decreasing number of breeds within each species. Several breeds of West African shorthorn cattle (Bos taurus brachyceros) are now at high risk of extinction due to interbreeding. The West African shorthorn breeds are...

Accurate assessment of farmers’ credit constraint condition is important in order to understand the circumstances under which credit would have its greatest impact. In this study a switching regression model was used to determine the impact of credit on smallholder dairy farms in the East...

This paper examines the theoretical and practical aspects of natural resource use in the poor tropics given limited technological and policy intervention. Results show that if farmers were to reallocate their land use activities based on land suitability, and utilize between 10-20% of their farm...

In developing country production environment, farm production efficiency is often measured in terms of on-farm resources and producer characteristics. In this paper we postulate that input and output market related factors also influence farm production decisions hence its efficiency. Stochastic...

Ethiopia has a large livestock population that performs multiple functions and contributes to food security both directly and indirectly. However, the contribution of the sector to the economy is much less than its potential due to various reasons, one of the important reason lies in the...

The moist savannah zone in sub-Saharan Africa is regarded as a high potential area for crop and livestock production. Currently, human labour is the principal source of power for crop production and the level of commercial energy use is very low. Agropastoralism and pastoralism are the principal...

This report presents finding of a rapid appraisal of institutions supporting livestock trade and marketing in Somalia. Institutions were conceptualised to encompass the organisations (formal and informal) as well as rules, procedures, and practices either formal or informal that govern the...

A dynamic bio-economic model is used to show that, without technological and policy intervention, soil nutrient balances, income and nutrition could not be substantially or sustainably improved in a highland area of Ethiopia. Although cash incomes could rise from a very low base by more than 50%...