Presented by Tesfaye Getachew and Aynalem Haile at the FAO-ILRI Regional Training Workshop on Proven Livestock Technologies, ILRI, Addis Ababa, 3-5 December 2018

1. FAO-ILRI Regional Training Workshop on Proven Livestock
Technologies, ILRI, Addis Ababa, 3-5 December 2018
Community-based small ruminant breeding
programs- attractive option in low input systems
Tesfaye Getachew and Aynalem Haile

2. 2
Contents
• CBBP and implementation
• Major outcomes/ impacts from CBBP in Ethiopia
• Up/out scale option
• Major challenges
• Lessons/ key messages from breeding programs

3. CBBP: what is it?
• Participatory breeding –
decentralized breeding plans and
programs
• Improvement programs carried
out by communities of
smallholder farmers often at
subsistence level
• Considers proper farmers
breeding objectives,
infrastructure, participation and
ownership
• CBBPs are built on bottom-up
participatory approach

4. 4
Steps for setting up community-based breeding
• Setting up CBBPs follows the same basic steps
and principles as that of conventional breeding
programs
– Identification of target sites and understanding the
production system
– Definition of breeding objectives
– Choice of selection criteria and recording system
– Development of a genetic evaluation and breeding
structures and its organization
– Creation of an enabling environment
– Monitoring and evaluation of the program

5. 5
Steps for setting up community-based breeding

6. 6
Steps for setting CBBP: selection of community
A. External aspects
– Good market access
– Guard against possible impacts by other projects
– Synergies with other projects
– Government support
– NGO support
– Availability of inputs and services
B. Community aspects
– Willingness/interest to participate in the program
– Priority livestock species
– Existence of communal/shared resources or institutional
arrangements
– Existing communal champion
C. Suggested steps to follow
– Consultation at different levels
– Visit the communities and organize a participatory workshop.
– Not to forget to document the whole process

7. Steps: Description of production systems
Survey/ measurements/observation
- Phenotypic characteristics
- Production/Reproduction data
- Current breeding practices
- Marketing channels and
opportunities
- Institutional settings that
affect breeding and
management

8. 8
Steps: Farmers’ breeding objectives
• Structured questionnaire
• Focus group discussion
• Hypothetical choice experiment
• Ranking of groups of live animals
• On-farm ranking based on farmer’s
choice

9. Steps: modeling alternative breeding plans
• ZPLAN (Willam et al., 2008)
• Based on comprehensive evaluation of both genetic and
economic efficiencies of breeding strategies considering
one cycle of selection
• Important outcomes of ZPLAN include:
– annual genetic gain for each single trait,
– annual monetary genetic gain for the aggregate
genotype,
– profit for a given investment period

10. 10
Steps: Selection Criteria and recording in CBBP
• Once breeding objectives are defined, identify selection criteria
• Focus on very few traits for ease of recording and subsequent
use
• Qualitative traits could be as important as quantitative
• Design and implement simple recording system
• Link recording to activities/ services that are of immediate value
to the communities
• Pedigree information needs to be recorded. Sire identification
could be difficult in group mating but is not impossible
• Extremely important that data is recorded and managed in a
database

11. 11
Steps: designing CBBP structures and organization
There are different breeding structures for CBBP
• Select in the whole population of the community the best males and
females as replacement breeding stock
• Rearing of male candidates in central governmental test stations or may
be entrusted to one or more members of the community
• Identify some farmers with ‘best’ animals (nucleus system) to fulfil the
specific function of producing males for the whole population
• When the nucleus animals are run by several farmers, the nucleus is
dispersed amongst them
• There are also livestock systems with large herds per family. Here a single
farmer may own the nucleus and produce males for several farmers which
in turn supply best females to this nucleus farmer

12. 12
Young rams selection procedures
• Performance records:
– weight (birth, weaning, 6 and 12 months) – all breeds
– number weaned (all breeds); twinning (Bonga &
Horro)
• Ram selection:
– candidates are ranked based recorded information
– physical soundness (tail type, coat color, horns,
conformation and general appearance)
• A research team and a committee consisting of five
community members jointly screen the candidates

13. 13
Enabling environment
• Institutional back up- e.g. revolving fund
• Farmer organizations with committed leaders
• Complementary services
– Feeds
– Health
– Market linkage
– Capacity development

14. 14
Steps: Evaluation of CBBPs
1. Broad socio-economic criteria
• Participation of livestock keepers and the distribution of benefits
• The contribution of breeding programmes to achieving
increased productivity of livestock for the community
• Monetary and non-monetary benefits
2. Technical criteria
• Changes in productivity indicators; Flock management;
Recording practices; Genetic evaluation; Selection scheme;
Genetic progress; Delivery of genetic material and technical
service; Breeding rams; Ram sharing (use); The cooperatives;
Gender

15. • Ethiopia, 3200 HH in 40 villages directly
benefiting; 35 functional cooperatives
• Increased productivity (more births,
better growth (AGP 0.2 kg/year for 6
MWT) and reduced mortality)
• Increased income (average of 20%) from
CBBP in Bonga, Horro and Menz
• Increased mutton consumption (average
of 3 vs 1) in Bonga, Horro, Menz
• Capdev at different level
• CBBP is strategy of choice for small
ruminants in Ethiopia: LMP, GTP2, WB
Major outcomes and impact of CBBP to date in Ethiopia

16. 16
Genetic trend in six months body weight
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
EBV (kg)
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
EBV (kg)
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EBV (kg)
Bonga Horro
Menz

17. 17
Most of the established cooperatives have been able to build
capital: Boka-Shuta cooperative in Bonga
Establish: 2009
Lambs: 19342
Members: 378
Flock size: 3986

18. 18
Income from improved sheep sold
Year
Income from ram
Sale
Income from fattening Total income
2012 276302 23250 299552
2013 269300 18600 287900
2014 344550 44250 388800
2015 389750 55600 445350
2016 744900 44450 789350
2017 767900 101950 869850
2018 190900 30890 221790
Total 2,983,602 318,990 3,302,592

19. 19
CBBP up/out scaling
Where When did it
start?
How many
villages
Ethiopia 2007 More than 40
Uganda 2014 4
Tanzania 2017 2
Malawi 2014 6
South Africa 2017 2
Iran 2018 1
Sudan 2018 1
Tunisia 2017 1
Mongolia 2017? 1

20. 20
Up/out scaling framework
• Increasing the number of CBBPs requires additional project staff for
recording and extension work, additional identification and
weighing supplies, larger coordination and supervision efforts, etc.
• Increasing the number of rams supplied per CBBP requires
participating farmers to enhance reproduction, recording and
maintaining a higher proportion of male progeny till final selection.
The supply can also be increased reducing the requirements for a
ram to qualify for breeding.
– In the latter case this is achieved at the cost of a reduced selection
differential.
• Increasing the use of improved rams through higher dissemination
or through extending their use in time.
– Higher dissemination is possible through artificial insemination (AI
– Increasing the age of ram disposal also leads to higher dissemination,
although at the cost of an increased generation interval

21. 21
Delivery system for improved genetics from CBBP
• Develop certification protocols of
improved rams/ bucks
• Develop non-steroid synchronization
protocols prior to AI
• Develop a technically and
financially feasible field solution
model for AI
• Develop capacity in RT
and fertility management
including field solution for
Ultrasound based PD
• We have established 7
low cost field AI labs

22. 22
Major challenges
• Data recording, quality
• Mixing of sires in communal grazing areas
• Mobility makes difficult animal identification, data collection
• Drought and climate change
• Initial reluctance to take up perceived long-term investment
• Complementary services (health, feeds, markets….)

23. 23
Lessons/ key messages
• CBBPs are technically feasible, financially rewarding, help change
livelihoods
• Institutional arrangements to support functionality and
sustainability
• Support for long periods with committed technical staff (either
extension or research) mainly in data management, analysis and
feedback of estimated breeding values
• Complementary services including disease prevention and
control, feeding, market linkages for meat and breeding animals
• Adaptation to different situations and production systems; and
• System for certification of improved rams/bucks by an
authorized body to ensure quality control which will support and
create demand for the breeding animals.