This year's annual report in addition to the 2007 research work also covers key events in the first half of 2008, particularly matters pertaining to the continuing global food price crisis. There is a special section on the record-high food prices; and an introduction to ILRI's 'Improving Market Opportunities' Theme. This annual report comprises three chapters, viz., East Africa; South Asia; and Southern Africa.

Small-ruminant production contributes significantly to the national and household economy in many countries. Small-ruminants are a key component of the livelihood systems in rural Ethiopia which substantially contribute to income, food, skin and wool, manure, serve as part of the crop failure risk-coping portfolio of enterprises, for asset wealth security as a form of saving money and social and cultural functions. This study analyzes hedonic price analysis of indigenous sheep and goats traits in two districts (Atsbi-Wemberta and Adwa) of eastern and central Tigray, northern Ethiopia.

Wildlife populations are declining severely in many protected areas and unprotected pastoral areas of Africa. Rapid large-scale land use changes, poaching, climate change, rising population pressures, governance, policy, economic and socio-cultural transformations and competition with livestock all contribute to the declines in abundance. Here we analyze the population dynamics of 15 wildlife and four livestock species monitored using aerial surveys from 1977 to 2011 within Kajiado County of Kenya, with a rapidly expanding human population, settlements, cultivation and other developments.