Lushoto District is part of Tanzania’s most important milk production regions; depending on the village, 25-95% of households own improved dairy cows. However, land pressure is high and both income and food security are low. The aim of this study has been to assess the potential of various forage cultivation intensification strategies (‘scenarios’) to improve physical production and income of smallholder crop-dairy farmers in Lushoto district, Tanzania.

In order to identify options suitable for providing livestock feed in the wetter part of the moist savanna, the DM yield, botanical composition, crude protein, in sacco digestibility and neutral detergent fibre of combinations of 4 herbaceous legumes and 2 grasses were evaluated between June 1994 and December 1995 at Ibadan, south-western Nigeria. The legumes, Stylosanthes guianensis, Aeschynomene histrix, Centrosema pubescens and Chamaecrista rotundifolia, were each planted in combination with Brachiaria ruziziensis and Cynodon nlemfuensis.

Livestock value chains are an important source of employment, income and nutrition in developing countries. Increasing income has led to high demand for animal source products. Zoonotic diseases pose a public health risk to people producing, handling, processing and consuming animal products; with value chains creating a contact networks for transmission. Biosecurity measures constitute a cheap, integrated approach and affordable way of disease control from farm to fork as advocated by the concept of ‘One Health’ and ‘EcoHealth’.

The study was conducted in central zone, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, aimed with assessment of breeding practices and evaluation of estrus synchronization of dairy cattle. The study of the survey covered 180 households found in per-urban and rural areas of Ahferom, Adwa and Laelay michew district which included 113 in rural areas and 67 in per-urban areas of the districts. The Information was collected from secondary data, group discussion, AI technician, household level survey questionnaire, farm visit and personal observations.

In Ethiopia, genetic improvement of the indigenous cattle for dairy production, focusing on crossbreeding, has been practised for the last five decades, albeit with little success.

Selection as an improvement tool has been given less emphasis and as such there have

been no systematic and organized selection schemes for cattle genetic improvement in

Ethiopia. In addition, little or no genetic improvement work targeted at improving beef