In Africa, where most agriculture is rainfed, crop growth is limited by water availability. Rainfall variability during a growing season generally translates into variability in crop production. While the seasonality of rainfall in the drier rangelands can play a significant role in productivity, rain-use efficiency (RUE)—the amount of biomass produced (in kilograms of dry matter per hectare) per millimeter of rainfall—also drives production.

This leaflet describes one method of rainwater harvesting – using hoops. This method is particularly suited to pasture production in dry areas.

Livestock play an important role for poor rural households in regions such as the Peruvian Andes. Research methods leading to a better understanding of the role of livestock in household poverty dynamics, and what better targeted policies and interventions may enhance that role, however, are not readily available. We utilized multiple methods, including Stages-of-Progress and household surveys, which gave us a combination of qualitative and quantitative results.

Sheep have multiple roles in the livelihood of resource poor farmers as source of income, meat, skin, manure, strong wool or long hairy fleece, and as buffer resources during crop failures. These important services and products of the sheep production sub-sector justify comprehensive look into the way sheep are marketed, as the services and products are the quality attributes that characterize sheep as such. Nonetheless, very few studies have been conducted so far to identify the determinants of indigenous sheep prices and performance of the marketing system.