This volume contains an executive summary of papers and the discussions on them as well as the reports of working groups and the recommendations of the Roundtable on Livestock Development strategies for Low Income Countries. In addition to the executive summary there is a Keynote paper and two other background papers, two papers on issues, constraints and opportunities for livestock development and five papers on options for increasing livestock's contribution from the major production systems.

In August 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sub-Regional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa (REOA) contracted the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to develop a proto-type “Livestock Drought Management” (LDM) decision support tool for use by a range of emergency and relief planners and practitioners throughout the region.

This paper looks at African livestock herds in Zimbabwe over the period 1890-1980. The focus is on the livestock system in the tribal areas where, under communal land use, there has been long-term concern with environmental deterioration Zimbabwe was chosen because it is one of the few African countries for which reasonably accurate historical data are available regarding African (common range) as opposed to Europen (closed range) herd development.

This report focuses on the issues surrounding livestock marketing in Turkana District. The report 's authors undertook an extensive literature review and conducted field work in Turkana in early 2006. They characterized and described the livestock marketing systems operating in the district, identified problems and constraints, and made a series of recommendations intended to increase the number of pastoralists profitably accessing livestock markets. Finally, they identified researchable issues which would enable a better understanding of livestock marketing in Turkana District.

Livestock production in Ethiopia has, for long, remained subsistence with limited market-orientation and poor institutional support. Producing for the market requires

re-orientation of the production system and development of a knowledge based and responsive institutional support services. Institutional support services of extension,

research, input supply, rural finance and marketing are key areas of intervention that

Examines post-drought rehabilitation policies to aid recovery in livestock production and crop production, and the effects of drought on livestock and farming communities. Discusses the role played by reserves in mitigating a population's vulnerability to drought; and the macro-economic implications of a drought induced loss of livestock for the government budget, domestic markets and external trade. Investigates the likely speed of recovery in the abscence of outside intervention. Presents materials from case studies to show the nature of costs and returns involved.