Breeding programmes described as community-based (CBBP) typically relate to low-input systems with farmers having a common interest to improve and share their genetic resources. CBBPs are more frequent with keepers of small ruminants, in particular smallholders of local breeds, than with cattle, pigs or chickens with which farmers may have easier access to alternative programmes. Constraints that limit the adoption of conventional breeding technologies in low-input systems cover a range of organizational and technical aspects. The analysis of 8 CBBPs located in countries of Latin-America, Africa and Asia highlights the importance of bottom-up approaches and involvement of local institutions in the planning and implementation stages. The analysis also reveals a high dependence of these programmes on organizational, technical and financial support. Completely self-sustained CBBPs seem to be difficult to realize. There is a need to implement and document formal socio-economic evaluations of CBBPs to provide governments and other development agencies with the information necessary for creating sustainable CBBPs at larger scales.

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Based on the results of participatory approaches to define traits in the breeding objectives, four scenarios of ram selection and ram use were compared via deterministic modelling of breeding plans for community-based sheep breeding programmes in four diverse agro-ecological regions of Ethiopia. The regions (and production systems) were Afar (pastoral/agro-pastoral), Bonga and Horro (both mixed crop-livestock) and Menz (sheep-barley). The schemes or scenarios differed in terms of selection intensity and duration of ram use. The predicted genetic gains per year in yearling weight (kilograms) were comparable across the schemes but differed among the breeds and ranged from 0.399 to 0.440 in Afar, 0.813 to 0.894 in Bonga, 0.850 to 0.940 in Horro, and 0.616 to 0.699 in Menz. The genetic gains per year in number of lambs born per ewe bred ranged from 0.009 to 0.010 in both Bonga and Horro. The predicted genetic gain in the proportion of lambs weaned per ewe joined was nearly comparable in all breeds ranging from 0.008 to 0.011. The genetic gain per year in milk yield of Afar breed was in the order of 0.018 to 0.020 kg, while the genetic gain per generation for greasy fleece weight (kg) ranged from 0.016 to 0.024 in Menz. Generally, strong selection and shorter duration of ram use for breeding were the preferred options. The expected genetic gains are satisfactory but largely rely on accurate and continuous pedigree and performance recording.

African livestock breeds are numerous and diverse, and typically well adapted to the harsh environment conditions under which they perform. They have been used over centuries to provide livelihoods as well as food and nutritional security. However, African livestock systems are dynamic, with many small- and medium-scale systems transforming, to varying degrees, to become more profitable. In these systems the women and men livestock keepers are often seeking new livestock breeds or genotypes – typically those that increase household income through having enhanced productivity in comparison to traditional breeds while maintaining adaptedness. In recent years genomic approaches have started to be utilized in the identification and development of such breeds, and in this article we describe a number of examples to this end from sub-Saharan Africa. These comprise case studies on: (a) dairy cattle in Kenya and Senegal, as well as sheep in Ethiopia, where genomic approaches aided the identification of the most appropriate breed-type for the local productions systems; (b) a cross-breeding program for dairy cattle in East Africa incorporating genomic selection as well as other applications of genomics; (c) ongoing work toward creating a new cattle breed for East Africa that is both productive and resistant to trypanosomiasis; and (d) the use of African cattle as resource populations to identify genomic variants of economic or ecological significance, including a specific case where the discovery data was from a community based breeding program for small ruminants in Ethiopia. Lessons learnt from the various case studies are highlighted, and the concluding section of the paper gives recommendations for African livestock systems to increasingly capitalize on genomic technologies.

Breed additive and non-additive effects, and genetic parameters of lactation milk yield (LYD), 305-day milk yield (305YD), lactation length (LL), milk yield per day of lactation (DM) and lifetime milk yield (LTYD) were estimated in Ethiopian Boran cattle and their crosses with Holstein in central Ethiopia. The data analyzed included 2360 lactation records spread over 15 years. Ethiopian Boran cattle were consistently inferior (P , 0.01) to the Ethiopian Boran-Holstein crosses for the dairy traits studied. When the crosses were compared, LYD, 305YD and DM were higher (P , 0.01) for 75% and 87.5% crosses compared to 50% and 62.5% ones. However, the 50% crosses had higher (P , 0.01) LTYD than the other genetic groups. The individual additive genetic breed differences for milk production traits were all significant (P , 0.01). The estimates, in favor of Holstein, were 2055 6 192 kg for LYD, 1776 6 142 kg for 305YD, 108 6 24 days for LL, 5.9 6 0.5 kg for DM and 3353 6 1294 kg for LTYD. Crossbreeding of the Holstein with the Ethiopian Boran resulted in desirable and significant (P , 0.01) individual heterosis for all milk production traits. The heterosis estimates were, 529 6 98, 427 6 72 kg, 44 6 12 days 1.47 6 0.23 kg and 3337 6 681 kg, for LYD, 305YD, LL, DM and LTYD, respectively. The maternal heterotic effects were non-significant (P . 0.05) for all traits. Heritabilities of LYD, 305YD, LL, DM and LTYD for Ethiopian Boran were 0.20 6 0.03, 0.18 6 0.03, 0.26 6 0.03, 0.13 6 0.03 and 0.02 6 0.04, respectively. The corresponding estimates for crosses were 0.10 6 0.002, 0.11 6 0.003, 0.63 6 0.02, 0.45 6 1.05 and 0.24 6 0.11, respectively. Selection within each of the genetic groups and crossbreeding should substantially improve the milk production potential of the Ethiopian Boran breed under such production system.

Identification of breeding objective traits pertinent to specific production environments with the involvement of target beneficiaries is crucial to the success of a breed improvement program. A choice experiment was conducted in four locations representing different production systems and agro-ecologies that are habitat to four indigenous sheep breeds (Afar, Bonga, Horro and Menz) of Ethiopia with the objective of identifying farmers'/pastoralists' preferences for sheep breeding traits. Following a synthesis of secondary information and diagnostic surveys, two communities per location consisting of 60 households each having at least four breeding ewes were identified. Producers' priority attributes used in the choice sets were identified through in-depth production system studies conducted from December 2007 to March 2008. On the basis of prior information, four to seven attributes were used to design choice sets with different profiles in order to capture results that mimic real life of the different communities. The attributes and levels chosen for the sheep profile were as follows: body size (large/small), coat color (brown/white/black), tail type (good/bad) for both rams and ewes; horn (polled/horned) and libido (active/poor) for rams; and lambing interval (three lambings in 2 years/two lambings in 2 years time), mothering ability (good mother/bad mother), twinning rate (twin bearer/single bearer) and milk yield (two cups per milking/one cup per milking) for ewes. A fractional factorial design was implemented to construct the alternatives included in the choice sets. The design resulted in a randomized selection of 48 sheep profiles (24 sets) for both sexes, which were grouped into four blocks with six choice sets each. An individual respondent was presented with one of the four blocks to make his/her choices. Results indicate that producers' trait preferences were heterogeneous except for body size in rams and mothering ability in ewes where nearly homogeneous preferences were investigated. In the pastoral production system, attention was given to coat color of both breeding rams and ewes, favoring brown and white colors over black. Ram libido influenced producers' decisions in Bonga, Horro and Menz areas. The influence of milk yield and twinning on respondents' decision making was high in Afar and Horro, respectively. Breeders in all areas attempt to combine production and reproduction traits as well as they can in order to maximize benefits from their sheep. The elicited measurable objective traits were used to design alternative community-based sheep breeding plans for the four indigenous sheep breeds in their production environments that have been implemented since.

Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) for small ruminants have been suggested as alternatives to centralised, government-controlled breeding schemes which have been implemented in many developing countries. An innovative methodological framework on how to design, implement and sustain CBBPs was tested in three sites in Ethiopia: Bonga, Horro and Menz. In these CBBPs, the main selection trait identified through participatory approaches was 6-month weight in all three sites. In Horro and Bonga, where resources such as feed and water permitted larger litter sizes, twinning rate was included. Ten-year (2009 to 2018) performance data from the breeding programs were analysed using Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method (AI-REML). Additionally, the socioeconomic impact of CBBPs was assessed. Results indicated that 6-month weight increased over the years in all breeds. In Bonga, the average increase was 0.21 ± 0.018 kg/year, followed by 0.18 ± 0.007 and 0.11 ± 0.003 kg/year in Horro and Menz, respectively. This was quite substantial in an on-farm situation. The birth weight of lambs did not improve over the years in Bonga and Horro sheep but significant increases occurred in Menz. Considering that there was no direct selection on birth weight in the community flock, the increased weights observed in Menz could be due to correlated responses, but this was not the case in Bonga and Horro. The genetic trend for prolificacy over the years in both Bonga and Horro flocks was positive and significant (P < 0.01). This increase in litter size, combined with the increased 6-month body weight, increased income by 20% and farm-level meat consumption from slaughter of one sheep per year to three. The results show that CBBPs are technically feasible, result in measurable genetic gains in performance traits and impact the livelihoods of farmers.

Ethiopia has a large and diverse population of small ruminants, which contribute substantially to the livelihood and income of the rural poor and the country at large. However, the sector faces a number of challenges. Productivity per animal and flock offtake are both very low. Reasons attributed for the apparent low productivity are as follows: absence of appropriate breeding programmes, lack of technical capacity, inadequate and poor‐quality feeds, diseases leading to high lamb mortality, and underdeveloped markets in terms of infrastructure and information. Historically, sheep and goats have received little policy or investment attention. Genetic improvement of small ruminants could contribute to bridging the productivity gap. In the past, the government of Ethiopia has placed much emphasis on importing exotic genetics and cross‐breeding with local stock as a strategy for genetic improvement. However, this has not led to a significant productivity improvement and the programmes have generally been unsustainable. Currently, there is a change in approach and a recognition of the need to focus genetic improvement efforts on the local genetic resources that are well adapted to the diverse agro‐ecologies and production environments in the country. Community‐based breeding programmes (CBBPs), which focus on indigenous stock and consider farmers’ needs, views, decisions and active participation, from inception through to implementation, have been identified as programmes of choice. The Ethiopian government and the private sector need to invest in strategic areas around CBBPs to make the programme work for the poor and be sustainable in low‐input systems.