Community breeding programmes take shape in Eastern Africa

PLACE partners are organizing livestock keepers and introducing animal identification and performance recording for locally adapted sheep and goats.

Pastoral and livestock-keeping communities across seven countries and four cross-border clusters in Eastern Africa are strengthening their resilience to climate change through the EUR 47 million European Union-funded Pastoralism and Livestock Adaptation to Climate Change in Eastern Africa (PLACE) programme.

In 2025–26, PLACE partners established community-based breeding programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, while laying the groundwork for similar initiatives in the United Republic of Tanzania. Livestock keepers are forming breeder groups, setting breeding priorities and introducing animal performance recording systems. Implemented by FAO in partnership with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and national partners, PLACE is expected to benefit thousands of households.

Breeding decisions begin with livestock keepers

Communities define their breeding objectives and agree on how selected rams and bucks will be managed, shared and used for breeding.

Animals are identified and monitored through records on parentage, growth, reproduction, health and disposal, enabling livestock keepers to compare performance under similar pastoral conditions.

In Ethiopia, 189 pastoral households formed three breeder cooperatives. By August 2026,  more than 1,700 goats had been identified and tagged, breeding objectives had been agreed with communities, and 134 breeding bucks had been distributed. Members also began recording data on mating, kidding, litter size, growth, health and animal disposal, supported by training for cooperative members, researchers, technical experts and development agents.

In Kenya, community-based breeding activities progressed in both Kajiado and Narok counties and the Kenyan part of the Karamoja cluster. Assessments documented production systems, breeding practices and farmer priorities, while breeder groups involving 149 households were established for sheep and goat improvement. Farmers, community resource persons and technical staff received training in breeding management, feeding, animal health and record-keeping, and selected breeding animals were registered, tagged and entered into digital recording systems.

In Uganda’s Karamoja region, 201 households joined three groups following a benchmarking exercise and training. Communities discussed programme rules and breeding priorities, including mothering ability and drought tolerance. By August 2026, partners tagged 1,852 goats across 10 villages, while paper and digital tools were being used to record pedigree, production and animal health information. More than 500 community members took part in awareness-raising activities, and 227 pastoralists received training in breeding and record keeping.

In the United Republic of Tanzania, preparatory work focused on identifying four participating villages keeping Red Maasai sheep, and planning baseline assessment, phenotypic characterization and community awareness activities.

Maintaining recording and selection

Implementing community-based breeding programmes in pastoral areas presents practical challenges.

Maintaining accurate records requires regular contact with often dispersed livestock-keeping communities. Long distances and limited literacy complicate work in Kajiado and Narok. Drought and livestock movements affect the Kenyan region of Turkana; theft, disease and difficult road access affect parts of Karamoja; and mobility, flooding and shortage of fuel/transport complicate visits in Ethiopia. To help ensure continuity, community enumerators, resource persons and development agents support animal identification and record-keeping between technical visits.

Experience from long-running programmes in Ethiopia shows the potential benefits of sustained implementation. A ten-year study of Bonga, Horro and Menz sheep breeds reported annual genetic gains in six-month body weight, increased household income from sheep and higher levels of meat consumption. While these results were achieved under earlier programmes, they provide context and an indication of what may be possible over time at the new PLACE sites.

The next phase will focus on strengthening consistent recording, using performance records for animal selection, and the management and replacement of breeding males. Monitoring will need to distinguish purchased foundation sires from later generations selected through the programmes. Genetic and livelihood gains at the new PLACE sites remain to be assessed as records accumulate and successive generations are selected.