Quick comments from some of the participants in an east and southern Africa inception workshop for the CGIAR Research Program on Drylands. The meeting was held at the Nairobi headquaters of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) 5-7 Jun 2011.

Amhara Region

Cooperatives play crucial roles in economic and social development of both men and women. The study was conducted to determine the participation of sheep farmers in sheep fattening cooperatives (SFC) in four regional states of Ethiopia with a special focus on women.

Pastoral populations of sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to losses in wealth and productive assets via herdmortality shocks. Although conventional insurance mechanisms covering individual losses are not cost effective in low income extensive grazing pastoral communities, index insurance for livestock offers a promising alternative.