Examines the interdisciplinary research being pursued by the ILCA East African Range Livestock Systems Study (EARLSS) team in Kenya, discussing the rationale for an interdisciplinary aproach to the study, factors which led to the concentration of the team's investigation on Maasai pastoralists, and background information on Kenya's Kajiado District & on the three group ranches where the study is focused. Describes the research design & methodology adopted by the EARLSS team, including the initial inventory survey, sampling procedures, dif.

The results of a case study conducted in Betulia (Sucre, Colombia) in May-Dec. 1983 to evaluate the competition for land between cassava cultivation (monocropped or in association with maize or yam) and cattle raising are discussed. In general, profits from cassava either in association or in monoculture are much higher than for cattle raising. Regarding labor requirements, cassava cultivation and cattle raising are equally attractive from an economic viewpoint.

Discusses the historical context of ILCA's research, the principal types of animal production systems and the stages in ILCA's farming systems research. Describes the smallholder farming in the Ethiopian highlands & humid zone, the agropastoralists of the sub-humid zone, systems research in pastoral areas of eastern Africa (Kenya & Ethiopia), characteristics of the arid and semi-arid zones of West Africa and the role of modelling in the system. Ends with a summary of past experience.