Climate Smart Livestock Production Training Manual FOLUR Ethiopia July 2025

In Ethiopia, livestock is a vital component of agriculture and holds significant cultural, social,
and economic values. The country is believed to have the largest livestock population in Africa.
According to the Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency’s report, in 2022 the country had 66.2
million cattle, 38 million sheep, 45.7 million goats, 6.9 million camels, and 41.3 million chickens
[Ethiopian Statistics Service, 2022]. The sub-sector contributes 45 percent to the agricultural
GDP, 18.7 percent to the total national GDP, and 16-19 percent of foreign exchange earnings
[Behnke and Metaferia, 2011] and provides diverse benefits, including food, clothing materials,
fuel, fertilizer, draught power, income, and employment.
Despite the vast livestock resources in Ethiopia, the sector’s economic contribution remains
limited due to a combination of factors such as poor management, genetic limitations, lim-
ited infrastructure, insufficient market access, financial constraints and climate change impacts
on animal physiology, feed availability, and the occurrence of several diseases [Li et al., 2025,
Teku and Derbib, 2025, Abebe et al., 2022, Dadi, 2017].Livestock sector is not only a victim of
climate change but also a significant contributor to it [Caro et al., 2014, Gerber et al., 2013].The
current livestock management system, particularly free-grazing in fragile landscapes, contributes
to land degradation and climate change through greenhouse gas emission. In Ethiopia, esti-
mates indicate that, as of 2010, the livestock sector generates 65 million tonnes CO2 equivalent
GHG, and is predicted to contribute 124 million tonnes in 2030 [FDRE, 2011].
The negative impacts of climate change on livestock production are already acutely being felt
in Ethiopia posing a serious threat to food security, rural livelihoods and national economic
growth [OCHA, 2022, FEWSN, 2022].Recurrent droughts, heat stress, declining availability of
water, degraded grazing lands, and increased prevalence of livestock diseases are among the key
manifestations of climate change affecting the sector[Tiruneh and Tegene, 2018, Bekele, 2017,
Yilma et al., 2009]. While smallholder farmers and pastoral communities possess rich indige-
nous knowledge and centuries-old experience in adapting to environmental changes, the rapid
pace,intensity and unpredictability of climate change are overwhelming their traditional coping
mechanisms and capacities.