Small Ruminants

END MARKET OPPORTUNITIES MARKET OVERVIEW Throughout Africa and in humid West Africa in particular, small ruminants must be considered primarily as sources of meat and meat products. There is ample evidence from several African regions that demand for meat is strong and increasing. This reflects greater urbanization and associated higher incomes, which have led to large domestic and international trade movements (i.e. from the Sahelian nations to the west coast) Demand outside of Africa is also strong because of the sharp rise in income among oil-producing states in the near and Middle East. Small ruminants would appear to be a major underexploited food and capital resource in the humid zone. These animals are raised exclusively for meat, providing a flexible financial reserve for the rural population and playing important social and cultural roles. There have been few systematic attempts by farmers or development agencies to increase small ruminant production. The humid zone of West Africa has traditionally depended on areas to the north to meet its demand for animal protein. The disease trypanosomiasis, transmitted by the tsetse fly, has generally limited livestock production in the humid zone, and most resident animals are the indigenous, trypanosomiasistolerant dwarf breeds. Dwarf sheep and goats are the most common ruminant species found, with an estimated 14 million dwarf sheep and goats within the zone.