The Tendency of Livestock Growth in Ethiopia: A Review

Ethiopia ranks first in Africa and 5th in the globe in its livestock population. The livestock subsector is immensely contributing about 60-70 % to the population’s livelihood and about 80% of the farmers use animal traction to plough their croplands. This study involved gathering livestock-based data from the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) for the years 2004/05 to 2018/19. Additionally, information on livestock holders was systematically organized and analyzed to track progress over the years. Quantifiable values indicating increases were presented in tables and figures. The relationship between cattle numbers and livestock owners’ growth trends was tested using the Pearson correlation. The findings were further supported or challenged through a comprehensive literature review. The data show that the cattle population grew by 57% in 2018/19 than the number it was at the end of 2004/05 and the number of cattle owners increased by about 53 %. Likewise, the total number of sheep population grew by 82.69 % and their holders by 53%, the total goat heads grew by 162.2% and the camel population by 284%. From the total stock of cattle, 97.92% and 99.72% of sheep and all the goats and camels were identified as indigenous, respectively. The study found a significant and strong correlation (p less than 0.01) between the number of animals used for production and the number of holders. This suggests that the growth in livestock population is primarily due to an increased number of livestock owners, rather than an increase in the number of animals per holder. The work identifies bottlenecks in livestock development and provides insights into growth trends and underlying causes. It highlights opportunities for policy interventions to enhance sustainable livestock production. Further research is recommended on addressing feed and water shortages and evaluating policy and institutional setup effectiveness.