Small ruminantproduction is the main source of income of farmers living in arid and semiaridregions. Sheep and goats raised in these areas are generally confronted withsevere nutritional deficits during food scarcity period which exacerbate diseaseand health problems and consequently low productive and reproductive performances.These areas are characterized by rainfall seasonality and scarcity resultingin a low fodder potential. Therefore, native rangelands are degrading due toovergrazing, high stocking rates and mismanagement. Options to improve smallruminant-based production systems include i) innovative technologies targetingthe increase of feed resources availability, rumen manipulation using naturalcompounds to boost microbial activity, improving diets' quality, alleviationof feeding cost, and better control of livestock watering. Although this paperis focussing on the benefits from these technical options, we should bear inmind that i) the organization of local institutions for better adoption of thesetechnologies and for protecting the main natural resources (rangelands and water)and ii) the participatory approach involving all partners concerned with theimprovement of farmer's income and livelihood are key tools for promoting livestocksector in the target areas. A set of simple, inexpensive and environmentallyfriendly options that could ameliorate small ruminant production in the semiaridregions are discussed in this paper.
