This policy brief outlines actions policymakers and donors can take to strengthen Ethiopia's goat value chain and drive behaviour change and resilience.
Livestock contributes 12–15% of Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and underpins rural livelihoods. Yet fragmented markets, weak finance, poor infrastructure, and informal trade valued at US$250–300 million annually constrain growth. Donor-led cooperatives and subsidies have brought short-term benefits but limited integration.
With shrinking aid budgets, policy must focus on scalable, cost-effective models. The Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RiPA) project aimed to embed incentives within existing goat-trading networks to strengthen trust, access to credit, and market alignment. Evidence shows that every US$1 invested in livestock market integration generates US$3–5 GDP, underscoring its importance for rural employment, exports and government revenue.
Our research examined whether embedding incentives in the goat value chain could drive behaviour change and resilience. The aim was to identify ‘best buys’ that deliver durable change, strengthen competitiveness and reduce reliance on informal trade. Our hypotheses were that: low-cost digital tools can reshape sales planning, trust-based credit fills gaps but is fragile without formal mechanisms, and transport infrastructure enables scaling, especially for women.