| Sumario: | Community-based breeding program (CBBP) is a proven climate-smart livestock innovation designed for smallholder livestock management systems. CBBP innovations are developed by ICARDA, partners and adopted and showcased the transformation of small ruminant productivity through a village/pilot to breed/population scaling framework. Several partners, such as research centers, livestock extension program, universities and the private sector, are engaged to scale up the good practices. Strong demand has emerged from Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVETs) through the MoLS to integrate CBBP in their teaching and community outreach programs. Responding to this interest, a national consultative workshop was held from March 26–29, 2025, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS). The workshop brought together the animal production professionals, leading to the inclusion of CBBP content in two key courses ‘’Undertaking Livestock Breeding” and “Sheep and Goat Production and Management”—offered at Level III and IV, respectively, across 19 ATVET colleges. The workshop produced an amended curriculum that has been officially shared with the colleges for implementation. A significant milestone in this process is the integration of CBBP into all ATVET programs and the production of CBBP-integrated Teachers Training and learning material /TTLM/. As a direct outcome, 19 ATVET colleges are now formally accessing and implementing CBBP innovations and benefiting more than 1520 students per year by integrating them into two revised Level III and IV courses/’’Undertaking Livestock Breeding” and “Sheep and Goat Production and Management.” In addition, two universities—Gambela University (undergraduate and postgraduate programs) and Debark University (postgraduate program)—have integrated CBBP into their academic curricula, providing access to an additional 60 students per year.
In total, 21 institutions (19 ATVETs and 2 universities) are now formally accessing and implementing CBBP and Smart Pack innovations, reaching approximately 1,580 students annually. Planned follow-up activities include capacity-building training for ATVET and University instructors and the establishment and strengthening of the CBBP villages supported by the colleges and universities.
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