Sampling technique
Based on the human population of the
two zones, proportional numbers of household
(240 from Jijijga and 120 from Shinile zone) were
selected. These were systematically selected from
two districts of Jijiga zone and one district of
Shinile zone. The criteria for selection of the
districts included accessibility for transportation,
agro-ecological conditions and the number of
sheep in the district. Semi-structured
questionnaires and formal interviews were used
to gather information from the selected
households. Information on traditional livestock
management practices, market opportunity,
disease occurrence, causes of livestock mortality,
importance and prospects of sheep production andproduction constraints were gathered. Group
discussions were also made with elder and clan
leaders of the areas. In addition, information on
certain events was gathered based on personal
observation and field evaluation.