Raising Sheep and Goats in Rural Nigeria and Ethiopia for increased income and inclusion

Nuru Ethiopia and Nuru Nigeria operate on opposite sides of the African continent, but both organizations have incorporated the raising of sheep and goats (shoats) into their rural livelihoods initiatives. While their operating areas are vastly different with unique cultural contexts, opportunities, and challenges, both organizations have effectively used this approach to equip farming families to increase their income, meaningfully include women, and support household nutrition.

Why does Nuru Ethiopia Equip Women to Raise Sheep and Goats?

Nuru Ethiopia recognized the value in engaging women. When women are included and equipped to grow their own income, the impact is multiplied across their households. When women have access to financial resources, they are more likely to spend it on education, clothing for their children, and nutritious food. However, Nuru Ethiopia faced challenges in engaging women, as cultural norms in rural South Ethiopia Regional State often dictate that women work inside the home and refrain from certain farming activities. 

How do women qualify for this initiative?

To begin working with women, in 2017, Nuru Ethiopia gathered women together in women’ s savings groups, training them to save a small amount of household income for future expenses. They initially started with 229 women, equipping them with skills to save money on a weekly basis. The women who saved weekly for three months became eligible for a low-interest loan through their group. Nuru-supported cooperatives purchase a high-quality sheep or goat for the eligible women, and then deliver it to her. 

How does Nuru Ethiopia support women through this initiative?

• Women are supported to raise sheeps and goats through: 
• Training on: husbandry (animal-rearing), forage production
• Supportive resources: seeds for forage, deworming for animals 
• Additional training on: cooperative business management, financial management,  and personal finances
• Continued weekly and biweekly meetings with other women, giving them the opportunity to learn together and have more community interactions
• Opportunities to grow in leadership, which instills confidence: women are assuming leadership positions because of this initiative

At the end of the season (3-6 months), the sheep or goat is sold at a local market for a profit, allowing the woman to pay back her loan. Women often use the money to take another loan for another sheep or goat (as long as they maintain eligibility through continued savings practice and fully repaid loan). After the second round of securing and repaying the loan, they can usually buy other animals like cows or shift to other businesses that require bigger loans.

How has this impacted women and their families?

Nuru Ethiopia has supported over 4,700 women through this initiative, equipping them to increase their incomes, save money for future expenses, and grow businesses that provide ongoing income to their families.  As of 2023, families that sold cash crops and also participated in this initiative earned an average net income of $609 USD. This represents a 162% increase from the baseline of $233 USD, which is a significant increase for families facing extreme poverty (living on less than $3 per day). 

Women have noted that they are very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this initiative, as this increases their household income and starts to unlock decision-making opportunities for women who otherwise would not be able to choose how money within their households will be spent. All of the loans are repaid directly back to the member-owned cooperative, ensuring sustainability of this community-led business. Once women have taken and repaid multiple loans, Nuru Ethiopia often sees them begin engaging in other income-generating activities, as they have the capital to make larger investments into a business and they have demonstrated that their income now has a significant impact on their families.  

Meet the farmer: Aberash

Aberash, a member of the Wuzete Farmers’ Cooperative shares, “The regular savings I make from my cooperative helps me be safe from any type of shock, especially during extreme weather conditions. My family and I have become more resilient … I am happy that Nuru and my cooperative have arranged this service for women who do not have the opportunity to change their status to escape extreme poverty.” 

Meet the farmer: Alemitu

Alemitu successfully took out and repaid 2 loans through her cooperative, making her eligible for a third loan. In combination with money she had already saved, Alemitu used this loan to purchase 5 goats to raise and sell at the market. She intends to use the income gained from this to purchase a calf to raise and sell during the next season. Cows are a very expensive purchase–often too pricey for rural cooperatives or their members to afford. Having the financial stability to make this purchase is a significant milestone for Alemitu and her cooperative. 

How is Nuru Nigeria Equipping Women to Raise Sheep?

Nuru Nigeria has prioritized women’s inclusion from the beginning of its work in northeast Nigeria, taking a women-first approach that ensures that a woman from a household is registered with Nuru Nigeria before a  man from that same household is eligible to register. As part of this effort, shortly after its establishment in 2018 as an organization, Nuru Nigeria  launched an initiative that equips women to raise sheep and then sell them for a profit. 

In order for women to participate, they had to successfully take out loans for crop packages and repay those loans. Before receiving sheep, Nuru Nigeria trains women on best practices in sheep husbandry: feed and nutrition, health management, reproduction, and proper housing. Each eligible woman is provided with a ewe (female sheep). At that point, women are brought together in groups to learn and work collectively, with the group collectively responsible for ensuring members adopt good livestock management practices through training received from Nuru Nigeria. The women’s group receives 1-2 rams that are shared among the group. Additionally, they are provided with initial veterinary care and further training. 

Why is this important for women and families in northeast Nigeria?

Women make money by selling young adult sheep and selling sheep byproducts as well. As their herd grows, this is a steady income source for households that otherwise rely on the limited income gained exclusively through crop sales. Diversifying livelihoods is a core component of Nuru Nigeria’s approach to supporting families to overcome extreme poverty. To date, nearly 5,000 farmers have participated in this activity, earning them an average net income of $145 USD, representing an increase of $132 USD over the 2019 baseline income of $13 USD. Because of this approach to engaging women first, for every 10 farmers supported by Nuru Nigeria, 7 of those farmers are women–a remarkable achievement in an area where women are historically marginalized. 

Meet the farmer: Kwatsi

Kwatsi Sabre, a mother of six, received a ewe and training in animal husbandry, which quickly turned into a pathway to new income. “The ewe reproduced, and I was able to sell one of the lambs […] using the proceeds to expand my petty trade,” she explained. By pairing livestock with climate-smart agriculture, she also improved her groundnut yields and began producing oil and cake for sale. With the combined profits, Kwatsi purchased a plot of land — a step toward lasting financial security for her family.

Kwatsi with her goats

Nuru Nigeria combined the sheep rearing initiative with gender awareness sessions, creating space for women to engage openly with community leaders, religious figures, and government officials. “This was not just training; it was liberation,” Kwatsi said, reflecting on how community pastors and imams worked to dispel harmful interpretations of religious texts that once justified women’s exclusion.

“My husband is proud of my achievements, recognizing that my leadership benefits not only our household but the entire village.” -Kwatsi

Today, Kwatsi is one of four women serving on her village leadership council, a role that was unimaginable only a few years ago. “In a place where women were expected to remain silent when men spoke, we are now shaping the future of our community.” Her story shows that, for women in this community, the goat rearing initiative is not only strengthening incomes but also transforming social norms. Kwatsi shares that it “didn’t just change lives, it changed the system.”

Meet the farmer: Maryamu

Many families across northeast Nigeria were displaced during the Boko Haram insurgency. Read more about this and how Nuru Nigeria has cultivated resilience in these communities. For those returning to their communities after displacement, rebuilding a life can feel impossible. Maryamu shared, “Farming groundnuts was the only livelihood I knew, but poor yields, lack of access to quality inputs, and low market prices made it difficult to meet even the basic needs of my household.”

Maryamu pictured with her livestock

She registered to work in a Nuru Nigeria-supported cooperative that taught local farmers about climate-smart practices tailored to local realities, “They provided us with improved groundnut seeds and trained us on how to enrich our soil using compost instead of chemical fertilizers. This approach was new to us, but it was practical and affordable,” she recalled. The result was a harvest stronger than anything she had ever experienced.

Nuru Nigeria also helped connect farmers directly to an offtaker, cutting out middlemen and ensuring fair prices. For Maryamu, this opened a pathway to invest beyond farming. “I sold my groundnut at a good price, saved the profit, and decided to start a small-scale groundnut processing business. It was the beginning of income diversification and a step toward economic stability.”

Her opportunities expanded even further when the livestock program provided her with a ewe. Within months, it reproduced four lambs. She sold two, reinvested her earnings alongside profits from groundnuts, and purchased her first cow. The following season, she sold more lambs and groundnuts, adding a second cow and purchasing her first-ever piece of land.

For Maryamu, these milestones were about far more than financial gains, “As a woman, and especially as someone who returned to this community after displacement, this journey represents far more than farming. It is about restoration, dignity, and liberation.” Today, she stands in her community not only as a farmer, but as a landowner, businesswoman, and provider.

“I am deeply grateful to Nuru Nigeria and GIZ. You did not just give us inputs, you gave us knowledge, opportunity, and a new beginning. Today, I own cows, I own land, and I own my future.”

Next Steps: Future of Farming

This year, Nuru Ethiopia has expanded its operations into new communities, where 70 women in total across 7 cooperatives are now learning to save money–the first step in qualifying to raise livestock. Through Nuru Ethiopia-supported unions, these cooperatives are accessing extension workers who provide training on business management and animal husbandry best practices. As these cooperatives and their members gain new skills, they will then disseminate their learning to other cooperatives within their cooperative union. Through this approach, Nuru Ethiopia is reaching more than 300 additional women, with plans to continue the program in 2026. 

As Nuru Nigeria expands its efforts into Toungo LGA,  it is supporting 630 additional farmers through the shoat rearing activities, ensuring that farmers in these fragile communities have alternative livelihood opportunities. Following the same approach it began implementing in 2018, Nuru Nigeria will focus on building the capacity of farmers to rear goats and increase their income.