Small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, fit well into smallholder farming systems: cheap to buy and maintain, easy to work with and to market, they are widely distributed throughout the world, but policy-makers and administrators tend to overlook their contributions to the economy and rural and peri-urban livelihoods.

NOTE: The main target audience for the FAO Diversification booklets are people and organisations that provide advisory, business and technical support to small-scale farmers and local communities in low and middle-income countries, as well as policy makers and programme managers. They are not intended to be technical ""how to do it ""guidelines; however, each booklet identifies additional sources of information, technical support and websites.