Livestock sub-sector contributes 13.6% to agricultural GDP and 5.0% to National GDP. The dairy industry contributes about 50% of total output from livestock sector and plays an important role as a source of food, income and employment. Dairy farming is concentrated in 52 districts found in the cattle corridor which stretches from the south western region through central to north eastern. On average, 60% of the households in the cattle corridor keep livestock.

The national cattle population over the yeas has experienced steady growth from an estimated 365 million litres in 19991 to 1.5billion litres in 2008 (estimate based on livestock numbers). The national herd size is about 7.7 million cattle of (indigenous, exotic and crosses)