In Ethiopia, more attention is being given to crossbreeding to answer the questions of food security in the near future as the selection in local cattle is very slow to bring a progress within a short period of time. In contrast, improving the genetic potential of local cattle is not given equivalent emphasis though it is essential for effective selection in straight breeding and crossbreeding. Quick-win genetic based dairy cattle improvement technologies are important to transform the genetic progress of dairy cattle in Ethiopia. But dairy cattle genetic improvement programs are usually hampered by a dozen of factors. The aim of our review is to provide overview, underlying hurdles and future prospects of dairy cattle genetic gain efforts in Ethiopia. We will also appraise the genetic and non-genetic parameters of indigenous and crossbred dairy cattle from various reports.

Keywords: Dairy cattle; Ethiopia; genetic, Improvement and prospects