The purpose of this publication is to explain the most important management practices and forage resources which can contribute towards sustainable and profitable small ruminant production systems based on local feed resources, mainly high quality forages. In some islands, due to labor and land constraints, small ruminant production would not be longer viable at any significant levels, but in other countries, particularly those with extensive unused land resources, there is a tremendous potential to produce small ruminants, to develop very profitable enterprises and to supply the current and future market demands of the region and beyond.