African animal trypanosomiasis contrains agriculture in the area of Africa that have the greatest potential for expanding agricultutale production. Even in areas of only moderate risk of disease outbreak, herds have lower calving rates, lower milk yields, higher risks of calf mortality and reduce efficiency as wok animal; they also require more frequent treatment with preventive and curative trypanocidal drigs. Trypanosomiasis tisk therefore has massive social, economic and health impacts on humans. Not only can people contract human trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness), but the presence of tsetse prevents them from keeping adequate numbers of livestock to guarantee themsleves a livelihood, thus influencing decisions about where to live and how to manage their livestock. This paper assesses the impacts of trypanosomiasis at the therd household, regional, national and continental levels, showing how tsetse impinges on mixed farming, agricultural development, land use and, unfortunately, rural development in general.