Productive and Economic Performance of Small Ruminants in Two Production Systems of the Highlands of Ethiopia PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Productive and Economic Performance of Small Ruminants in Two Production Systems of the Highlands of Ethiopia PDF full book. Access full book title Productive and Economic Performance of Small Ruminants in Two Production Systems of the Highlands of Ethiopia by Getahun Legesse. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Getahun Legesse
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN: 3867277656
Category : Goats
Languages : en
Pages : 173
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Getahun Legesse
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN: 3867277656
Category : Goats
Languages : en
Pages : 173
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Getahun Legesse
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN: 3736927657
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283
Get Book Here
Book Description
Small ruminants are an important component of the Ethiopian mixed-farming systems. A key feature of small ruminants in these systems is that they fulfil multiple roles, ranging from socio-cultural purposes to providing meat, milk and manure. Agro-climatic and socio-economic factors trigger off variations in small ruminant production systems; underestimating this diversity in sheep and goats management may hamper the identification of constraints and opportunities for sustainable development of the systems. Likewise, attempts to improve performance under the prevailing conditions must take into consideration their specific purpose in the production system and their performance potential under varying management levels. The assessment of the current productive and economic performance of small ruminants also provides baseline data against which the success of future interventions can be measured. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity and the household income contribution of small-ruminant enterprises of smallholder farmers in two mixed-farming systems of southern Ethiopia (viz. Adilo and Kofele) and to identify possible options for future improvements. Adilo represents the most densely populated areas in Ethiopia while Kofele represents an area of the southern highlands populated at medium level. Kofele is an area with a relatively cool climate, food sufficiency and fairly high agricultural potential in terms of soil fertility and land availability and the farmers in the area keep more livestock than their counterparts in Adilo. Adilo, on the other hand, is an area characterized by land scarcity and food insufficiency. Both areas are prominent suppliers of small ruminants to the neighbouring big cities and Addis Ababa. The study was carried out following a step-wise approach. Understanding the existing situation of small ruminant production was dealt with a diagnostic survey (399 households) and group discussions in respective sites between April and July 2004. Detailed information on growth, reproductive and economic parameters was gathered through a one year long flock and household monitoring (155 households) between September 2005 and August 2006. Semi-structured surveys and feedback workshops were also conducted with the participating households to elicit information on income-expense details and the adoption likelihood of small ruminant technologies in the study area. The statistical data analyses were performed applying descriptive statistics, general linear models, and logistic regression using Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software. Results of the diagnostic survey revealed that small ruminants fulfil several roles in the study area. However, the principal purpose of keeping sheep and goats was to generate cash income. Sheep milk consumption was widespread around Kofele unlike most agricultural systems in the country. Nearly all respondents in Adilo reported fattening their sheep before sale, while such a practice was uncommon in Kofele. Informal insurance schemes were evolving among the sheep keepers in Adilo. The common problem identified from both individual interviews and group discussions was feed shortage. Small ruminant disease (e.g. fasciolosis) was also the major constraint in Kofele, where marshy areas are increasingly assigned for grazing in the rainy season as more suitable lands are gradually allocated to cropping activities The average litter size at birth of sheep covered in this study was 1.3, the rate of single and twin births being 74% and 25%, respectively. Significantly higher litter size was obtained in the Adilo small ruminant system that implies better reproductive rate thereby higher meat output from the area. There is evidence, from the reproductive and growth performance that considerable stress occurs in small ruminants during the dry season due to inadequate nutrition. The lambs in Kofele exhibited significantly higher birth and weaning weights while the average pre-weaning daily gains were about 100g in both sites. High young mortalities of about 20% in lambs and kids can be considered as a majorconstraint. The flock structure of small ruminants in the present study showed that male offtake at a young age (around one-year) was high. The overall offtake rate, which was calculated for the one-year study period as sales plus slaughters plus animals gifted out permanently as a proportion of total flock size at the start of the study, was more than 90% due mainly to sales; the value obtained is among the highest reported offtake rates in sub-Saharan Africa. The flock structure and the offtake suggest that the management objective of sheep owners’ is mainly meat production for the market. The sale of small ruminants contributed to 39% and 23% of total farm cash income among small ruminant keepers in Adilo and Kofele, respectively. Though the two research sites are practicing rainfed mixed-farming, are known for their small ruminant markets and are only a hundred kilometres apart, the existing practices that may be an entry point for further intervention and strengthening are different. Farmers in each site initiated new practices like fattening and managing a household ‘veterinary kit’. In Adilo, logistic regression analysis revealed that the utilization of commercial concentrate decreased with increasing age and farm size only up to a point. The likelihood of adoption increased with livestock holding up to reaching a maximum and then declines as holding increases further. Female farmers, literate household heads, and households with high family size were more likely to adopt the utilization of commercial concentrates. On the other hand, farm size and livestock holding significantly influenced the probability of adopting the practice of treating small ruminants via the household veterinary kits in Kofele area. Treating small ruminants in the household increased with farm size only up to the point at which it reaches a maximum. Those farmers who own a high number of livestock were significantly inclined to undertake the mentioned practice in the household. The growing demand for meat from small ruminants, the improving transportation infrastructure and the experience of farmers in small ruminant keeping are providing opportunities to enhance the contribution of the sector to smallholder farmers’ economy. The performance of the animals can be improved by reinforcing community animal health services and designing alternative feed resources like fodder trees in order to supplement breeding females and young stock at critical seasons of the year. With regard to feeding, attention should also be paid to the shortest feeding regimen before the holidays in which most sales are occurring particularly through strategic feeding and fattening. The current study has analysed two typical mixed-farming systems in southern Ethiopia, employing methods of questionnaires and a participatory approach directed towards capturing farm households and family decisions. Yet, the comparative evaluation of small ruminant systems remained the major focus of the work. The merging of these two approaches was performed in a systematic way, showing its limitations in only partial consideration of non-livestock activities. There also still remains the need to determine the performance of small ruminants under a purposefully stratified range of management systems and under-long term variations of environmental factors so that the out-scaling of results may have a broader inductive basis.
Author: Anna Al Baqain
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN: 3736941552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167
Get Book Here
Book Description
Summary In Israel, more than half of the national sheep flock is kept by Bedouin in the Negev desert. Extensive production systems co-exist besides semi-intensive systems with varying economic success. There is a constant regional demand for sheep meat, but the local supply is not able to cover it. The wide gap between the performance potential of the commonly used and environmentally adapted local Awassi and improved sheep breeds suggests an increase in economic efficiency by intensification of breeding. The choice of a suitable breed for a specific system is seen as key factor for the farm success and requires the knowledge of the animals’ adaptation. Information on the performance of Bedouin sheep flocks under the given harsh production conditions are, however, missing. The purpose of the study was thus a characterization of current production systems, the assessment of the aggregated performance of the different Awassi lines kept in those systems and the impact of socio-economic and production factors on the efficiency of Bedouin sheep production. Also breeding objectives of Bedouin sheep farmers were investigated. The role of new breeding technologies in the ongoing process of intensification of sheep farming systems was analyzed and discussed. Data collection was step-wise with repeated field surveys from January 2007 till March 2009, lasting 6 months altogether. In a first diagnostic survey 30 Bedouin households in the Negev desert, located in two different climatic zones, arid and semi-arid, and keeping a minimum flock size of 50 animals, were visited. Households were grouped into 4 tribe groups according to location and ethnical background. In a second step, 21 households of the previous sample were visited again and grouped according to the breed composition of their flocks and by their use of hormonal synchronization and/or artificial insemination. Semi-structured interviews and participative observation yielded information about the socio-economic situation of the household, function of flocks, the livestock husbandry, sheep management and production. Sheep market surveys, key person interviews and secondary data were used for verification of data. Detailed information on sheep was obtained through on-farm performance recording run in 16 sheep farms, including a total of 2420 breeding ewes. Sheep of different Improved Awassi lines were present in those experimental flocks, including the Afec Awassi, carrying the Booroola gene (BB/B+), which has a major impact on prolificacy, and the Assaf breed. In a last step, 56 sheep farmers from different parts of the Negev were asked about their selection criteria for replacement. Trait preferences were derived by a consecutive ranking technique. The data analysis incorporated descriptive statistics, general linear models and non-parametric tests performed with SAS 9.1 and SAS 9.2 software. The diagnostic survey revealed that functions of sheep flocks differed significantly between tribes: in the semi-arid area with a main focus on generating income, and in tribes of the arid zone with a higher importance of subsistence related and social purposes. The primary purpose was meat production. The dual purpose of meat and milk was still found in 57% of the farms, yet only 13% of the farms were selling milk products. The missing market access was the main reason for a strong decline in the use of milk, wool and manure during the last decade. Lamb meat, providing the main output of all farms, ranged from 13 to 58 kg of marketable live weight per ewe and year (LME). Classified according to their LME, 30% of the investigated farms followed an extensive, 47% a semi-extensive and 23% a semi-intensive management. Significant differences in meat output were found for the factors tribe group, breed composition of flocks and selling age of lambs. The gross margin per ewe and year varied between -27 € and 54 € and the net benefit per flock and year (NB) between -7,020 € and 20,993 €. Both economic parameters were positively related to the meat output. Negative NB’s were realized by 43% of the farms, belonging foremost to traditional Bedouin tribes, oriented towards subsistence and living in remote areas. Only 27% of economically successful farms generated an income comparable to that of a part-time off-farm job. These farmers regularly used veterinary services to introduce improved breeds and modern breeding technology. Their good market access facilitated a strong market-oriented production, integrating lamb fattening, which had the highest impact on the production success. During the two years of research a severe drought occurred in the study region, causing a decline in LME, due to lower lambing rates and higher mortalities. To adapt to changing conditions, farms keeping the pure local Awassi breed reduced their flock sizes stronger than farms keeping also crossbreds. Consequently, the LME and the NB decreased stronger in flocks of pure local Awassi, compared to flocks with crossbreds. The decline in the NB was 14 times lower in flocks with use of hormonal synchronization and/or artificial insemination than in flocks with the local breed kept under traditional management. The lowest decline in the NB and the benefit cost ratio (BCR) were found in flocks with more than 50% crossbreds. Yet, a high variation in performance among flocks with different degrees of crossbreeding was detected. Data analysis of flocks with permanent performance recording revealed that prolificacy was significantly affected by breed, besides farm and parity. Afec Awassi (B+) ewes had a significantly (p
Author: Frans Swanepoel
Publisher: UJ Press
ISBN: 1928424813
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Get Book Here
Book Description
The book provides critical information and knowledge on the importance of livestock in the global effort to alleviate poverty and promote human health. It describes and evaluates case studies, examines theoretical frameworks, and discusses key global policy development issues, challenges and constraints related to smallholder livestock-production systems around the globe. The book is written for academic professionals, industry experts, government officials and other scholars interested in the facts and issues concerning the contribution of livestock to the social and economic progress of developing countries.
Author: Solomon Gizaw
Publisher: ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD)
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 61
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Winrock International Livestock Research and Training Center
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Get Book Here
Book Description
The objectives of this study are to assess the role of small ruminants (sheep and goats) in the food production systems of developing countries, examine their advantages and disadvantages, analyze the constraints limiting their further contribution to the welfare of small farm/low income rural producers, prescribe measures for overcoming these constraints, and make recommendations related to potential donor involvement in support of the development of sheep and goat production. Small ruminants are viewed as an integral, but not dominant component of complex agricultural systems. Particular emphasis is placed on sheep and goats in mixed herds grazing dry rangelands and in small mixed farm systems in medium to high rainfall areas. An analysis of major constraints -- ecological, biological, policy, and socio-economic -- leads to recommendations on the need for a balanced production system approach for research, training and development programs, and for a combination of support activities such as herd health programs, and formulation of favorable credit, marketing and pricing policies for small ruminants and their products.
Author: International Livestock Centre for Africa
Publisher: ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD)
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781863204712
Category : Animal genetic engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Get Book Here
Book Description
Draws together information from a number of sources to describe the state of research and development on worm control in Asia and the Pacific.
Author: Legese, G.
Publisher: ILRI (aka ILCA and ILRAD)
ISBN: 9291463582
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 74
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Jemimah Njuki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136186212
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 169
Get Book Here
Book Description
This book provides empirical evidence from Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique and from different production systems of the importance of livestock as an asset to women and their participation in livestock and livestock product markets. It explores the issues of intra-household income management and economic benefits of livestock markets to women, focusing on how types of markets, the types of products and women’s participation in markets influence their access to livestock income. The book further analyses the role of livestock ownership, especially women’s ownership of livestock, in influencing household food security though increasing household dietary diversity and food adequacy. Additional issues addressed include access to resources, information and financial services to enable women more effectively to participate in livestock production and marketing, and some of the factors that influence this access. Practical strategies for increasing women’s market participation and access to information and services are discussed. The book ends with recommendations on how to mainstream gender in livestock research and development if livestock are to serve as a pathway out of poverty for the poor and especially for women.
