Abstract
The study was conducted in the central rift valley of Ethiopia to define Arsi-Bale goat keepers’ breeding objectives and breeding practices and to describe flock management practices and rate of inbreeding in Arsi-Bale goat population. Two-stage sampling techniques were employed to select study sites and 202 respondents. Semistructured questionnaire and group discussion were used to collect the required information. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social science. Rate of inbreeding in the population and indices were also calculated. On average, each respondent holds around 12 goats in which 30.7, 66.6 and 2.7% were males, females and castrates, respectively. The most important purpose of goat production in the study area was for milk utilization. Farmers have multiple breeding objectives and they considered both subjective and objective selection criteria with slightly more emphasis on morphological characteristics for buck selection than replacement doe selection. Only 39.1% (n = 79) of respondents have their own breeding bucks. None of the respondents practiced controlled mating. Average rate of inbreeding in the population was around 0.20. Arsi-Bale goats are found to be adaptive to the prevailing condition. Therefore, any breed improvement strategy to be designed or implemented in the study area and other similar areas should consider important traditional breeding practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armstrong, J.B., 2006. Inbreeding: Why we will not do it? (http://www.parispoodles.com/Inbreeding.html).
Central Statistics Authority (CSA), 2011. Agricultural sample survey volume II: Report on Livestock and Livestock characteristics in Ethiopia. Statistical Bulletin 505, February 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Deribe, G., 2009. On-farm performance evaluation of indigenous sheep and goats in Alaba, southern Ethiopia, (unpublished MSc thesis, Hawassa University).
Duguma, G., Mirkena, T., Haile, A., Iñiguez, L., Okeyo, A.M., Tibbo, M., Rischkowsky, B., Sölkner, J. and Wurzinger, M., 2010. Participatory approaches to investigate breeding objectives of livestock keepers. Livestock Research for Rural Development. Volume 22, Article #64. Retrieved August 14, 2011, from http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd22/4/dugu22064.htm.
Endeshaw, A., 2007. Assessment on production system and marketing of goats at Dale district (Sidama Zone), Ethiopia (unpublished MSc thesis, Hawassa University).
Falconer, D.S., Mackay, T.F.C., 1996. Introduction to quantitative genetics 4th ed, (Harlow, England, Longman).
Kahi, A. K., Rewe, T. O., Kosgey, I. S., 2005. Outlook on Agric. 34, 261-270.
Kosgey, I.S., 2004. Breeding objectives and breeding strategies for small ruminant in the tropics, (unpublished PhD thesis, Wageningen University).
Legesse, G., Abebe, G., Siegmund-schultze, M. and Valle zárate, A., 2008. Small ruminant production in two mixed-farming systems of southern Ethiopia: Status and prospects for improvement. Experimental Agriculture 44, 399–412.
Maiwashe, A., Nephawe, K.A., van der Westhuizen, R.R., Mostert, B.E. and Theron, H.E., 2006. Rate of inbreeding and effective population size in four major South African dairy cattle breeds. South African Journal of Animal Science, 36 (1), 50–57.
Mbuku, S.M., Kosgey, I.S. Kahi, A.K., 2006. Indigenous breeding practices of pastoralist goat keepers in northern Kenya. 8th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, August 13–18, 2006, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
Muller, C.J.C., 2005. Genetic parameter estimation and breeding plans for the South African dairy goat herd, (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Stellenbosch).
Statistical Procedures for Social Sciences (SPSS), 2006. SPSS User’s guide version 16.0. SPSS Institute Inc., Cary NC, USA.
Tabbaa, M.J., R. Al-Atiyat, 2009. Breeding objectives, selection criteria and factors influencing them for goat breeds in Jordan. Small Ruminant Research 84, 8–15.
Tesfaye, A.T., 2004. Genetic characterization of indigenous gota populations of Ethiopia using microsatellite DNA markers, (unpublished PhD desertation, Deeemed University).
Tesfaye, G., 2008. Characterization of Menz and Afar Indigeneous sheep breeds of smallhoders and pastoralists for designing community based breeding sterategies in Ethiopia, (unpublished MSc thesis, Haramaya University).
Tesfaye, K., 2010. Assessment of on-farm breeding practices and estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters for reproductive and survival traits in indigenous Arsi-Bale goats (unpublished MSc thesis, Haramaya University).
Tsedeke, K., 2007. Production and marketing of sheep and goats in Alaba, in southern Ethiopia, (unpublished Msc thesis, Hawassa University).
Zewdu, W., Workneh, A., Sölkner, J., 2006. Breeding scheme based on analysis of community breeding objectives for cattle in north-western Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Animal Production 6(2), 53–66.
Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge Oromia Agricultural Research Institute for financial support as well as Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center for providing all necessary facilities. We are thankful to the staff of Adami Tulu Jiddo-Kombolcha and Shalla district Office of Livestock Development, Animal Health and Marketing for their cooperation in providing the necessary information for this study. Finally, we wish to express our gratitude to the respondent farmers in the study area for their time.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kebede, T., Haile, A. & Dadi, H. Smallholder goat breeding and flock management practices in the central rift valley of Ethiopia. Trop Anim Health Prod 44, 999–1006 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-0033-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-0033-9