Characterization of the production system and breeding practices of indigenous goat keepers in Hai district, Northern Ta
- PDF / 828,610 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 106 Downloads / 186 Views
REGULAR ARTICLES
Characterization of the production system and breeding practices of indigenous goat keepers in Hai district, Northern Tanzania: implications for community-based breeding program A. S. Nguluma 1 & E. Hyera 1 & Z. Nziku 2 & E. M. Shirima 3 & M. S. H. Mashingo 4 & R. N. B. Lobo 5 & T. Getachew 6 & B. Rischkowsky 6 & A. Haile 6 Received: 21 February 2019 / Accepted: 1 June 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Indigenous breeding practices of the farmers and the livestock production system form the bases for designing community-based breeding programs. The aim of this study was to characterize production system and examine breeding practices of the indigenous goat farmers in Hai district in Northern Tanzania to determine their relevance in establishing a community-based breeding program in the area. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in which information was collected from 160 households randomly selected from 6 villages. Average household herd was 29.2 goats with majority keeping less than 20 goats. Major reasons for keeping goats were income generation, meat and milk production. Controlled mating was practiced mainly using apron and castration. Castration was practiced using traditional methods to control breeding and improve meat quality. Farmers in the study area had large goat flocks and a small buck to doe ratio. Farmers do not have a good understanding of inbreeding and its negative effects but practise other good breeding methods which could impact the productivity of their animals. Diseases and feed shortages were the main constraints to production. Opportunities exist for a community-based breeding program to genetically improve goat productivity. Keywords Breeding practices . Characterization . Indigenous goat keepers . Production system
Introduction Tanzanian goat population is mainly composed of indigenous breed types of Small East African (SEA) goats which are well
* A. S. Nguluma [email protected] 1
Tanzania Livestock Research Institute, P. O. Box 147, Sanya Juu, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
2
Tanzania Livestock Research Institute, P. O. Box 5016, Tanga, Tanzania
3
Tanzania Livestock Research Institute, P. O. Box 834, Dodoma, Tanzania
4
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, P. O. Box 2870, Tanga, Tanzania
5
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation-IMBRAPA Goats and Sheep, P.O. Box 145, Sobral, CE CEP 62010-970, Brazil
6
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), C/o ILRI, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
adapted to many ecological zones and are widely distributed in different geographical areas (Njombe and Msanga, 2008). The goats play an important role in the livelihood and income generation of smallholder farmers in rural areas. The indigenous goats of Tanzania are regarded as hardy as they survive well in the harsh environmental conditions of high temperatures and drought and seasonal feed availability. Comparatively, the indigenous goats outperform their exotic counterparts in many farmers valued traits such as disease and heat
Data Loading...