Achievement of the community based sheep breeding project in Menz area

Achievement of the community based sheep breeding project in Menz area

Presented by Tesfaye Getachew and Solomon Gizaw at the ICARDA-ILRI-BOKU project workshop on Designing community-based breeding strategies for indigenous sheep breeds of smallholders in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, October 29, 2010.

Debre Berhan Agricultural Research Center

Background Menz • One of the food insecure district• High contribution of sheep to the

livelihood• Government focused on sheep

specialization• Adaptive to low feed resource • Resistant to parasite• Tasty meat

Within breed improvement are highly challenging • Small flock size• Pedigree information• Performance recording• Uncontrolled mating• Negative selection• Inadequate farmers organization at village level• Take long time• Feed, health and market problems

Designing community-based breeding• Planning work shop in Feb 2007• Site selection• Project site

• Sinamba and Boda in Menz Gera• Keyafer and Zole in Menz Mamma

• Awareness creation in October 2007• Questionnaire survey in December 2007

–Characterization of breed and their production system

–Herding and breeding practices, selection criteria, constraints of sheep production . . .

Designing community-based breeding

• Choice experiment in 2008,• Ranking of animals, 2008• Heritability exercise, 2008

– Identifying selection criteria and breeding objective

• Market studies, 2008/09• Social network, 2009

Designing community-based breeding

Designing community-based breeding

• Alternative breeding strategy was designed

• presented to farmers in May 2009– Farmers agreed to select 10% of the ram

and to use the selected rams for 2 years– Two stage ram selection (at 6 month and

yearling)– live weight, lamb survival and fleece weight

Designing community-based breeding

• Base line flock establishment (June 2009)– Menz Gera about 1500 – Menz Mamma about 1100 sheep were recorded – A total of 125 households

• Herd book provided for each farmers• An enumerator recruited for data collection• Training provided to farmers

Achievements• About 1800 births with full record

• Farmers have been practiced data collection

Ram selection

• Two round selection was implemented• 1st round (Feb 2010)

– 12 ram lambs selected from 150 candidate in Gera

– 8 ram lambs selected from 42 candidate Mamma

• 2nd round (June 2010)– 11 ram lambs from 84 candidate in Gera– 13 ram lambs 100 candidate in Mamma

Sheep selection

Feb 20, 2010

Sheep selection and Award

• Lamb Id 11728• Rank 1• Birth Date Aug 2, 09• Birth weight 1.8• TMWt 12.5 kg• Smwt 19.07 kg• Ewe parity 2• EPPWT 25.2 kg

Sheep selection and award

• Lamb ID 11559• Rank 2• Birth Date July

4, 2009 • Birth Weight

2.1• TMWT 18.3• SMWT 23.67 • Ewe parity 4• Ewe PPWT 21.0

Sheep selection and award

• Lamb Id 11548• Rank 3• B Date July 31, 09• Birth Wt 2.5 kg• TMWT 15.5 kg• SMWT 18.89 kg• Ewe parity 5 • Ewe PPWT 21.4 kg

Sheep selection and award

Sheep selection and award

Best farmers Award

Group photo with farmers holding their best sheep Rosette

Ram grouping• Ram group has been formed

– Neighborhood– Communal grazing land– Number of ewes

• 8 ram group/village, each having 5 to 8 HHs• Selected rams assigned to each ram group• We have a signed agreement with each

group• Each group has their own leader

• The leaders are responsible–For ram rotation within group–Report any problem observed on the

ram–Communicate the group with the

researchers

Ram selection

• Forage development• Oat/vetch hay • Trelucern

• Developing and Introducing feeding and fattening package• Breeding ewe feeding• Lamb fattening• Old ewe• Castrated

Feed intervention

• Animal health activities– Paseurellosis, liver fluke and coenurosis

• We are in process to start community health service– Farmers are selected– We planned to train and equip them

Health intervention

• Cooperative (under way)– Facilitate ram selection, rotation and utilization– Forage development– Fattening and marketing

• Challenging• Farmers organized in informal way• 5 farmers selected as committee/village• Prepared by law (Menz Gera)

Co-operative formation

• Other activities

• highland fruit

• horticulture

• Farmers are interested to this project• Considered as good way to escape poverty• Team work• Commitment of scientists and researchers• The breeding program is at infant age (1.25 yrs)• The breed improvement set up is appreciated• Best rams are maintained• Ram utilization has settled

– Definitely they will transfer their genes to the their offspring

• This indicated that we will achieve what we plan

Conclusion

• Many of the problems have got solution–Negative selection–Uncontrolled mating–Small flock size–Pedigree information–Performance recording

Some still require support• Inadequate farmers organization at

village level• Feed, health and market problems• Take long time• Skipping at this time is a loss• We have to be with farmers until they,

surrounding farmers and development agents start to appreciate the change

Thank You