Abstract
A study was undertaken to characterize production system, breeding practices and production constraints of Begait goat in Kafta humera district, northwestern lowlands of Ethiopia. Personal observations, focus group discussions and a detailed structured questionnaire were used to collect data from 150 respondents (99 small-scale and 51 large-scale farmers). Mixed crop-livestock production system was found to be the dominant farming system in the study district. The farmers kept a variety of livestock species including goats, sheep, cattle, chickens and donkeys. Small ruminants are the most numerous and are of great importance in the area. Goats are herded with sheep in the open fields by the young boys in the family/hired grazers. They have a number of roles though mainly kept as a source of cash income. Breeding was generally uncontrolled. Size, growth rate and libido were the most frequently reported traits in selecting bucks, whereas does were selected based on size, twining ability and milk yield. Effective population size and rate of inbreeding were calculated by considering random mating and flocks were not mixed. The major constraints hampering goat production in the area were water scarcity, feed and grazing land shortages and insufficient veterinary services among the others. Therefore, addressing these constraints is important to design a successful genetic improvement scheme in the area for goat.
Highlights
Goats (Capra hircus) are of the most beneficial animals
Most (99.99%) of the goats are indigenous types [1] [2], which have become adapted to a wide agro-ecological zones of the country [3] due to natural selection
The better educational background obtained in this study would be a good opportunity for further animal genetic improvement programs in the study area, since literate communities are more likely adopt and practice new technologies
Summary
Goats (Capra hircus) are of the most beneficial animals. Ethiopia is one of the top ten goat producing countries in the world. Majority of the national goat population is found in the lowlands. Most (99.99%) of the goats are indigenous types [1] [2], which have become adapted to a wide agro-ecological zones of the country [3] due to natural selection. The environmental adaptation of indigenous breeds facilitates livestock production in a range of agro-ecological conditions and constraints [4]
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