Mixed Crop-livestock Production Systems Research Articles

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Peste des petits ruminants in different production systems in Uganda

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious and fatal disease of mostly domestic goats and sheep. First reported in Uganda in 2007, the extent of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) exposure, geographical distribution and risk factors of its transmission and spread are not clearly understood. In this study, we used cluster random sampling methodology to select study villages from three districts representing three different production systems along Uganda’s “cattle corridor”. Between October and December 2022, 2520 goat and sheep serum samples were collected from 252 households with no history of PPR vaccination in the past one year. The household heads were interviewed to assess possible risk factors of PPRV transmission using a structured questionnaire. The serum samples were screened with a commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for PPRV antibodies. The determined overall true seroprevalence of PPRV was 27.3% [95% CI: 25.4–29.1]. The seroprevalence of PPRV antibodies in different production systems was 44.1% [95% CI: 40.6–47.7], 31.7% [95% CI: 28.4–35.0] and 6.1% [95% CI: 4.4–7.9] for pastoral, agropastoral and mixed crop-livestock production systems respectively. A mixed-effects multivariable logistic regression model revealed strong statistical evidence of association between female animals and PPRV antibody seropositivity compared to males [OR= 2.45, 95% CI: 1.7–3.5, p < 0.001]. The likelihood of being PPRV antibody seropositive significantly increased with increasing small ruminant age. Animals older than 3 years were more than three times as likely to be PPRV seropositive compared to animals aged under 1 year [OR= 3.41, 95% CI: 2.39–4.85, p < 0.001]. There was no statistical evidence of association between small ruminant species and PPRV antibody seropositivity (p = 0.423). Village flocks that interacted with neighboring flocks daily during grazing (IRR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.19–2.13) and watering around swamps (IRR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.19–2.13) were highly correlated with increased number of PPRV seropositive animals as compared to flocks that were more restricted in grazing and watered around other water sources other than swamps. Flocks from pastoral and agropastoral production systems were more than 10 times more likely to have seropositive animals than mixed crop-livestock flocks. Targeting PPR control interventions (vaccination and livestock movement control) to pastoral and agro-pastoral small ruminant production systems that are very prone to PPR incursions is recommended to prevent PPRV spread to low-risk smallholder mixed crop-livestock production systems.

Interventions to reduce camel and small ruminant young stock morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia.

Morbidity and mortality of young stock is a challenge for livestock producers globally. In Ethiopia, where camels and small ruminants (sheep and goats) are essential smallholder and pastoral livestock, young stock losses can cause severe consequences to livelihoods. This pilot study, part of a Government-led Young Stock Mortality Reduction Consortium project, was undertaken to identify and evaluate interventions to reduce young stock mortality in mixed crop-livestock and pastoral production systems in Ethiopia. Pastoralists and mixed crop-livestock farmers were enrolled by convenience sampling across four regions. Households were sampled with questionnaire surveys to establish baseline mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease in animals younger than one year, and followed longitudinally over a one-year period, with final evaluations conducted from March to July 2020. Mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease before and after implementation were compared using Poisson regression models including household as random effect. Prior to intervention, median camel mortality, prevalence of diarrhoea, and respiratory disease across production systems in the different households was 0.4, 0.44 and 0.2, respectively. This compared to median pastoralist small ruminant mortality risk and prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease of 0.45, 0.32 and 0.18, respectively. Post-intervention, median camel mortality, prevalence of diarrhoea and respiratory disease dropped to 0.1, 0.08 and 0. Similarly, more than half of the small ruminant households reported no mortality, and no cases of diarrhoea or respiratory disease. In camels, rate ratios of mortality risk, prevalence of diarrhoea, and respiratory disease post-intervention compared to the baseline were 0.41, 0.41 and 0.37. In small ruminants, rate ratios were 0.33, 0.35 and 0.46. All reductions were statistically significant (p<0.01). Generally, pastoralists experienced higher mortality and disease prevalence compared to mixed crop-livestock smallholders, and the effect of intervention was slightly higher in pastoralist households. The pilot study findings demonstrated highly significant reductions in mortality and risk of diarrhoea and respiratory disease post-interventions. However, not all households benefitted from the interventions, with a few households reporting increased mortality and morbidity. Many households had very few animals which made it challenging to measure impact and the study was conducted over a single year, without a control group, so between year effects could not be accounted for in the reductions observed. These findings should contribute to improved livestock productivity in Ethiopia.

Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli Isolates from Livestock and the Environment in Extensive Smallholder Livestock Production Systems in Ethiopia.

The objective of this study was to characterize the distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from livestock feces and soil in smallholder livestock systems. A cross-sectional study was carried out sampling 77 randomly selected households in four districts representing two agroecologies and production systems. E. coli was isolated and the susceptibility to 15 antimicrobials was assessed. Of 462 E. coli isolates tested, resistance to at least one antimicrobial was detected in 52% (43.7-60.8) of isolates from cattle fecal samples, 34% (95% CI, 26.2-41.8) from sheep samples, 58% (95% CI, 47.9-68.2) from goat samples and 53% (95% CI, 43.2-62.4) from soil samples. AMR patterns for E. coli from livestock and soil showed some similarities, with the highest prevalence of resistance detected against streptomycin (33%), followed by amoxycillin/clavulanate (23%) and tetracycline (8%). The odds of detecting E. coli resistance to ≥2 antimicrobials in livestock fecal samples were nearly three times (Odd Ratio-OR: 2.9; 95% CI, 1.72-5.17; p = 0.000) higher in lowland pastoral than in highland mixed crop-livestock production systems. These findings provide insights into the status of resistance in livestock and soil, and associated risk factors in low-resource settings in Ethiopia.

Study on incidence of lamb morbidity and mortality and associated risk factors in the mixed crop-livestock production system of Gewata District, Kaffa zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Lamb morbidity and mortality cause significant loss in a smallholder production system. A longitudinal prospective survey was conducted on 408 randomly selected farmers located in six purposefully selected kebeles in Gewata woreda from June 2020 to July 2021 to determine the incidence of morbidity and mortality in lambs and to identify risk factors. For this purpose, 408 lambs from the Gewata district’s mixed crop-livestock production system were examined every day from birth to three months of age. The data was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method, the log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results showed that the cumulative incidence of all-cause of morbidity and mortality at the end of three month was 12.86% (95% CI: 10.26–16.13%), and 6.86% (95% CI: 5.03–9.35%), respectively. Diarrhea was the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 49.33 and 50% morbidity and mortality, respectively. Pneumonia was the second most frequent cause of morbidity and death. In the K-M hazard analysis, the greatest risk of lamb morbidity and mortality was observed during the first month of life, and then the risk decreased significantly as the lamb grew. Of the 17 potential risk factors studied, the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that lamb sex, birth weight, umbilical care, time and method of colostrum feeding were the five predictors that were significantly associated with a higher risk of morbidity, whereas birth weight, lambing difficulty, dams’ parity, method and time of colostrum feeding were the five predictors that were significantly associated with a higher risk of mortality. Moreover, a higher risk of morbidity was observed in lambs with methods of colostrum feeding after birth (HR = 3.158; p = 0.000) and with variations in birth weight (HR = 1.418; p = 0.003). Similarly, the mortality risk was 4.926 (p = 0.047), 4.023 (p = 0.012), and 3.206 (p = 0.000) times higher in lambs with lambing difficulties, at the time of colostrum feeding, and by the method of colostrum feeding, respectively. According to this research, lamb morbidity and mortality rates in the study area are significantly high which has a great impact on the replacement stock and production. Hence, awareness should be created among farmers concerning improved lamb management practices.

Agricultural resource and risk management with multiperiod stochastics: A case of the mixed crop-livestock production system in the drylands of Jordan

Generally, agricultural production involves several challenges. In the drylands, it is further complicated by weather-related risks and resource degradation. In this paper, we present a case study of the mixed crop-livestock production system in Jordan. To better capture the nature of response farming in the drylands, we develop a methodology for using crop simulation models to directly generate data for optimizing production practices of an integrated crop-livestock producing household in a dynamic stochastic context. The approach optimizes producer’s adaptations to random events, such as weather, which are realized throughout the planning horizon. To ensure the sustainability of the optimized production decisions, long-term valuations of end of horizon soil attributes are included in the objective function. This approach endogenizes the tradeoff between short-and long-run productivity. Model results show that due to the limited natural resource endowments and financial liquidity constraints of the typical farm households in the study area, we find these households have limited options. To optimally respond to weather conditions during the production season, better manage risk, and achieve improvements in soil attributes, a typical household would need larger farm size, larger flock, and better financial liquidity than it currently commands. Like all such models, the farm household model used in this paper is not suitable for drawing policy implications. Therefore, targeted analysis using appropriate sectoral or economy-wide models will be needed in the future to identify and test the efficacy of different policy and institutional interventions including land consolidation, establishment of producer and marketing cooperatives, access to financial services including agricultural credit, and crop insurance in expanding the resource base of farmers—thereby positioning them for higher earnings, ensuring soil conservation, and enhancing the sustainability of the production system.

Straw dry matter yield and quality of finger millet intercropped with selected vetch species at different seeding ratios in western Oromia, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to evaluate the straw dry matter yield and quality of finger millet intercropped with three species of vetch (Vicia sativa, Viciavillosa and Vicia atropurpurea) at different seeding ratios in western Oromia, Ethiopia. The experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) arranged factorially in three replications. The treatment consisted of three vetch species and three seeding ratios (25:75, 50:50 and 75:25% finger millet: vetch respectively) and one pure stand of each as a control. The dry matter yield (DMY) of finger millet straw was different (P < 0.05) for the tested treatment combinations and the highest DMY of finger millet straw (5.85 t ha−1) was obtained from T10. The crude protein yield of finger millet straw was also influenced by the main effect and interaction effects of species and seeding ratio (P < 0.05). According to this study, T10 gave the highest (0.50 t ha−1) crude protein yield of finger millet straw. In general, vetch intercropping with finger millet has improved overall dry matter yield and quality of the intercrops. Thus, T10 was found to be the best treatment tested in terms of dry matter yield and quality to be used in a food/feed production strategy in a mixed crop-livestock production system to alleviate food/feed shortages in Bako and similar agro-ecologies.

The magnitude of calf morbidity and mortality and risk factors in smallholder farms across livestock production systems in central Ethiopia.

BackgroundCalf morbidity and mortality are major constraints in Ethiopian cattle production that severely limit available replacement stock. Calf morbidity and mortality reports in Ethiopia mostly focus on market‐oriented dairy production systems. A cross‐sectional study was undertaken in central Ethiopia with the objectives of estimating the magnitude of calf morbidity and mortality across three production systems and contributing risk factors.MethodsA cross‐sectional study was conducted at pastoral, mixed‐crop livestock, and dairy farms in central Ethiopia from February 2019 to June 2019 to collect 1‐year retrospective and cross‐sectional data on calf morbidity and mortality from smallholder farmers using a structured questionnaire.ResultsA total of 293 smallholder farmers were involved in the study. Among the households interviewed, 83% of respondents encountered feed shortages in the year prior to this study. The overall annual calf morbidity prevalence and mortality rate were 6.49% (95% CI: 4.87–8.44) and 10% (95% CI: 8.28–11.93), respectively. Morbidity was higher in Dalocha and Sululta districts in mixed crop‐livestock and peri‐urban production systems, respectively. Logistic regression analysis of potential risk factors indicated that calf morbidity was associated with the calf and dam body condition score (BCS). Calves with BCS of 3 (medium) were less likely to be morbid (odds ratio [OR]: 0.20 [95% CI: 0.07–0.56]) than calves with BCS of 1 (emaciated), and calves born from dams with a body condition score of 2 (thin) were also at lower risk (OR: 0.25 [95% CI: 0.07–0.95]) than calves born from emaciated dams. The odds of calf mortality in Awash Fentale district were higher (OR: 6.19 [95% CI: 2.09–18.32]) compared to Sululta district.ConclusionsThe study results revealed that the production system and management affect the magnitude of calf morbidity and mortality. We recommend improving water and feed access and resources for livestock owners to reduce calf morbidity and mortality.

Husbandry practices and constraints of smallholder dairy production in Dilla Zuriya district, Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia

The study assessed dairy cattle management practices and identified constraints at smallholder dairy farms in Dilla-Zuriya District. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken on 120 purposely selected smallholder dairy farmers from three potential kebeles (Chichu, Andida and Gola). A Structured questionnaire was developed and applied to collect data. Descriptive statistics procedures of SPSS were followed to analyse the collected data. The result showed that most farmers (70.9%) produce milk primarily for income generation under a mixed crop-livestock production system. The herds mean of the local and cross breeds cattle in the study area were 5.23 and 2.41, respectively. Banana and Enset leaves and stems were the primary feed resources of the study area. Besides, farmers use natural grazing pasture and home fruit and vegetable leftovers as animal feed. The watering frequency was twice a day, either from river or pipe. Traditional houses made from locally available construction materials like mud and wood are the typical dairy cattle housing system. Except for calves, all types of dairy cattle were kept together in the same house. Feed shortage, limited access to, and the high purchasing cost of improved dairy heifers were the top two pressing constraints of dairy production in the study area. Therefore, enhancing the quality and accessibility of feed and applying breed improvement technologies are highly recommended to support dairy production.

Major Causes of Calf and Lamb Mortality and Morbidity and Associated Risk Factors in the Mixed Crop-Livestock Production System in Jamma District, South Wollo, Ethiopia

Lamb and calf preweaning mortality and morbidity account for serious losses in sheep and cattle production and are, thus, a major factor in reducing profitability and adversely affecting the sheep and cattle farming. Thus, a prospective cohort study was conducted in Jamma district, Amhara Regional State, to determine the major cause of calf and lamb morbidity and mortality and associated risk factors. A semi-structured questionnaire and clinical assessment of the animals were conducted from 150 households to assess the potential risk factors. Besides, a total of 102 (81 fecal samples and 21 skin scrapings) were collected from 150 clinically ill and suspected animals to identify the cause of morbidity and mortality. The test of difference and correlation between variables were computed using chi-square and generalized linear model analysis. The total morbidity and mortality in calves were 33.3% and 2%, respectively, whereas for lamb, they were 27.3% and 32.5%, respectively. In calf, septicemia (100%) was a major cause of mortality, and diarrhea (54.6%) was the leading cause of calf morbidity followed by skin disease (30.1%), respiratory problems (12%), and septicemia (3.3%). Malnutrition was the most common problem in lambs causing up to 31.3% mortality followed by diarrhea 24% and respiratory problems 21.3%. The presence of a disease in adult cattle was significantly correlated to the presence of disease in calves (p < 0.001; r = 0.35). There was also a significantly higher positive correlation between sickness in adult sheep and lambs (p < 0.001, r = 0.45). Gastrointestinal parasitosis was identified in 82.7% of the samples collected from diarrheic and suspected calves (87.1% positive) and lambs (80% positive). Monezia species in lamb (33.3%) and Coccidia species in the calf (35.9%) had the largest morbidity rate. Ctenocephalides canis (16.7%) and Linognatus species (41.7%) were common ectoparasites identified in calves, while Melophagus ovinus was the only ectoparasite of lambs recovered (62.5%). In conclusion, the high morbidity found in calves and morbidity and mortality in lambs are known to seriously reduce the profitability of the smallholder cattle and sheep production in the area by affecting the availability of replacement animals and causing a detrimental effect on herd expansion and productivity. In further studies, establishing the specific causative agents, control of diseases in the adult, and improvement in feed resources should be the major areas that need to be considered to mitigate calf and lamb morbidity and mortality currently affecting the area.

Can Retention of Crop Residues on the Field Be Justified on Socioeconomic Grounds? A Case Study from the Mixed Crop-Livestock Production Systems of the Moroccan Drylands

Conservation agriculture (CA) involving zero tillage, crop diversification, and residue retention is considered a panacea for several interrelated problems in agricultural production. However, in the mixed crop-livestock production systems of the drylands, crop residues have great significance as sources of animal feed, posing a major challenge in the promotion of CA. While the economic benefits and the drivers of adoption of zero tillage and rotation have been well documented, the literature on the economics of residue retention (RR), especially in the drylands, is scanty. By applying the endogenous switching regression model to a case study of 2296 wheat fields in Morocco, this paper provides evidence on the socio-economic impacts of residue retention. Between 30% and 60% and above 60% of crop residues were retained respectively on 35% and 14% of wheat fields. These levels of residue retention led to 22% and 29% more yields, 25% and 32% higher gross margins and 22% and 25% more consumption of wheat, respectively. Retention of above 60% residue reduces both downside risk and variability of yield while lower levels of residue retention have mixed effects. Residue retention is economically and biophysically beneficial even for owners of livestock as the monetary value of the additional grain yield more than offsets the cost of purchasing an equivalent amount of feed from the market—all providing good economic justification for residue retention. Our findings show that economic reasons are not barriers for adoption of residue retention, but risk factors and absence of alternative feed sources might. The policy implication of our results is that there are high incentives for Morocco and other similar countries in North Africa and West Asia to invest in the development and/or import of alternative feed sources, introducing crop insurance, and raising the awareness of the economic, biophysical and environmental benefits of residue retention among farmers.

Causes and Flock Level Risk Factors of Sheep and Goat Abortion in Three Agroecology Zones in Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of small ruminant abortion and identify its major causes and potential risk factors in goat and sheep flocks in three agroecology and production systems of Ethiopia. Information on pregnancy outcomes and management risk factors were collected for 299 goat and 242 sheep flocks. Blood samples were collected from 133 sheep and 90 goat flocks and tested for Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., Chlamydia abortus, and Toxoplasma gondii. A causal diagram outlined relationships between potential predictor variables and abortion in the flock. The effect of management and exposure to infectious causes on the number of abortions in the flock across agroecology was tested using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Results showed that 142 (58.68%) goats and 53 (17.73%) sheep flocks reported abortions in the 12 months before the survey. The mean annual flock abortion percentages were 16.1% (±26.23) for does and 12.6% (±23.5) for ewes. Farmers perceived infectious diseases, extreme weather conditions, feed shortage, physical traumas, and plant poisoning as the most important causes of abortion. A higher proportion of abortion was recorded during the short rainy season (March to May) and start of the short dry and cold season (June to August) in the lowland mixed crop-livestock and pastoral agroecology and production system, respectively. Overall, 65.41% sheep and 92.22% goat flocks tested positive for one or more abortion causing agents, namely, C. burnetti, C. abortus, Brucella spp., and T. gondii; mixed infection was found in 31.58% sheep and 63.33% goat flocks. Spending the night in a traditional house and providing supplementary feed for pregnant dams were important management factors which significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the risk of abortion by 2.63 and 4.55 times, respectively. However, the presence of other livestock species and dogs in the household and exposure of the flock to Brucella spp. or anyone of the four tested infectious agents significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the risk of abortion in sheep and goat flocks. In general, abortion is a challenge for small ruminant production in the study area especially in lowland agroecology and calls for improvement in husbandry practices, health care and biosecurity practices.

Community based small ruminant breeding programs in Ethiopia: Progress and challenges

Abstract In Ethiopia, small ruminant breeding programs has been shifted from central nucleus scheme to community based breeding programs considering the past genetic improvement approaches and their suitability to the Ethiopia's production system. One-tier community-based breeding program (CBBP) is currently active breeding strategy implementing with farmers having a common interest to improve and share their genetic resources. Reviewing the progressive results and faced obstacles with their possible solutions is crucial to the breeding plan for its strengthening and adoption in non-participantareas/breeds and other commodities. Community based breeding program has been operated successfully in smallholder goat/sheep producers in mixed crop livestock production system. However, in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities and farmers that have larger flock sizes even in the mixed production system are resisted because of restricted freedom in flock movement, fear of losing independency in decision making and lack of interest in mixing their own flock with others. Moreover, the progressive results of CBBP’s are significantly different among sites due to the differences in commitment and relationship among the CBBP implementers as well as the regional governmental services. Expanding of the CBBP’s in the existing sites as well as in new sites/breeds is still in the gradual form. Small flock sizes, uncontrolled mating system, difficulty of pedigree and performance recording, year round lambing/kidding pattern, keeping higher proportion of breeding males than the recommended male to female ratio, poor institutional support, weak organization of farmers’, incompatible cooperative society proclamation to the CBBP, shortage of incentives to participant farmers are identified as main challenges of the CBBP. Thus, strengthening and careful implementation of CBBP bylaws, reconsidering the cooperative society proclamation and government services is crucial to improve productivity of small ruminant and thereby the profits of farmers in the CBBP’s. Applying restricted breeding season may create great opportunity to increase availability of candidate breeding ram/buck and to eliminate correction factor for kid/lamb season of birth. Optimizing the number of CBBP’s per targeted breed is essential to obtain better genetic gain via efficient utilization of skilled manpower that engage in the CBBP’s rather than gradual increments of CBBP’s. Capacitating the existing reproductive technologies like AI and estrus synchronization (ES) in the CBBP is essential foraccelerate genetic gain, to record accurate pedigree information, and to disseminate the superior gene into non participant farmers. Designing and implementing compatible breeding strategy that initiate individual farmers with larger flock size in the pastoral, agro-pastoral as well as in the mixed production systems may achieve higher genetic gain, profit and sustainability of the proramme.

Incidence of Calf Morbidity and Its Predictors in North Shewa, Amhara, Ethiopia

Calf morbidity is an important productivity factor that results in huge economic losses in the success of livestock production in Ethiopia. However, there is no robust information on its rate and its predictors in the mixed crop livestock production system as most studies are targeted to intensive dairy farms. A longitudinal study design was conducted from December 2018 to April 2019 in Siyadeber and Wayu districts of Amhara region, Ethiopia. A total of 135 apparently healthy calves were enrolled from randomly selected fifty-fifty households in three Kebeles of the district, namely, Gash-amba, Siyadeber, and Wale-deneba. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data about the potential risk factors upon the face-to-face interview made with the owners. Calves were monitored for the incidence of morbidity in a weekly visit basis, and any clinical abnormalities were recorded on registries. The chi-square and Fisher’s exact test followed by Generalized Linear Models for binomial family extensions for risk estimate were run, and a p value &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. In this study, the overall incidence rate of calf morbidity among under six months of age was 388 calves per 100,000 days of follow-up, with a cumulative incidence of 34.1% (95% CI: 26.1–42.7). Calf diarrhea, pneumonia, septicemia, dehydration, and navel ill were the encountered health problems consecutively. Among the potential risk factors, calves from Siyadeber Kebele (RR = 2.11, 95% CI: 1.13–3.94), calves housed with other livestock (RR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.10–3.80), housed with their dam (RR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.20–3.05), without bedding (RR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.20–2.94), and calves whose dam age ranges from 5 to 8 years (RR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.05–3.35) were found to be predictors of calf morbidity. In general, the high calf morbidity rates established in this study together with the alarming predictors of calf morbidity entail attention by the concerning bodies on proper management and improved health care so as to reduce the calf morbidity.

Husbandry, Productivity and Producers Trait Preference of Goats in North Western Lowlands of Ethiopia

A survey was conducted in Agalo Meti, Bambasi and Mandura districts of Kamashi, Assosa and Metekel zones of Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, respectively. The aim of the study was to assess production characteristics, productive performances and producer’s traits preference of goats. A total of 177 households who have goat flock and experience in goat production were purposively selected. Data was collected through respondent interviews using structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field visit. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and reported using descriptive statistics. Indices were used to present ranking. Farming is characterized by mixed-crop livestock production system and livestock are kept under traditional extensive management system. Greater number of goats than other livestock species were owned in the area. The indigenous goats reared in the area include Arab, Felata and Gumuz. The mean goat flock size per household was 9.81 ± 1.08, 8.31 ± 1.16 and 8.71 ± 0.88 in Agalo Meti, Bambasi and Mandura district, respectively. Goats were primarily kept for generating income (indices = 0.43), followed by saving/insurance (0.34), and meat for home consumption (0.18). About 58% of the producers sell goat skins, whereas (42%) did not-sold through the formal market chain. Natural pasture and indigenous browse species were the major feed resources. About 89.3% of the respondents housed their goats in a well-shaded separately constructed house. The herding practices of goats include: free-roaming all year round (67.8%) and restricted herding (32.2%) during the cropping season. The major constraints for goat production were infectious and parasitic diseases (0.45), inadequate veterinary services (0.39), predators (0.091), marketing problem (0.03) and poor management (0.01). Arab, Felata, and Gumuz goats give first birth at the age of 13.65 ± 0.40, 12.90 ± 0.29 and 12.54 ± 0.43 months, kidded at every 8.52 ± 0.41, 7.85 ± 0.25 and 7.67 ± 0.22 months and produce 0.52 ± 0.03, 0.61 ± 0.02, and 0.51 ± 0.01 liter of milk, respectively. Uncontrolled natural mating is the dominant breeding system, and bucks and does run together throughout the year. Size, growth rate, body conformation and age were the preferred traits in selecting bucks, whereas does were selected based on size, multiple birth, milk yield and kidding interval. Therefore, in order to utilize the current growing demand for goat meat at local and international markets, improving the production environment, particularly health and nutrition, genetic and production technologies is necessary.

Assessment on rural poultry production and marketing system of Horro chicken ecotypes in Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess production and marketing system of Horro chicken ecotypes, and to determine poultry health and marketing constraints across different agro-ecologies of western Ethiopia. A total of 360 householders were interviewed for the survey in Horro area (western Ethiopia) where the Horro chicken ecotypes are mainly found; the sample size was determined using proportionate sampling technique. Household characteristics studied indicated that 87.45% household heads were males and about 90.32% of householders’ age group were between 20 and 60 years. Household heads whose ages lie below 20 and above 60 yrs were very small (9.68%). The low proportion of these age group might be because of the age category below 20 yrs and above 60 yrs are age groups before marriage and after retirement, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the family size of the study area was 6.19±2.16; where a mixed crop-livestock production system was the main stay in the area. Agricultural landholding ranges between 0 and 10 hectares and per-household landholding was 1.68±1.50. The mean per household landholding in the highland agro-ecology is 2.36 ±1.59; however, the mean chicken flock size was the least. The large per household landholding at highland matches the largest mean cattle herd size (10.64 ± 4.93) as opposed to chicken flock size. This might be because of the use of cattle for cropland preparation. About 90.85% producers rear chickens for sale, which was for an immediate income generation and savings. Horro chickens in addition to low productive performance were constrained with poor housing (where only 7% of producers had separate poultry houses), insufficient feed supplement and poor health management. Chickens were exclusively scavenging for feed and about 83.82% of poultry producers interviewed responded that they were not satisfied with veterinary services delivery. Key words: Agro-ecology, chicken-ecotypes, Ethiopia, Horro chicken, traditional-management.

Determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’

The study assessed determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’ through identifying the constraints and opportunity to livestock production developments. The study adopted cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. A total of 99 respondents were selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics result showed that opportunities of livestock production development in the study area, availability of water, availability of market information, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary services and mixed crop-livestock production system. Multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find out determinants of livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information and education level were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively.Keywords: Determinants, Livestock Production Development, Multiple Linear regressions Model

Determinants of Livestock Production Development of Smallholder Farmers’: The Case of Bedele District, Bunno Bedele Zone, Western Ethiopia

Livestock production is undertaken both in highland and lowland of Ethiopia. The study assessed determinants of livestock production development through identifying the constraints and opportunity to production developments. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design. The district was randomly selected from zones. To undertake the assessment three kebele were selected for the same cases from these districts. Using proportionate sampling technique a total of 99 respondents was selected from the kebele where by ten were female headed and 89 were male headed households. Descriptive statistics like mean and percentage was used to describe the socio-economic data of respondents. Some opportunities available for livestock production development in the study area are availability of water, supply of improved breed, feed availability, credit services, veterinary supply and mixed crop-livestock production system. Econometric model a multiple linear regression analysis has been carried out to find the factors influence livestock production development of smallholder farmers’. The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that from a total of ten explanatory variables were included in the model, of which education level , extension services , availability of market information, availability of grazing land, Artificial insemination and veterinary service were found to be statistically significant to livestock production development. The multiple linear regression result show that livestock production development in the study area is determined by availability of grazing land, extension services, artificial insemination and veterinary service, availability of market information education level at 1%, and 5% significant level respectively. Keywords: Determinants, Smallholder farmers, Livestock Production development, multiple linear regression models DOI : 10.7176/JEES/9-8-03 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

Cattle milk production, processing and marketing situations of smallholder farmers in Telo district, Keffa zone, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Telo district of Keffa zone, SNNP Regional State with the aim of assessing milk production and milk use pattern. Cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from randomly sampled 156 households using survey questioner, farm visit and focus group discussion. Female headed farms were more frequent in urban. The average family size per household was 7 persons. 58.3% of HH were illiterate, mean cattle number was 7, higher (P<0.05) cattle number was found in rural than in urban. Cows are the only animals used for milk production. Milk from small ruminants was not consumed due to cultural taboo. Local indigenous cow contributes 99% of total milk production in the study area. The estimated average daily milk yield of local and cross breed cows was 1.4 and 7.28 L with an estimated lactation length of 8.47 and 9.92 months, respectively. In both urban and rural mixed crop-livestock production system frequency of milking was twice per day (morning and evening). There was no practice of milking in cases of stillbirth or death of calves. Calves were allowed to suckle prior to milking. All milk producers in the study area wash their hand before milking. Some 15% of the urban smallholders even wash udder and teat before milking. The milking utensils, commonly used in both production systems, were plastic materials. Nearly half (45%) of the respondents indicated that they wash milking utensil both before and after milking. The majority (93.7%) of rural (mixed crop-livestock production system) farm households process milk to butter. Only few (6.3%) households do not convert milk to butter but consume it as fermented milk “ergo”. There was no practice of selling fresh milk in the rural area. Overall percentage of raw milk sold in the study area was 19.2%, with price of 15 to 20 ETB/L, indicating high demand and low supply of milk in the area. Key words: Cattle, milk, production, processing, Telo.

Sheep Production Systems and Breeding Practices for Selected Zones of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

A study was undertaken to identify the production system, breeding practices and major production constraints of common Tigray highland sheep in 16 rural kebelles from eight districts of Tigray Regional State. A total of 480 households (30 households for each rural kebelle) were selected purposively to collect data through personal observations and a detailed structured questionnaire. Mixed crop-livestock production system was the dominant farming system in all the study districts. The farmers kept a variety of livestock species including sheep, goats, cattle, chickens horse, donkeys and bee colony. Sheep, principally as source of income, meat for home consumption, production of manure and for socio cultural purposes, are commonly herded with other species in the open grazing fields by young boys in a family. Mating was generally uncontrolled. Body size, growth rate and adaptability were the major traits in selecting rams, whereas ewes were selected based on body size, twining ability and lambing interval. Majority of sheep across all districts are housed in structures known as Gebella which is built from stone and mud wall and tree/corrugated iron sheet roofing separated from the main family house. The major constraints hampering sheep production in the study areas were feed shortage (0.25), lack of capital (0.24), insufficient veterinary services (0.2), limited grazing land (0.2), water scarcity (0.06) and predators (0.05) with index value indicated in parenthesis. In order to improve the productivity of sheep, it is important to involve farmers and other stockholders in addressing these constraints and designing breed improvement interventions, considering the overall farming and breeding practice of smallholders.

English

The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of small-scale livestock production systems in some communal areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The parameters surveyed include sex, age, educational and marital status of the farmers, types of livestock raised and production system practiced. The study revealed that mixed crop-livestock production systems were dominant in the study area. Majority of the respondents (72.4%) were male and approximately 59% of the older male farmers were more than 70 years old with the highest mean flock size of 86. A total of 62% of these farmers had basic education and a mean family size of 5.9±3.0. Most of the sheep farmers (70.9%) bought their foundation stock, but 6.5% of them obtained theirs through bride price (lobola). Generally, livestock species owned by the respondents were sheep (71.8%), poultry (12.9%), cattle (7.7%), goats (4.4%), dogs (1.3%), pigs (0.6%) and others (1.3%). Family labour is mostly used for animal management and herding, being done by men (65%) and boys (30%), respectively. The natural veld provides highest feed resource base for the animals and almost all the respondents provide night shelter for their sheep, in the kraal that is adjacent to the main family house. The prevalence of gall sickness was ranked the highest (22.1%) among the diseases and parasites affecting sheep. While 80% of the respondents treated their animals with stock remedies, a very low proportion of them (3.4%) adopts an integrated approach of using commercial drugs and local herbs or call animal health technicians to treat sick animals. Key words: Gall-sickness, herd size, characteristics, sheep farming.