The study was conducted to evaluate the productive and reproductive performance of Central Highland and Woyto-Guji goat breeds in Meta-Robi and Konso districts, respectively. A total of 240 farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires to describe kidding pattern, kidding interval, weaning age and milk production. On-farm performance traits were recorded on 730 goats of 157 households. In Konso, majority of kidding occurred in May, whereas in Meta-Robi it was in September. There was a difference in the average kidding interval and age at weaning between the breeds. Kids birth weight (2.03 Vs. 2.68kg) and does postpartum weight (26.6 Vs. 28.2kg) were lower in Woyto-Guji goats than in Central Highland goats. Average 90 day kids' weight and average daily weight gain between birth and 90 days were not different among the breeds. Average 180 day weight (15.7 Vs. 11.5kg) and average daily weight gain between 91 and 180 days (65.4 Vs. 31.9 g/day) were better in Central Highland goats than in Woyto-Guji goats.

The mode of ownership of chicken in the family was various types, for instance shared ownership constituted about (57%) followed by individual ownership (43%) among the members of the households. More than around 70% of overall care-taking of chickens, feeding of chickens, cleaning of birds-quarter, treating of sick birds, decision for off take of poultry products were the responsibility of women. The major criteria used for judging of the price of local chickens were body weight (34.2%), plumage color (33.3%) and comp-type (32.4%). Fluctuations in the prices of the village chicken and chicken-products were mainly due to purchasing power of the consumers (33.4), fasting (33.2), and availability of products (32.5%). Almost all farmers were selling their chicken and chicken products in local markets.

A knowledge of the level of genetic diversity is very important in ensuring the sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources. To this end, the genetic diversity of some local pigswas assessed by genotyping 86 unrelated pigs in four regions of Ghana namely Northern (Tingoli = 9), Upper West (Papu = 31 and Babile = 32) and Upper East (Gia = 14) using 12 microsatellite markers.The number of alleles (Na), number of effective alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He) and inbreeding coefficient (FIS) were used to assess the level of genetic differentiation among the five populations in this study. All loci studied were polymorphic and the mean number of alleles ranged from 4.58 (Yorkshire) to 10.58 (Papu) with an overall average of 7.65 alleles. At all the 12 loci studied, inbreeding coefficient (FIS) deviated significantly from zero with a mean of 0.32. When the Nei’s standard genetic distance based on the proportions of shared alleles was used to construct a neighbour joining tree, pigs from the different communities sampled in the Upper West region emerged with the highest bootstrap value of 90%. Generally, the sampled pigs represent distinct populations with a moderate amount (12%) of genetic differentiation but considerable amount of inbreeding (29%) has taken place within these populations over the years. This is the first report of the genetic diversity of Ghanaian local pigs using microsatellite markers.

According to FAO statistics, camel population in Sudan ranks the second in the world after Somalia with 4.5 millions heads. This population is quite important while the camel production appears, at least officially, very low. With a meat production of 49,880 tons and a milk production of 120,000 tons, camel production is far away from the potential. Even if these data did not cover the entire reality, it is obvious that camel production in Sudan is insufficiently valorized. Meat from young camels has been reported to be comparable in taste and texture to beef. Inspite of the increase in local camel meat consumption to 63,000 tons in 2009, yet camel meat is common in some parts of the country and milk consumption under gariss form is popular in rural areas where camel is generally reared. Camel diseases are the major constrains of production such as trypanosomiasis and mastitis. The research has to push in that way in order to innovate camel meat and milk sector. The modernization of meat and milk processing could be the motor for the improvement of camel production. Both in terms of research and of development, the identification of the main constraints for the camel sector is the way to propose a fruitful strategy. (Résumé d'auteur)

The objective of this study was to estimate the benefits received by producers who adopted improved forages as part of a project[1] carried out in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica in terms of increased productivity, stocking rate, and income due to the additional sale of milk and beef in retribution for family labor. Data were obtained from a survey carried out in 2007 that included nine producers in Guatemala, 16 in Honduras, 16 in Nicaragua, and 15 in Costa Rica who had adopted different grass and legume options during the period 2003-2007. The area planted to improved pastures increased in all countries, ranging from 12% in Guatemala to 105% in Nicaragua. Except for Guatemala (where the animal inventory decreased almost 11% due to Hurricane Stan), all countries expanded their herds (between 34% and 41%) in practically all animal categories, not only adult cows. On-farm milk production during the dry season increased 9% in Guatemala, 47% in Honduras and Nicaragua, and 71% in Costa Rica. Milk production during the rainy season remained practically invariable in Guatemala, but increased 48% in Honduras, 19% in Nicaragua, and 53% in Costa Rica. On the other hand, these increases in milk production were also favored by the rise in milk prices in all countries, ranging from 7% in Nicaragua to 36% in Costa Rica during the dry season and from 4% in Nicaragua to 36% in Costa Rica during the rainy season. Beef production accordingly increased 15% in Nicaragua, 46% in Honduras, and 74% in Costa Rica. similar to the trend observed in milk production, beef production did not increase in Guatemala because producers had to sell animals to recover from the losses caused by Hurricane Stan. Likewise, at the end of the project, producers in all countries received higher prices as compared with those obtained at the beginning of the project. The price of beef paid to the producer increased 9% in Guatemala, 4% in Honduras, 5% in Nicaragua, and 11% in Costa Rica. Because of these significant increases in annual milk and meat production, major increases were also observed in the annual net income of farms, reaching 32% in Guatemala, 288% in Honduras, 177% in Nicaragua, and 238% in Costa Rica. These extraordinary increases in net income can be attributed to three factors: (1) the higher milk price in 2007 as compared with that of 2003; (2) higher production due to the better diet; and (3) increased production due to the higher stocking rate allowed because of the adoption of and increase in area sown to improved forages. The increase in the net income of these producers has triggered an increase in the economic returns to family labor, as compared with the commercial value of a day’s wages. Therefore, the returns to family labor in Guatemala went from 3.1 times the value of the minimum wage in 2003 to 6.0 times that value in 2007, representing a 97% increase. In Honduras, the returns to family labor went from 2.9 times the minimum wage in 2003 to 9.8 times that value in 2007, representing a 238% increase. Similarly, in Nicaragua these returns represented a 104% increase and in Costa Rica a 200% increase.

In a trial whereby a large number of cows were needed to calve at approximately the same time, opportunity was taken to establish a crossbred cow population at the International Trypanotolerance (ITC). A slight improvement in the traditional husbandry system revealed a great productivity potential of these crossbreds. Their survival rate to one year (i.e., 90.0%for the Jersey X N’Dama (J X N) and 71.2% for the Friesian X N’Dama was proved satisfactory in the local environment, though conclusions are that more attention is needed for rearing Friesian type F1 calves in the tropical environment. With an overall mean birth weight of 17.7±4.1 kg and an overall mean daily weight gain (DWG) of 0.220±0.104 kg they attained an average weight of 100.6±29.9 kg at one year. Their relatively retarded growth recommended a better management. Puberty was attained at 478.2±13.9 days, age at first calving 970.5±94.1 days and the overall mean calving interval and open period were 400±82.5 and 117±83.2 days, respectively.

The study was conducted in Kafta humera district of Ethiopia, (i) to investigate the milk yield of Begait goat under different management and (ii) to evaluate the effects of different non-genetic factors on lactation performance. Data were collected from 428 lactating does under two managements (semi intensive and extensive) during October 2014 and March 2016. Statistical analyses were carried out using the GLM procedure of SAS version of 9.2 software. The least squares means (with standard error) for daily milk yield, lactation milk yield and lactation length were observed to be 0.75±0.01 kg, 85.6±1.04 kg and 111±1.21 days under semi intensive management, respectively whereas under extensive management these were found as 0.55±0.01 kg, 56±1.43 kg and 101±1.57 days, respectively. The results of this study indicated that management system, parity number and season of birth affected all variables highly significantly.

Smallholder livestock farmers face challenges such as lack of appropriate fora and networks which can motivate and influence the adoption of breeding strategies in West Africa. Efforts to ensure participation of livestock owners in breeding programs such as performance recording, the use of village herd stocks for breeding programs have been documented as has the creation of livestock producer organizations to enhance effective participation of farmers in breeding programs. The study was conducted in southern Mali where livestock such as the N’dama cattle are endemic. We explored baseline characteristics from a household and community survey to determine the potential effects of individual, household and network characteristics on the knowledge and use of livestock breeding strategies. We assume that interaction amongst stakeholders results in transfer of knowledge between stakeholders. Results from the stakeholder analysis of the types of stakeholders present at the site level were used in the Probit and Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) models. Farmers’ organisations were commonly found at the village level. However, despite the presence of these organizations across sites, they do not interact with the technical organisations as often as they should hence a lower incidence of use of livestock breeding technologies across sites. Results from the models confirm the importance of networks as key determinants to improve the adoption of breeding technologies.