Preliminary Survey on Indigenous Cattle Genetic Resources and their Management System in Northern Gondar, Ethiopia
Abstract
Ethiopia has a huge and diversified livestock population. Because of its location and diversified environment, the country is also considered as the home of most important cattle breeds of eastern Africa. However very litttle effort has been made to comprehensively describe the available livestock genetic resouces of the nation. At present other than the goats other livestock classes are not well defined, classified, or studied adequately. There is not even information on population size of breeds/strains. Information on phenotypic characteristics, performance and adaptive attributes are not available. In the absence of all this information indiscriminant crossbreeding and interbreeding among the local cattle breeds is being executed. A sysetematic description of the indigenous cattle types and their management system should be considered as a prerequisite for rational use of the national cattle resource. The main objective of this survey is to characterise cattle breeds of the study area (North western part of Ethiopia), in terms of phisical and adaptive characteristics and productive parameters. Besides, the main constraints of proper cattle genetic resources utilization and improvement programme will be identified and finally priority areas of intervention for genetic improvement for identified cattle breeds will be outlined based on the trait preference of communities. During the survey, the study area will be stratified into altitudinal zones of 1000 m range and a research methodology developed by Rege and Lipner(1992), META LEVEL will be employed. A standard descriptor list for cattle from FAO (1986), a rapid survey method for data on traditional husbandry practices through formal and informal interviews will be used. Multivariate statistical methods (SAS, 1993) will be employed for data analysis.
keywords cattle indigenous breed phenotypic characterisation Ethiopia genetic resource DEV-FORUM Associate Project
Publikationen
Project staff
Johann Sölkner
Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Johann Sölkner
johann.soelkner@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-93201, 93231
Project Leader
01.09.2002 - 31.12.2004
BOKU partners
External partners
Alemaya University
Sharma A.K.
coordinator
International Livestock Research Institute
Workneh Ayalew
partner