Smallholders' perceptions of goat farming in southern ... - Springer Link

Trop Anim Health Prod (2007) 39:49–57 DOI 10.1007/s11250-006-4440-2

O R I G I NA L A RT I C L E

Smallholders’ perceptions of goat farming in southern Benin and opportunities for improvement L. H. Dossa · C. Wollny · M. Gauly

Accepted: 31 October 2006 / Published online: 11 December 2006 C Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2006

Abstract To be successful, initiatives to improve smallholder’s goat production should directly address the needs and objectives of the keepers while promoting rational use of local genetic resources. This paper identifies the objectives, constraints and needs of goat farmers in southern Benin and discusses their relevance to the development of improvement programmes. Between November and December 2005, structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and participant observation were used to collect information from 38 goat farmers in two selected locations. Goats were kept mainly for sale whenever cash was needed. Traits related to reproduction, to behaviour, to health and to meat production were considered equally important and were ranked very highly by goat keepers. Increased net income per flock through increased number of marketable animals is the derived breeding objective from the trait analysis. Disease outbreaks resulting in high mortality, poor housing, and feed shortages were, in descending order, the most important problems. It was concluded that the development of initiatives to improve management practices is an overriding priority. L. H. Dossa () · C. Wollny Georg-August University of Goettingen, Institute for Crop and Animal Production in the Tropics, Goettingen, Germany e-mail: [email protected] M. Gauly Georg-August University of Goettingen, Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Goettingen, Germany

It will lead to increases in productivity in the short term and foster farmers’ participation in the development of long-term improvement strategies, which should include selection and controlled mating. Keywords Breed . Goat . Improvement programmes . Participatory methods . Smallholder farmer Abbreviations MD markedly dwarf MSN medium-sized from northern regions PPRT peste des petits ruminants PRA participatory rural appraisal SAH long-legged from Sahelian countries SLND short-legged but not dwarf

Introduction Worldwide, smallholders’ goat keeping is multipurpose, implying multiple breeding goals. Breeding goals identify the animal traits that farmers would like to improve (Groen, 2000) and comprise many aspects other than high productivity with regard to cash products such as meat and milk. Rege (1994) commented that breeding goals also include aesthetic preferences, such as preferred colour and colour distribution, behavioural aspects, such as good mothering instincts, and ability to survive adverse environmental conditions. The definition of breeding goals constitutes the Springer

50

Trop Anim Health Prod (2007) 39:49–57

first decisive step in the development of genetic improvement strategies and it can be concluded from previous experiences (Soelkner et al., 1998; Fall, 2000; Yapi-Gnaore, 2000) that, to be successful, any village breeding improvement programme should be based upon farmers’ perception and objectives. Morton and colleagues (2002) suggest that an understanding of the objectives of livestock keepers is likely itself to include a general ‘systems understanding’ on the part of the researcher and of needs explicitly articulated by farmers. These authors discussed methodological issues and the role of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools in livestock production research. PRA methods and techniques have been utilized increasingly in the assessment of smallholders’ circumstances, their production objectives and strategies. Examples of methods used in livestock research and development are reviewed in Kirsopp-Reed (1994), Waters-Bayer and Bayer (1994), Roeleveld and van den Broek (1996) and Catley (1999). However, Watson and Cullis (1994) comment that there is no standard PRA method for livestock and state that the context in which PRA is ultimately effective depends on the context in which it is used and the end point it is contributing. Bennison and colleagues (1997) present a successful example of the use of preference matrix ranking methods to understand the production objectives and feeding strategies of livestock owners in Gambia. Similarly, Steglich and Peters (2002) have employed focus group discussions, matrix rating and semistructured questionnaires to explore Gambian mixed crop–livestock farmers’ breeding strategies, including their breed and trait preferences. The main objective of this study was to get the perspectives of smallholder goat keepers through participatory research, to analyse the details of their management practices and local knowledge, to record the characteristics of their animals, and to identify their breeding objectives. The findings of this study are expected to guide recommendations for the development of sustainable communitybased management strategies and actions in southern Benin.

Materials and methods The study was conducted in Toffo (between 6◦ 50 N and 2◦ 4 E) and Ouedeme-Pedah (between 6◦ 42 N and 1◦ 4 E). These two locations are typically representative of rural areas in southern Benin and are characterized Springer

by acute agricultural pressure on land, low revenues, low off-farm opportunities and increasing vulnerability to poverty. Crop production is the main activity in Toffo, while fishing is predominant in Ouedeme-Pedah. In each village, owners of goats were identified through snowball sampling, following which goat keepers willing to participate in the study were approached and interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 38 owners of goats (16 in Toffo and 22 in Ouedeme-Pedah) were interviewed between November and December 2005. The questionnaire covered various aspects of goat production: breeding practices, feeding, health and marketing. It included a progeny question list to collect information from a total of 118 breeding females (67 in Toffo and 51 in Ouedeme-Pedah). Pairwise ranking exercises on a list of predetermined reasons (insurance, defined as unexpected expenses; buffering, defined as expected expenses; regular income; accumulation; ceremonies; and household meat consumption) for goat farming and on a list of constraints (lack of capital; poor housing; predation; theft; feed shortages; labour shortage; marketing; and outbreak of disease) were performed with each respondent. Likewise, after they listed traits that they considered important for a good breeding female and were willing to improve, respondents were asked to rank them. In addition, focus group discussions were conducted simultaneously with two different informant groups (women and elders) in each village. Group sizes varied from 8 to 10 individuals. The discussions focused on the different types of goats known by the farmers. Farmers were asked to rank them against predefined criteria such as size, growth, kidding interval, multiple births, resistance to diseases and parasites, taste of meat, and market value. Following the ranking exercises, results from each group were presented and validated in plenary and participants were asked to express their preference. The data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS-PC Version 9.0 (SPSS Inc., 1999). The level of agreement between informant groups as well as between individuals from the same village was assessed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W). The lower the rank of a parameter, the greater is its importance. W ranges from 0 to 1 and the higher its value the greater is the level of agreement between groups or individuals. The management practices were similar in both villages. During cropping seasons, goats were mostly


51

confined in the backyard through tethering to avoid crop damage. They were fed with small amounts of cut and carried forage and sometimes with cassava peel, maize bran and household leftovers. During the dry season, after harvesting, they were allowed to roam freely. They were given little supplementary feeding. No mineral supplementation was provided. In each village, 18% of the respondents did not provide drinkable water to their animals.

Farmers’ knowledge of goat breeds In Ouedeme-Pedah, six different types of goats were described with their local names by respondents: the markedly dwarf goat, or MD (gbò kètè); the local short-legged but not dwarf goat, or SLND (gbòyaya or gbòvòvò); the medium-sized goat from the northern regions of the country, or MSN (nord gbò); the long legged goat from Sahelian countries, or SAH (Haoussa gbò or Fulani gbò); and the crosses between MD and SLND and between SLND and MSN. In Toffo, only four types were mentioned: the MD, also known as gbò akètè; the SLND, known as gbò koungbo; and the crosses between MD and SLND and the SAH, also called ayògbò or Fulani Gbò. Farmers in the two communities used the same classification criterion, which was height. The MD type was perceived as the most prolific and most resistant to disease but as having the lowest growth and market value (Table 2). In OuedemePedah, 2% of the breeding females counted were referred to by owners as the MD type, 76% as the SLND type and the remaining 2% as the MSN type; in Toffo, 99% of the breeding females counted were referred to as SLND type and the remainder as the MD type. From the focus group discussions with elders in both villages, the markedly dwarf type, MD, was regarded as the most common goat type encountered some decades ago.

Results Livestock and goat ownership patterns The majority (97%) of the households surveyed kept livestock. Irrespective of the village, goats were the second most important livestock species after chickens and were kept by 60% of the households in Toffo and 82% in Ouedeme-Pedah. All the remaining households where goats were not found during the survey had kept goats in the past and the main reason for abandonment was high mortality. The number of goats owned per household ranged from one to 41 with an average of 6.7 ± 5.3 in Toffo and 8.4 ± 1.2 in Ouedeme-Pedah. In the villages, goats from different households were scavenging together and were therefore considered as one breeding population. Details of the average goat flock structure by village are given in Table 1. Irrespective of the village, females constituted about 68% of the village flock and the average sexually mature and therefore potential breeding male to breeding female ratio was about 1:5. Within households, 60% of the owners were women. Only 30% of owners of goats were literate in their local language.

Reasons for keeping goats The most important reasons given for keeping goats in the two villages are reported in Table 3. Reasons related to income earning were ranked high. Goats are sold mainly when money is needed, for instance in

Table 1 Average village flock structure (n = 44 individual flocks) Average village flock structure

Ouedeme-Pedah (n = 24) Toffo (n = 20)

Total animals

PBF

126 (100)b 201 (100)

36 (29) 83 (41)

a

RF

SF

PBM

RM

SM

CM

23 (18) 36 (18)

26 (21) 20 (10)

8 (6) 14 (7)

8 (6) 15 (7)

18 (14) 8 (4)

7 (6) 25 (13)

a

PBF, potential breeding female; RF, rearing female; SF, suckling female; PBM, potential breeding male; RM, rearing male; SM, suckling male; CM, castrated male b Figures in brackets are percentages Springer

52


Table 2 Outcomes of the ranking of goat types against selected traits by two informant groups in Ouedeme-Pedah (group size varies from 8 for elders to 10 for women)

Rank (mean rank)a Goat typeb

Size

Growth

Multiple births

Resistance to disease

Taste of meat

Market value

MD SLND MSN SAH Kendall’s coefficient (W )c

4 (4.00) 3 (3.00) 2 (2.00) 1 (1.00) 1∗∗

4 (4.00) 3 (3.00) 2 (2.00) 1 (1.00) 1∗∗

1 (1.17) 2 (2.17) 3 (3.33) 3 (3.33) 0.85∗∗

1 (1.17) 2 (1.83) 3 (3.00) 4 (4.00) 0.98∗∗

1 (1.17) 2 (1.83) 3 (3.50) 3 (3.50) 0.97∗∗

4 (4.00) 3 (3.00) 2 (2.00) 1 (1.00) 1∗∗

a

The lower the rank, the greater the importance of the trait MD, markedly dwarf; SLND, short-legged but not dwarf; MSN, medium-sized from northern regions; SAH, long-legged from Sahelian countries c W ranges from 0 (no agreement) to 1 (complete agreement) and the higher its value the higher is the level of agreement between groups ∗∗ p ≤ 0.05 b

Table 3 Reasons for keeping goats as ranked by respondents (n = 38) Rank (mean rank)a Reason for keeping

Ouedeme-Pedah Toffo (n = 22) (n = 16)

Insurance (unexpected expenses) Buffering (expected expenses) Regular income Accumulation Ceremonies Household meat consumption Kendall’s coefficient (W )b

1 (1.50) 2 (1.95) 3 (3.09) 4 (3.68) 5 (4.77) 6 (6.00) 0.83∗∗∗

1 (1.36) 2 (2.63) 4 (3.06) 3 (3.06) 5 (4.88) 6 (6.00) 0.79∗∗∗

a

The lower the rank, the greater the importance of the trait W ranges from 0 (no agreement) to 1 (complete agreement) and the higher its value the higher is the level of agreement between groups ∗∗∗ p ≤ 0.001 b

case of emergency (insurance function) or to cover expected expenses (buffering function). Household meat consumption was the reason ranked lowest for keeping goat. Breeding practices In Toffo, 44% of the owners used collars; 19% mentioned given names while the remaining 37% relied only on the colour of the coat to recognize their animals among other village animals. In Ouedeme-Pedah, only coat colour (50%) and given names (50%) were mentioned by the respondents for recognizing ownership. However no identification method was menSpringer

tioned for breeding purposes. Few respondents (31% in Toffo against 27% in Ouedeme-Pedah) owned at least a breeding buck, which was born in its current flock but ran together with the females of the entire village goat flock for more than three years. A practice of exchanging bucks between owners of goats was mentioned by 37% of the respondents in Toffo. This practice was not reported in Ouedeme-Pedah. Castration was performed by all goat keepers, not to control mating but mainly to improve growth and docility. In Ouedeme-Pedah, a significant (p < 0.05) proportion of owners (67% against 27% at Toffo) reported that they usually castrate young male kids after they reached the age of 6 months. The main reason for these delays in castration was the fear of owners that the animals might die from infection after castration. Castration was mainly done using a surgical method in which the scrotum is removed without anaesthesia and in poor conditions of hygiene. In both villages, the majority of the breeding females counted originated from the same village (89% and 69% respectively in Ouedeme-Pedah and Toffo). They were either born in their current flocks (53% in Toffo against 83% in Ouedeme-Pedah) or purchased from another flock in the village. Only two breeding females out of a total of 60 counted in Ouedeme-Pedah were bought from the market. In Toffo, none were bought from the market. About 10% of the potential breeding females counted in Toffo were non-productive; the figure was lower (4%) in Ouedeme-Pedah. In both villages, mating was not controlled, since males and females were never separated. Irrespective of the village, respondents reported that kidding occurred mostly during the


53

Table 4 Important traits for a good breeding female as ranked by owners of goats

Table 5 Major constraints to goat production as ranked by owners of goats

Rank (mean rank)a Trait Mothering ability Litter size at birth Docility Body size Health (resistance to diseases/parasites) Growth Coat colour Kidding interval Supernumerary teats Kendall’s coefficient (W )b

Ouedeme-Pedah (n = 22)

Toffo (n = 16)

1 (2.25) 2 (3.72) 3 (4.34) 4 (4.38) 5 (4.78)

5 (5.59) 1 (1.36) 9 (6.61) 3 (3.86) 2 (3.48)

6 (5.03) 7 (6.53) 8 (6.94) 9 (7.03) 0.40∗∗∗

4 (4.98) 6 (6.05) 7 (6.45) 8 (6.61) 0.58∗∗∗

a


long dry season (54%) and long wet season (36%). Respondents in Toffo reported a significantly (p < 0.05) higher proportion (68%) of multiple births than those in Ouedeme-Pedah (51%). Triplets were very rare in Ouedeme-Pedah (2%) compared to Toffo (11%). In both villages, no quadruplets were reported. Important traits for genetic improvement The goat production traits that farmers would like to improve and that they usually consider when acquiring new breeding females are reported in Table 4. Irrespective of the community, traits related to reproduction (litter size at birth), to behaviour (mothering ability and docility), to health (disease resistance) and to meat production (body size and growth) were considered equally important and were ranked highly. Significant ( p < 0.001) high levels of agreement (0.40 and 0.58 in Toffo and Ouedeme-Pedah, respectively) were observed among the respondents for their ranks. Constraints to production The major factors that mitigate the success of goat production are reported in Table 5. Disease outbreaks resulting in high mortality, poor housing, and feed short-

Rank (mean rank)a Constraint Outbreak of disease Poor housing Feed shortage Predation Lack of capital Theft Labour shortage Marketing Kendall’s coefficient (W )b

Ouedeme-Pedah (n = 22)

Toffo (n = 16)

2 (2.66) 1 (1.70) 4 (4.16) 6 (5.93) 7 (5.93) 3 (3.89) 5 (5.80) 8 (5.93) 0.64∗∗∗

1 (1.19) 2 (2.63) 3 (2.84) 4 (5.63) 5 (5.81) 6 (5.97) 7 (5.97) 8 (5.97) 0.85∗∗∗

a


age, in descending order, appeared to be the most important problems limiting production in both communities. Theft, which is a direct consequence of the lack of proper housing for the animals, was also considered as one of the important constraints in Ouedeme-Pedah. The most prevalent health problems reported were mange (84% of respondents), ‘undefined diarrhoea’ (82% of respondents), ‘sudden death’ (55% of respondents) and ‘cough and nasal discharges’ (21% of respondents). Only 8% mentioned peste des petits ruminants (PPR) directly. PPR is a severe fastspreading disease similar to rinderpest that affects mainly small ruminants. Although there was a high level of awareness among owners of the effects of PPR and internal parasites on flock productivity, only 16% of the respondents mentioned that they practised annual vaccination against PPR, while 63% reported that they had never de-wormed their animals. However, almost all respondents mentioned their willingness to pay for vaccination against PPR and for internal parasite control. The proportion of abortions among does was about 11% in Toffo and 20% in Ouedeme-Pedah. The average pre-weaning mortality was estimated by respondents to be about 20% in Toffo and 25% in OuedemePedah. Lack of access to goat markets was regarded as the least important constraint in both communities. Seventy-five per cent of the respondents in Toffo and 45% in Ouedeme-Pedah declared that they had never

Springer

54


sold their animals at market. They are usually sold to middlemen who go from village to village to purchase animals for resale at market and/or to butchers and caterers.

Discussion The reasons for keeping goats are rational. As stated and ranked by the owners, keeping goats provides them with an opportunity to obtain additional income and forms part of their savings. It arose from the focus discussions held with groups of owners that their breeding objective is to increase net income per flock through increased number of marketable animals throughout the year. This breeding objective is in accordance with farmers’ perceptions of a superior breeding female. Owners in both villages ranked litter size at birth, mothering ability, growth, body size and resistance to disease as traits they would like to improve. The litter size at birth refers to the number of offspring produced at one birth by a doe, while mothering ability (also called rearing ability) refers to a maternal behavioural trait that determines survival rate and pre-weaning growth rate of the offspring. Selection of large-sized individuals among populations in the field can be obtained through simple measurements of heart girth and linear body measurements, but is not as simple with the other desired traits. Litter size at birth was ranked very high despite the comparatively high proportion of multiple births observed (51% in Ouedeme-Pedah and 68% in Toffo). This implies that most owners of goats were not satisfied with the prolificacy of their goats. Litter size at birth is a highly heritable and repeatable trait in West African Dwarf goats. Odubote (1996) has estimated its heritability under station conditions to about 0.35 ± 0.05 and 0.32 ± 0.07 and its repeatability to 0.38 ± 0.05 and 0.33 ± 0.03 from sire and sire-dam groups, respectively. This author argues that selection for multiple births is likely to result in higher incidence of triplets and quadruplets. However, there is a negative correlation between litter size at birth and body weight at birth and this negative correlation affects negatively the survival rate of kids up to weaning (Alexandre et al., 1999). It is thus vital to consider the mothering ability in a selection programme where increased litter size is desired, to ensure a high survival and growth rate in the offspring (Grandinson, 2005). However, from a study conducted in sheep, Everett-Hincks and Springer

colleagues (2005) have observed that the heritability for ewe maternal behaviour and litter survival are very low and advocate improved management practices to ensure lamb survival. Likewise, Awemu and colleagues (1999), from a study with Red Sokoto Goats in Nigeria, advocated management efforts to curb mortality and to increase litter size at birth and at weaning, prior to any attempt at selection. In other words, good management practices, including improved feeding and improved health care, should precede any genetic improvement. Odubote (1996) goes further to argue that systematic culling of unproductive breeding females may be the most important management practice to increase the litter size at birth. Kid survival is also affected by the season of kidding. Contrary to Wilson and Light (1986), who recorded higher mortalities for kids born in the dry season, Awemu and colleagues (1999) observed that, because of the higher incidence of disease agents, kidding occurring in the wet season led to more deaths than that in the dry season. In the two villages investigated in the current study, breeding was not controlled and farmers reported that 54% of kidding occurred in the long dry season, which coincides with minimal feed availability. A further 36% occurred in the long wet season, which is the period when most animals were tethered and had restricted access to feeding. In both cases, animals, and more especially newborns, were probably undernourished and more vulnerable to disease (Maiga, 1992). Hence, improved feeding could contribute to lower mortality rates of kids by reducing their vulnerability to disease. During the dry season, crop residues could be a valuable feed resource and awareness among farmers about their value needs to be created. In addition, small-scale food processing wastes such as maize bran and cassava peel were available in both villages. Their potential use as feed resources must be recognized. Disease outbreaks leading to high mortalities could be controlled if farmers adopted proper disease control and prophylactic measures. Osaer and colleagues (2000) observed that a biannual anthelmintic treatment in goats in Gambia improved their health and weight gains. The fact that almost all owners of goats in both villages expressed their willingness to pay for veterinary services is paradoxical, given that very few vaccinated their animals against PPR or practised routine de-worming of their animals. This highlights the lack of efficiency in the delivery of veterinary services to


smallholders and calls for urgent improvement. The successful adoption and effective use of preventive disease control measures by owners of goats could contribute greatly to increased flock productivity. The observed average ratio of potential breeding male to breeding female of 1:5 suggests that a sufficient number of males for mating purposes are kept in the village flock. Wilson and Durkin (1988) recommended a male to female ratio of 1:25 for goats under traditional extensive systems. However, the very limited gene flow between the villages and their surroundings combined with the observed delays in castration might increase the risk of inbreeding. Smallholders should be made aware of the negative effects of inbreeding on flock productivity and measures to avoid it should be discussed with them. For example, practices of buck exchange as reported in Toffo should be promoted and reorganized with the keepers. Holst (1999) argues that the desire to increase livestock performance through selection begins with the individual farmer when he realizes that there is variation within his flock or between flocks in his region. Rege (1996) goes further in arguing that substantial improvement in animal production in developed countries is a result of breeding programmes based on efficient performance recording. The literacy rate of goat farmers in both villages was very low, resulting in an absence of suitable methods of identification of individual animals and a complete lack of record keeping. As a consequence, information for the evaluation of the performance of the local goat populations under on-farm conditions is lacking but it is prerequisite for the establishment of sustainable improvement programmes. Farmers should be introduced to the habit of record keeping and encouraged to establish a villagebased participatory record keeping system. The focus groups discussions generated interesting results about keepers’ knowledge of and preferences for local goat genetic resources. Apart from the introduced types from the North and from Sahelian countries, owners of goats in both villages recognized two varieties or subtypes of goat native in southern Benin. They also clearly distinguished between a markedly dwarf (MD) variety and a short-legged but non-dwarf (SLND) variety. It is widely accepted that the goat populations of southern Benin belong to the West African Dwarf type also called Djallonke (Doutresoulle, 1947; Epstein, 1971; Leclercq, 1976; ILCA/FAO/UNEP, 1979; Charray et al., 1980; Devendra and McLeroy, 1982; Wilson, 1991). The perception of farmers sug-

55

gests two different subtypes or ecotypes of West African goats in southern Benin. This calls for a comprehensive morphometric discrimination of the local goat population. Although farmers perceived the MD variety as more prolific and more resistant to disease than SLND, they considered that its growth is slower and also that it fetches lower prices on the market. Also, the low proportion (less than 2%) that shared the MD variety within the total number of breeding females in both villages reflects farmers’ preference for the SLND. If some decades ago only the MD variety existed in both villages, as mentioned by the elders, it has almost been replaced by the SLND variety and it would be very difficult to convince farmers to maintain it without any incentives. Nevertheless, conservation of genetic diversity among the local goats could be achieved if it is integrated in an overall goat improvement programme. Experience from Kenya (Njoro, 2003) has shown that the creation of awareness among farmers of the importance of maintaining genetic diversity and their empowerment through adequate participatory needs-driven initiatives are predisposing factors to their effective involvement in the development of long-term strategies for the conservation of the local goat genetic resources. Acknowledgements Financial support was provided by grants from the German Catholic Academic Exchange Service (KAAD), the International PhD Program in Agricultural Sciences of the University of Goettingen (IPAG) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

References Alexandre, G., Aumont, G., Mainaud, J.C., Fleury, J. and Naves, M., 1999. Reproductive performances of Guadeloupean Creole goats during the suckling period. Small Ruminant Research, 34, 155–160 Awemu, E.M., Nwakalor, L.N. and Abubakar, B.Y., 1999. Environmental influences on preweaning mortality and reproductive performance of Red Sokoto does. Small Ruminant Research, 34, 161–165 Bennison, J.J., Barton, D. and Jaitner, J., 1997. The production objectives and feeding strategies of ruminant livestock owners in The Gambia: implications for policy makers. Agricultural Systems, 55, 425–444 Catley, A., 1999. Methods on the move: a review of veterinary uses of participatory approaches and methods focusing on experiences in dryland Africa, (IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development), London, UK) Charray, J., Coulomb, J., Haumesser, J.B., Planchenault, D., Pugliese, P.L. and Provost, A., 1980. Les petits ruminants d’Afrique Centrale et d’Afrique de l’Ouest: Synthèse des connaissances actuelles, (IEMVT (Institut d’Elevage Springer

56


et de Médecine Vétérinaire Tropicale), Maisons-Alfort, France) Devendra, C. and McLeroy, G.B., 1982. Goat and Sheep Production in the Tropics, Part 1: Goats, (Longman, London) Doutresoulle, G., 1947. L’élevage en Afrique Occidentale Française, (Larose, Paris) Epstein, H., 1971. The Origin of the Domestic Animals in Africa, Vol. 2, (Africana Publishing Corporation, London) Everett-Hincks, J.M., Lopez-Villalobos, N., Blair, H.T. and Stafford, K.J., 2005. The effect of ewe maternal behaviour score on lamb and litter survival. Livestock Production Science, 93, 51–61 Fall, A., 2000. Peul, Touabire and Djallonke sheep breeding programmes in Senegal. In: S. Galal, J. Boyazoglu, and K. Hammond (eds.), Proceedings of a Workshop on Developing Breeding Strategies for Low Input Animal Production Environments, Bella, Italy, 22–25 September 1999, ICAR, Villa del Ragno, Italy, 331–338 Grandinson, K., 2005. Genetic background of maternal behaviour and its relation to offspring survival. Livestock Production Science, 93, 43–50 Groen, A.F., 2000. Breeding goal definition. In: S. Galal, J. Boyazoglu, and K. Hammond (eds.), Proceedings of a Workshop on Developing Breeding Strategies for Low Input Animal Production Environments, Bella, Italy, 22– 25 September 1999, ICAR, Villa del Ragno, Italy, 25– 104 Holst, P.J., 1999. Recording and on-farm evaluations and monitoring: breeding and selection. Small Ruminant Research, 34, 197–202 ILCA/FAO/UNEP, 1979. Trypanotolerant livestock in West and Central Africa. 2. Countries studies, (ILCA Monograph 2; International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) Kirsopp-Reed, K., 1994. A review of PRA methods for livestock research and development, RRA Notes, Issue 20, (International Institute for Environment and Development, London), 11–36 Leclercq, P., 1976. Principales races d’animaux domestiques des zones tropicales, (IEMVT (Institut d’Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire Tropicale), Maisons-Alfort, France) Maiga, S., 1992. Small ruminant morbidity and mortality in the Delta of Niger, Mali. Small Ruminant Research, 9, 181– 188 Morton, J., Barbara, A., Steve A. and Romney, D., 2002. Conceptual, methodological and institutional issues in participatory livestock production research. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 14, (accessed 20 November 2003 from http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd14/4/mort144.htm) Njoro, J.N., 2003. Community initiatives in livestock improvement: the case of Kathekani, Kenya. In: FAO (ed.), Community-based Management of Animal Genetic Resources, Proceedings of a workshop held in Mbabane, Swaziland, 7–11 May 2001, 77–84 Odubote, K., 1996. Genetic parameters for litter size at birth and kidding interval in the West African Dwarf goats. Small Ruminant Research, 20, 261–265 Osaer, S., Goossens, B., Eysker, M. and Geerts, S., 2000. The effects of prophylactic anthelmintic treatment on the productivity of traditionally managed Djallonke sheep and West

Springer

African Dwarf goats kept under high trypanosomosis risk. Acta Tropica, 74, 13–24 Rege, J.E.O., 1994. Indigenous African small ruminants: a case for characterisation and improvement. In: S.H.B Lebbie, B. Rey and E.K. Irungu (eds.), Small Ruminant Research and Development in Africa, Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network, AICC, Arusha, Tanzania, 7–11 December 1992, (ILCA (International Livestock Centre for Africa)/CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), 205–211 Rege, J.E.O., 1996. Biotechnology options for improving livestock production in developing countries, with special reference to sub-Saharan Africa. In: S.H.B. Lebbie and E. Kagwini (eds.), Small Ruminant Research and Development in Africa, Proceedings of the Third Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Research Network, UICC, Kampala, Uganda, 5–9 December 1994, (ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya), 11– 28 Roeleveld, A.C.W. and van den Broek, A., 1996. Focusing Livestock Systems Research, (Royal Tropical Institute Publication, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Soelkner, J., Nakimbugwe, H. and Valle Zarate, A., 1998. Analysis of determinants for success and failure of village breeding programmes, Proceedings of the 6th World Congress on Genetics Applied Livestock Production, 11–16 January 1998, Armidale, Australia, 25, 273–280 SPSS Inc., 1999. Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSSPC Version 9.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) Steglich, M. and Peters, K.J., 2002. Agro-pastoralists trait preferences in N’Dama cattle: participatory methods to access breeding objectives, Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 19–23 August 2002, Montpellier, France Waters-Bayer, A. and Bayer, W., 1994. Planning with pastoralists: PRA and more–a review of methods focused on Africa, (GTZ Working Paper; GTZ Eschborn, Germany) Watson, C. and Cullis, A., 1994. PRA and livestock development: some challenges, RRA Notes, Issue 20, (International Institute for Environment and Development, London), 5– 7 Wilson, R.T. and Durkin, J.W., 1988. Small ruminant production in central Mali: reproductive performance in traditionally managed goats and sheep. Livestock Production Science, 19, 523–529 Wilson, R.T. and Light, D., 1986. The livestock production in central Mali: economic characteristics and productivity indices for traditionally managed goats and sheep. Journal of Animal Science, 62, 567–575 Wilson, T., 1991. Small ruminant production and the small ruminant genetic resource in Tropical Africa, (FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 88; FAO, Rome) Yapi-Gnaore, C.V., 2000. The open nucleus breeding programme of the Djallonke sheep in Cote-d’Ivoire. In: S. Galal, J. Boyazoglu and K. Hammond (eds.), Proceedings of a Workshop on Developing Breeding Strategies for Low Input Animal Production Environments, Bella, Italy, 22– 25 September 1999, ICAR, Villa del Ragno, Italy, 283– 292


57

Perceptions des petits éleveurs de leur élevage de chèvres dans le Sud du Bénin et opportunités d’amélioration

Percepciones de los pequeños granjeros de sus ganaderías caprinas del sur de Benin y oportunidades para las mejoras

Résumé – Pour avoir du succès, les initiatives d’amélioration de la production de chèvres par les petits e´ leveurs devraient répondre directement aux besoins et aux objectifs des animaliers tout en encourageant un usage rationnel des ressources génétiques locales. Cet article identifie les objectifs, les contraintes et les besoins des e´ leveurs de chèvres dans le Sud du Bénin et discute leur pertinence au développement de programmes d’amélioration. Des questionnaires structurés, des discussions de groupes et une observation des participants ont e´ té utilisés entre novembre et décembre 2005 pour recueillir des informations auprès de 38 e´ leveurs de chèvres dans deux régions choisies. Les chèvres e´ taient principalement gardées pour la vente lors d’une pénurie de rentes. Les traits relatifs a` la reproduction, au comportement, a` la santé et a` la production de viande ont e´ té considérés d’importance e´ gale et ont occupé un rang très e´ levé auprès des e´ leveurs de chèvres. L’objectif de l’élevage identifié a` partir de l’analyse des traits a e´ té une augmentation du revenu net par troupeau par le biais d’une augmentation du nombre des animaux commercialisables. Une stabulation médiocre et le manque de nourriture dans l’ordre descendant ont e´ té les problèmes les plus importants rencontrés pour rendre compte des e´ pidémies de maladies ayant pour conséquence des taux de mortalité e´ levés. Il en a e´ té conclu que le développement d’initiatives pour améliorer les pratiques de gestion e´ tait la priorité prépondérante. Il mènera a` des augmentations de la productivité dans le court terme et encouragera la participation des e´ leveurs au développement de stratégies d’amélioration a` long terme qui devraient inclure une sélection et des luttes contrôlées.

Resumen – Las iniciativas para mejorar la producción caprina de los pequeños granjeros deberán, para tener e´ xito, afrontar directamente las necesidades y los objetivos de los cuidadores al tiempo que promover un uso racional de los recursos genéticos locales. Este estudio identifica los objetivos, limitaciones y necesidades de los granjeros con cabras del sur de Benin y discute su relevancia para el desarrollo de programas de mejora. Se utilizaron, entre noviembre y diciembre de 2005, cuestionarios estructurados, grupos de debate, y observación de participantes para recopilar información pertinente de 38 granjeros con cabras en dos ubicaciones seleccionadas. En los casos en los que se necesitaba el dinero, las cabras se manten´ıan fundamentalmente para venderlas. Los rasgos relacionados con la reproducción, el comportamiento, la salud y la producción cárnica fueron considerados igualmente importantes, y se puntuaron muy altos por los cuidadores de cabras. El mayor ingreso neto por rebaño a través del número incrementado de animales para la venta es el objetivo de crianza derivado del análisis de los rasgos. Los brotes de enfermedades que se traducen en altas tasas de mortalidad, viviendas inadecuadas, y carencia alimenticia fueron, en orden descendente, los problemas más importantes. Se concluyó que el desarrollo de iniciativas para mejorar las prácticas de manejo constituye la prioridad más importante. Este desarrollo conducirá a aumentos en la productividad a corto plazo y promover· la participación de los granjeros en el desarrollo de estrategias de mejora a largo plazo, las cuales deberán incluir la selección y el apareamiento controlado.

Springer