PARTICIPATORY DEFINITION OF BREEDING OBJECTIVES AND TRAIT PREFERENCE OF SHEEP PRODUCERS IN ATSBI DISTRICT, TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The study was conducted in the Atsbi district of Tigray, Ethiopia, with the aim of identifying the breeding goals and trait preferences of sheep producers. Data were collected through structured and open-ended questionnaires, as well as personal observations from 180 households across three peasant associations (Tabias).The results indicated that most respondents came from maleheaded households, were married, and nearly half were able to read and write. This suggests a strong potential for adopting improved technologies and enhancing performance in sheep production. Among various farming and non-farming activities, livestock provided the highest cash income, followed by crops (0.23), trading (0.17), and daily labor (0.16). Farmers raised various livestock species, with sheep forming the largest population, followed by chickens and cattle. The average sheep flock consisted of 11.8 heads, primarily made up of breeding ewes. Sheep were mainly raised for income generation, but they also served other purposes such as providing natural fertilizer, savings, meat, milk, and social value. The common criteria for selecting breeding rams included body size, growth rate, coat color, tail type, and active libido. For breeding ewes, the selection criteria included body size, lambing interval, age at first lambing (AFL), mothering ability, and milk yield. Interestingly, some farmers kept more rams than necessary, with 29.4% of flocks having no rams. This limited mating opportunities, as mating typically occurred only during grazing hours in communal pastures. Tigray highland sheep have demonstrated a potential AFL of 16.8 months and an average lambing interval of 8.47 months, with a milk yield of 0.36 kg. The peak lambing season occurs in November, October, and December. During the dry season, various feed resources are utilized, including natural pasture, fallow land, crop residues, hay, agro-industrial byproducts, and established pasture. Key constraints identified by farmers included drought (index: 0.18), feed shortages (0.17), and inadequate veterinary support (0.14).The study concludes that targeted interventions such as feed conservation techniques and disease control measures can significantly enhance sheep productivity and sustainability. This improvement will contribute to economic resilience for smallholder farmers.