Report on process followed in selection, procurement and dissemination of breeding rams and buck in community-based breeding programs in Ethiopia

Abstract

Breeding programs described as community-based cover a range of situations but typically target low input systems with farmers within limited geographical boundaries having a common interest to work together for improvement of their genetic resources. Community-based breeding programs (CBBPs) focus on indigenous stock and consider farmers’ needs, views, decisions and active participation, from inception through to implementation, and therefore provide a participatory and bottom-up approach. Ethiopian CBBP combines selection of breeding rams/bucks based on careful recording of important production parameters, such as body weight at 6 months and ewe/doe lambing/kidding interval, with expert local opinion as to what constitutes a good ram/buck and communal use of selected rams/bucks. Farmers who wish to participate are organized into sheep/goat breeding associations, many of which later evolve into formal cooperatives. Local enumerators are recruited to help in data collection, which is then managed in a data base and analyzed by scientists from local research centers to help to inform selection decisions.