PRINCIPLES FOR ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT IN THE TROPICS SHEEP AND GOATS: ASIAN EXPERIENCES

P.N. Bhat 1/

1. INTRODUCTION

Sheep and goats constitute a sizable population of livestock in Asia, with 322 million sheep (22% of the world total) and 255 million goats (49%). The land area is 2679 million hectares, of which only 426 million are arable (Table 1). The small ruminants are raised in a complexity of farming systems, primarily on small farms where the emphasis is on intensive crop production, but also on extensive systems in large flocks, in groups of 500-1000, which may consist of a collection of small units. These large flocks are nomadic or transhumant, moving to high pastures in summer and plains in winter.

In Asia, sheep and goats are raised in four distinct geographic areas, which have given rise to different management systems, and different breeds/strains. The regions are:

1. arid and semi-arid, where the majority of the sheep and goats are;
2. temperate and subtropical, where most apparel wool sheep are;
3. cold deserts, where sheep and goats form the main livestock species;
4. humid tropics, where goats are the main species.

Sheep and goats contribute meat, milk, skin, fibre and manure to the agricultural system (Table 2), and help to meet the world's demand for carpet wool, ropes, bags, skins and meat. They are an important source of earnings to livestock owners, and are the sole, or a subsidiary, occupation for many small, marginal farmers and landless labourers, most of whom are poor and engaged in subsistence agriculture.

Many Asian farmers prefer to invest their labour in plant food production; usually sheep and "goats are raised as an extra investment, without major labour input, and as an adjunct to a cropping system. The animals make use of natural vegetation, crop residues, roadside plants and tree leaves, which provide a sizable portion of the energy they consume.

Due to intensification of cropping, with irrigation and cultivation of large areas, there has been a progressive reduction in grazing land, resulting in high density of livestock. The grazing lands are thus over-utilized, and investment in their improvement is nil.

Population trends for sheep and goats have varied in the different Asian countries. China now has the largest sheep population (Table 1), followed by Turkey, India and Iran, while India has the largest goat population, followed by China, Pakistan and Turkey. Pakistan and China have shown the greatest recent increases in sheep numbers, while in Iran the numbers of both sheep and goats have declined. Trends in sheep numbers in India have varied from increases in the arid and north-western regions to a decline in the semi-arid southern, central and peninsular areas. Goat numbers in India have increased.

Table 1 LAND USE, TOTAL LIVESTOCK (EXCLUDING POULTRY) AND SHEEP AND GOAT POPULATIONS IN ASIA
(FAO, 1984)

Table 2 MEAT, MILK AND WOOL PRODUCTION FROM SHEEP AND GOATS IN THE ASIAN COUNTRIES (FAO, 1984)

^1/Director, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, U.P., India. 243122.