Small ruminant production in the developing countries
Proceedings of an Expert Consultation held in Sofia, Bulgaria, 8–12 July 1985
Edited by
V.M. Timon
and
J.P. Hanrahan
| FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH PAPER 58 Small ruminant production in the developing countries Proceedings of an Expert Consultation held in Sofia, Bulgaria, 8–12 July 1985 Edited by V.M. Timon and J.P. Hanrahan |
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, © FAO 1986
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
M-21
ISBN 92-5-102343-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
ABSTRACT
This publication on the development of small ruminant production in the developing countries is based on an FAO Expert Consultation, held in Sofia, Bulgaria in July 1985. Twenty papers were presented and discussed in the consultation and are reproduced in these proceedings. Strategies in breeding and breed development, nutrition and management, the development and utilization of indigenous grasses, shrubs and forest feeds for the production of sheep and goats, in arid, semi-arid and tropical conditions, are presented in the papers. A synthesis of the discussions is presented in the final chapter of the proceedings.
KEY WORDS
Sheep, goats, breeding, nutrition, management, feeds, arid, semi-arid, tropical.
INTRODUCTION
World wide sheep and goat numbers have been increasing steadily over the past twenty years unlike most other livestock species used by man. Sheep numbers are now in excess of one billion and goat numbers are steadily approaching half that level. Of particular significance is the fact that sheep and goat numbers are increasing much more rapidly in the developing countries than in the more developed regions. This may well reflect the particular ability of small ruminants to survive and produce on low cost feed, their adaptability to difficult and in particular arid environments but perhaps more than anything else it reflects their suitability to the small low-capital family farms in the developing countries that so badly need extra food and additional income.
However population growth, albeit an encouraging trend, is not enough. We must achieve greater production efficiency in small ruminant production in the developing countries; eg., meat output per ewe is much lower and less efficient per unit of body weight in Africa and Asia than in North America or Europe. Levels of flock/herd management, of breed improvement and of disease control are lagging far behind those practiced in the more developed countries.
These are the challenges which motivated FAO to organize a consultation of experts in small ruminant production to assess the progress and development to date and in particular to identify and chart the strategies of development for the years ahead.
The consultation was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 8/12,1985 and was attended by 21 invited participants from allof major sheep and goat producing areas of the world. Following the presentation and discussion of the individual contributions the consultation then addressed the main purpose of the meeting, viz., to identify strategies and recommendations as to how best small ruminant production may be advanced in the developing countries. These recommendations are presented as the summary and outcome of the consultation. A complete report of the consultation and its recommendations has been published by FAO.
| H.A. Jasiorowski Director Animal Production and Health Division |
Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.
This electronic document has been scanned using optical character recognition (OCR) software. FAO declines all responsibility for any discrepancies that may exist between the present document and its original printed version.
Trends in sheep and goat production over the past 20 years, by C. E. Terrill
Selection for increased efficiency in small ruminants, by Helen Newton Turner
Recent developments in reproductive techniques of sheep and goats, by H. W. Vivanco
Increased production and utilization of pasture and forage, by I. E. Coop
Nutrition and management of sheep and goats, by Soterios Economides
Use of highly prolific breeds and crossbreeding, by S. Kukovics
Development of wool goat breeding in the USSR, by Dr. Dauletbaev
Selection for increased production in multi-purpose sheep and goats, by E. S. E. Galal
Strategies to increase sheep production in East Africa, by R. T. Wilson
Increasing land utilization by small ruminants in developing countries, by A. E. Sidahmed
Economic constraints on sheep and goat production in developing countries, by N. Gutierrez-A
Small ruminant production in arid and semi-arid Asia, by R. M. Acharya
The potential for increasing small ruminant production in the Near East, by Faik Bahhady
Prospects for developing small ruminant production in humid tropical Asia, by C. Devendra
Small ruminant production in tropic Africa, by E. 0. Otchere
Strategies to increase sheep production in Czechoslovakia, by D. Ochodnicky
Sheep and goat breeding in GDR, by H. G. Thulke
Prospects for increasing small ruminant production, by C. E. Terrill