Assessments of breeding practices, major constraints and opportunities of sheep and goat production in Sinana district, bale zone, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in selected Rural Kebeles of Sinana District, Bale Zone of Ethiopia with the objectives to identify the breeding practices and assess the major challenges and opportunities of sheep and goat production under taken. Both primary data through structured questionnaire and secondary data from different relevant offices, published and unpublished sources were gathered. A set of semi-structured questionnaire were used to collect data from 120 farmer-owning shoats based on single-visit-interviews. To enrich the primary data, field observations and group discussions were also undertaken. The result of the study indicated that majority of the respondents kept their sheep and goat under free grazing and partly tethered management, respectively during dry and wet season. The main reason for keeping sheep and goat by majority of the farmers (81%) is as a source of money to supplement family income. Almost the entire interviewed households were practices fattening for targeted market. From interviewed respondents 33 (27.5%), 29 (24.17%) and 26 (21.67%) of respondents select animals for fattening based on body conformation, age and local ecotypes, respectively. The most type of feeding systems practices in the study area was free grazing (90.83% during dry; 79.17% during wet season). Natural pasture and crop residues were the main feed resource during the rainy season whereas natural pasture, crop residue, and local brewery by product are the main dry season feeds. Feed shortage, land scarcity, and untimely credit access were the major constraints that hinder sheep and goat productivity in the study area. About 53.9% of interviewed households declared that, sheep and goat health problem were occurred. Overall mortality rate of sheep and goat in study area were 12.9% and 14%, respectively. The highest mortality rate occurred in suckling flock (16% lambs; 16 kids %), young flock (9.6 % lambs; 13% kids) and breeding females (ewes 12% and does 14%) in all study sites. The available opportunities of sheep and goat production in the study area were feasible weather condition followed by availability of adapting local sheep and goat breed, market access and government intervention.