SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECT AND HUSBANDRY PRACTICES OF SHEEP KEPT IN AWASSA CITY

Dinksew Taye¹ and Girma Abebe²

¹ Jinaka Bureau of Ministry of Agriculture
² Awassa College of Agriculture, P.O.Box, 5, Awassa, Ethiopia

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Awassa city to study the socioeconomic importance of sheep to urban dwellers and to ascertain husbandry practices of urban sheep production.  A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to a total of 120 sheep owners. Average flock size was 4.6 and in absolute terms sheep were found to be the abundant species of farm animals in Awassa. The main reasons for keeping sheep were found to be income generation and family consumption. Sheep seem to provide cash at critical periods of need. Constraints were lack of space for housing and feed availability.

1. Introduction

Urban and semi-urban livestock production systems are emerging in many cities of developing countries. Although dairy production is the predominant production system, the importance of small ruminants especially for economically disadvantaged people living in urban areas is being realized.  In urban areas sheep production is considered as a means to fulfill part of home consumption needs and income generation needs during severe shortages of cash.  Ease of management, low investment capital and low feed requirements of sheep compared with large ruminants are factors putting sheep production as a viable alternative animal for urban production. A survey was conducted in Awassa City with the objectives of assessing the socioeconomic importance of sheep and documenting their husbandry practices.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Description of the study area

The study was conducted in the city of Awassa, found 275 km south of Addis Ababa and located at 39⁰E and 7⁰N (NAE, 1985) at an altitude of 1,690 m above sea level. The average monthly minimum and maximum temperatures and mean annual rainfall for the past five years were 12⁰C, 27.6⁰C and 951 mm, respectively. The maximum mean temperature was recorded in Mach (30.3⁰C), while the minimum rainfall occurred in November (16.9 mm). The wet season begins in April and extends to the end of September, while the dry season starts in October and extends to March. The entire town is spread over an area of 1,950 hectares, of which 787 ha. (40%) is developed and the remaining 1,163 ha (60%) is vacant. The total population of the area is 81,466 (NUPI, 1994).

2.2. Methodology

The survey was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire that was designed to generate recent and relevant information. In the survey, 10 Kebeles were selected using stratified random sampling and a random of 120 sheep owners were picked from the kebeles. In the survey all species of livestock were included for the purpose of establishing livestock composition, but detailed information was obtained on sheep. Some of the major points addressed included the husbandry and management practices, livestock composition, economic importance of sheep, feed resources, attitude of owners towards sheep keeping and constraints of sheep production in urban areas. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

3.1 Results

3.1 Livestock composition

The survey results revealed that sheep were the most common species of animal kept in the area. In fact, their number exceeded even that of chickens. The percentage composition of each species of livestock is shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1.  Composition of livestock species in the city of Awassa

Sheep were kept alone or together with other livestock species. About 50.8% of the respondents kept only sheep, 40% sheep with cattle, 5% sheep with goats, and 4.2% kept sheep, goats and cattle together.

3.2 Flock size and structure

The overall mean flock size was 4.6 sheep. Sheep flocks were composed of different sex and age groups. They were categorized as ewes, rams (entire males), lambs and castrates. Sheep that were not yet sexually mature were considered as lambs.

Table 2.  Flock structure of the surveyed flock, average number of animals per class in a flock and number of respondents owning sheep

Lambs of both sexes (42%) followed by ewes (40%) dominated flocks. As seen from Table 2, the proportion of castrates in the flock was low. In fact, only 12 respondents indicated that they had castrate animals in their flock.

3.3 Ways of establishing foundation stock

Ninety-four percent of the respondents started the business of raising sheep by purchasing sheep from Awassa and other nearby market places. Only seven respondents (5.8%) got their foundation animals as gifts from relatives and friends. Eighty-five percent of the respondents started off with an average of 1.24 ± 0.52 female sheep, while the remaining 15% started with male and female sheep.

3.4 Socioeconomics

3.4.1 Purpose of keeping sheep

Major reasons for keeping sheep were food production (meat for family consumption), income generation, hobby and asset function. The majority (53.3%) of the respondents kept sheep for home consumption and cash income generation (Table 3). It is also interesting to note that sheep rearing is a hobby for some people in the city.

Table 3.  Number and percentage of people keeping sheep for different purpose.

3.4.2 Income source of sheep owners

Apart from raising sheep, sheep owners were involved in different cash generating activities. The main sources of family income were salary (government and private employee), wages and pensions (Table 4).

Table 4.  Income sources of sheep producers

Monthly income of the owners was stratified as follows: those earning £150, 151-300, 301-500, 501-1000, and >1000 Ethiopian Birr (EB). For 27% of the respondents the monthly income was estimated to be 301-500 EB and they possessed on average 5.8 sheep per owner, which was greater than all the other income groups. The maximum flock size was also recorded in this income group (14 sheep). About 16 and 11% of the respondents were under the categories of those earning £ 150 and > 1000 EB, respectively, having on average 4.7 sheep/owner in both categories.

3.4.3 Marketing

Sheep were sold when the responsible member of the family makes a decision. In 45% of the cases that decision was made by fathers and in 23% of the cases mothers made the decision. Thirty-two percent of respondents indicated that the head of the family discusses the issue with their spouse before selling their animals. Most of the respondents (64%) target times of the year to sell their animals. The most common times of selling animals were holidays such as Christmas, New Year and Easter.

To get recent and relatively correct figures on marketing of sheep, data on the number of sheep sold, average age at sale and price at which sheep were sold in one year (September 1997 to August 1998) were collected during the survey using producer memory. Out of the total 120 respondents only 70 sold sheep during that period.  It was found that more males were marketed than females. Males were also sold at an earlier age than females (16 vs 20 months) According to respondents the price that people received from sale of male sheep was also higher than that for females.  Cash obtained from the sale of sheep was used to cover some expenses of the family like children's school fees, clothing, and emergencies. School fees and emergency expenses are by far the most common expenses covered by cash generated from sale of sheep.

3.4.4 Labor division among family members

Family members performed various management activities such as herding, feeding, treating sick animals, cleaning and constructing houses. About 60% of households practiced herding, which was usually the responsibility of boys (37%) and was performed before and after school hours. Some households (13%) paid for shepherds. These shepherds were usually paid on the basis of animal numbers and were not employed by a single household.

Women (mothers) assisted by boys were most responsible for feeding sheep, and together with girls in the family did the cleaning. On the other hand, men assisted by boys accomplished activities related to barn construction. Overall the largest share of sheep management fell on women, girls and boys in the family.

3.5 Husbandry practices

3.5.1 Feed resources and feeding

Available feed resources for sheep were roadside grazing, crop residues, hay, wheat bran, oil seed cake, atella (a byproduct of a local brewery') and natural pasture on communal grazing areas.

3.5.2 Grazing

Roadside grazing was the most common source of feed for sheep both during dry and wet seasons. According to respondents, sheep get better access to roadside grazing during the wet season than during the dry season. Except for producers located at the outskirts of the city, use of communal grazing areas was not common. Sheep obtained feed during the day by free grazing (roaming), herding, tethering or zero grazing. The majority of respondents (90%) did not rely soley on one method of feeding but combined zero grazing with herding, free grazing or tethering. Percentages of respondents who used only one method of feeding were (expressed as percent of total respondents): herding 0.8%, tethering 0.8%, free grazing 3.3% and zero-grazing 2.5%. The duration of grazing lasted for 7.2 ± 3.1 and the time spent feeding in stalls was 2.8 ± 2.4 hours.

3.5.3 Supplementary feed

Eighty-five percent of the respondents indicated that they purchase supplementary feed for their animals. Types of feed purchased included attela, wheat bran, mineral lick (bole and common salt), hay, green grass, oil seed cake, sugarcane tops, and fruit skins. Most people buy attela because of its availability and low price. At times atella is available free of charge as on holy days. Wheat bran is the second most commonly feed purchased. Producers feed a mixture of attela, wheat bran and salt, as it is believed that the mixture improves the animal’s appetite. The use of wheat barn is probably due to the proximity of a mill in the city.  Hay was purchased primarily by people who raised both sheep and cattle.  Supplementary feed is supplied either in the morning before animals were released for grazing or at dusk before confining them after grazing.

3.5.4 Housing

All respondents (100%) penned their sheep at night under confinement, but no one penned for the whole day. Among the 120 owners 107 (89.2%) kept their sheep in a separate house while 13 (10.8%) kept them in the family’s house. In addition to night confinement, 36 respondents (27.8%) sheltered their sheep at mid-day in a separate house and 72.2% used alternative forms of sun-shelters. Although housing sheep was common, only 26 (21.7%) respondents separated lambs from adults. Of those 26 owners who separated the young, 11 (42.3%) kept lambs with the dam in a separate pen from the rest of the flock while the other 15 (57.7%) made a simple and temporary partition to isolate ewes and the newly born from the remaining flock.

3.5.5 Weaning of lambs

All sheep respondents allowed lambs to wean by themselves. Lambs are naturally weaned a few months after conception by the dam. The average age at weaning is 4.8 ±> 1.2 months.

3.5.6 Castration

Castration was done by 46% of the respondents. Male lambs were usually castrated at an average age of 12.3± 6.1 months. Reasons given by respondents for castration included improving the amount of fat in the carcass (36 %), controlling loss (disappearance) of male lambs while running after breeding ewes (27%) and the rest practiced castration for both reasons. Producers were not aware of the practice of castrating male animals for the purpose of controlling mating of unwanted males. About 95% of the respondents who castrated male lambs explained that castrated males fetch a better price than intact male sheep. Castrates also receive better treatment in terms of feeding.  Fifty-eight percent of those who castrated males provided extra feed and care for castrates.

3.5.7 Mortality

Animals were classified into four age groups (<3, 3 to 6, 6 to 12 and >12 months) to see at which age highest mortality occurs. Among 106 respondents, 56% indicated that highest mortality occurred during the early growth period, i.e., less than 3 months of age; 19% indicated the age group of 3 to 6 months; and 18% the age group of >12 months. Only a few respondents (8%) indicated the age between 6 to 12 months as that with highest mortality.  An attempt was also made to see how many losses occurred during the past year of 1997/98 using respondents' memory. The result is presented in Table 5.

As seen in Table 5, highest mortality occurred in lambs below 3 months of age while the lowest was seen at the age of 6 to 12 months. It was unexpected to find that the last age category, i.e., > 12 months of age, was characterized by such high mortality. Seasonal variation in mortality rate has also been indicated. About 56% of respondents indicated that mortality was highest during the wet season (April-September), 33% identified the dry season (October - March) and 11% did not observe any effect of season on mortality.

Table 5.  Actual number and percentage of animals that died from September 1997 to August 1998

The major killer diseases during the wet season were pneumonia, diarrhea, bloat and liver fluke in that order of importance. The incidence of disease was reported to be low during the dry season. Other cases of death included car accidents, difficult birth, human kicks and unknown causes. Sheep in the area had good access to modern veterinary services. Out of the total 120 respondents 68, 19 and 13% of the respondents got veterinary services for their sheep from the Ministry of Agriculture, private clinics and traditional healers (ethnoveterinary), respectively.

3.6 Major Constraints

The problems frequently mentioned that hamper expansion of sheep flock size were shortage of feed and grazing area, shortage of labor, problems of space for housing, loss of sheep due to disease, predators, theft and accidents and conflict arising with neighbors due to the distraction by sheep. Those sheep that roam around for grazing were more susceptible to accident and theft. Similarly, they are causes of conflict among neighbors.

Table 6.  Constraints of sheep keeping as indicated by respondents

4 Discussion

The number of sheep kept by interviewed persons exceeds other livestock species and chickens, perhaps indicating the role of sheep as a supplementary source of income for families.  The flock structure is dominated by breeding ewes and lambs, suggesting a relative high rate of removal of males from the flock.  The need for low capital investment to go into the business of sheep rearing is again confirmed by this study as 85% of interviewed persons started sheep production with an average of 1.24 female sheep.

Although the purpose of keeping sheep varied with interviewee, the majority singled out income generation coupled with food production as the main reasons.  It is apparent that urban dwellers stabilize income and ensure food security through sheep production.  It was interesting to note that over 50% of the interviewees had salary but yet kept goats.  It may be true that some sections of the society earning enough money for all their needs can keep sheep as a hobby, but results showed the highest flock size was observed in the earning category of 300-500 EB. This might suggest that sheep serve as an extra source of income for this wealth category.

Consumer demand is particularly high during festivals and public celebrations. Most producers aim to sell their animals when they think they can get better prices. Respondents indicated Christmas, New Year and Easter as times of the year when they are offered higher prices for their animals. Further study is needed to know the best selling holiday and an attempt should be made to synchronize other aspects of production to maximize profit. Examination of expenditures of money obtained from the sale of sheep revealed that money was used for expenses related to school fees. It may be inferred that more children are able to go to school because their parents keep sheep allowing them to pay fees. Sheep production seemed to be the major responsibility of women.  This could be another entry point for development agents aiming at increasing income of women.

Lack of housing space followed by feed shortage was indicated as the major constraints hampering expansion of flock size.  It is hypothesized that the problem of housing space will intensify as the land allocated for residential building in cites is shrinking.  This is an issue that should be taken up by policy makers and city planners.  True urban livestock production is not without problems, but the contribution of animals towards food security and income generation to urban dwellers during critical periods of cash requirement (school fee etc.) should be given due consideration while looking for solutions.

Feeding management included roaming or herding combined with some sort of supplementary feeding.  Atella, a brewery byproduct was the cheapest source of supplement.  However, the nutritional value of this byproduct and method of feeding needs further investigation.  Also, the practice of allowing animals to roam free exposed them to traffic accidents.

Nearly 90 % of the respondents keep sheep in separate housing. This proportion is higher than the value reported by Tolera (1998) for rural areas. It is likely that urban dwellers are aware of the health hazard of keeping animals in residential houses. Alternatively, better economic conditions of urban dwellers might enable them to provide better care and management for their animals.

It was unexpected to find that mortality increased after one year of age.  Although the exact cause of this pattern of mortality is uncertain, it is likely that old age and undernourishment of pregnant and lactating animals led to higher death.  Most respondents also reported a high incidence of mortality occurring during the wet season.  This might be associated with maximum occurrence of endoparasites and respiratory disease.  The loss from an endoparasitic - diarrhea complex that occurs during wet season has been reported for sheep in other parts of Africa (Asare and Wilson 1981).

References

Asare E.V and Wilson R.T. 1985. Note on village system of small Ruminant Production in Ghana and bibliography of Ghanaian small ruminant research. ILCA. Group document No. S.R. 5, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

NAE - National Atlas of Ethiopia. (1985) Berhanena Selam printing press, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

NUPI- National Urban Planning Institute. (1994). Awassa Master plan final report (Executive summary). Sept. 1994. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Tolera Adugna. 1998 Production situation and some productivity and physical characters of traditionally managed sheep and goats in kochore district southern Ethiopia. Journal of Applied Animal Res.13, 49-59.

Citation:

Taye, D. and G. Abebe. 2000.  Socioeconomic aspect and husbandry practices of sheep kept in Awassa.  In: R.C. Merkel, G. Abebe and A.L. Goetsch (eds.). The Opportunities and Challenges of Enhancing Goat Production in East Africa.  Proceedings of a conference held at Debub University, Awassa, Ethiopia from November 10 to 12, 2000.  E (Kika) de la Garza Institute for Goat Research, Langston University, Langston, OK  pp. 175-181.