Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Production characteristics, management practices and on-farm phenotypic characterisation of indigenous Twana sheep in four districts of southern Botswana

Auteur : Bolowe, Monosi Andries

Université de soutenance : Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUANR)

Grade : MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ANIMAL SCIENCE (ANIMAL BREEDING AND REPRODUCTION) 2021

Résumé partiel
In the framework of collecting information that will aid in development of breeding and conservation strategies and policies intended for the conservation of indigenous Tswana sheep in the Southern part of Botswana, a survey of production system and on-farm phenotypic characterization of indigenous Tswana sheep were undertaken in the Kgatleng, Kweneng, SouthEast and Southern districts. Multi-stage purposive and random sampling were employed as sampling techniques. Detailed structured questionnaires on farmers’ socio-economic parameters, breeding and general management practices on Tswana sheep, field observations of animals, body measurements and secondary data collection were used to produce the data. Data on qualitative characters and quantitative measurements were made on 665 sheep stratified by dentition into four age categories of zero permanent pair of incisors (0PPI), one permanent pair of incisors (1PPI), two permanent pairs of incisors (2PPI) and three or more permanent pairs of incisors (≥3PPI) to represent age ranges of 6-11, 12–24, 25–36 and above 36 months, respectively. Qualitative survey data were analyzed using procedure frequencies of Statistical Package for Social Sciences while quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Analysis System. Results revealed that the mean average flock sizes for Kgatleng, Kweneng, Southern and South-East were 22.20±3.8, 24.81±3.56, 30.08±3.77 and 23.58±3.77, respectively. Sheep played multifaceted roles for farmers across districts. Amongst the reasons for keeping sheep, Kgatleng and Kweneng district farmers primarily kept sheep for generating cash derived from sales (index= 0.480 and 0.390, respectively) and in the Southern and South-East districts farmers primarily kept sheep for ceremonial (socio-cultural) use (index=0.310 and 0.371, respectively). Competitive superiority of indigenous Tswana rams over their exotic counterparts in terms of survival and reproduction under Botswana environment was the most preferred trait when selecting breeding rams in Kgatleng ( index= 0.290), Kweneng ii (index= 0.301) and South-East ( index= 0.247) while in Southern district breeding rams were mainly selected based on body size (index= 0.372). Castration of rams in Kgatleng, Kweneng and South-East districts was mostly done at 3-6 months while Southern district farmers castrated at a later age of 6-12 months. The dominant coat color pattern on Tswana sheep was plain with most sheep having white dominant and plain white color coats.

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