Factors affecting sheep and goat flock dynamics and off-take under resource-poor smallholder management systems, southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The flock dynamics and offtake of sheep and goats in three flock density group (sheep dominant site, SDS; goat dominant, GDS and mixed flock, MFS) were determined at Halaba district. Thirty, 15 and 15 randomly selected sheep, goat, and sheep and goat owning households were selected and monitored for 12-months from SDS, GDS and MFS, respectively. Birth, purchase and shareholding constituted 90.3, 6.5 and 2.18% as major entry routes, respectively, while sale, death and home slaughter constituted 52.9, 15.1, 12.7% as major exits, respectively. The overall offtake rate was 41.2% in sheep and 30.4% in goat’s flocks. Generally, entry, exits and offtake rate was higher in the SDS. Flock density group, family and farm size, literacy level and animal number were shown to be affecting offtake rate and flock dynamics. There was clear supply, demand and price variations across seasons. Higher exits through sale during cropping season imply the significance of small ruminants in providing immediate cash income for resource-poor farmers. Improving market value-chain, technical backups and policy integration would help resource-poor farmers to exploit these indigenous and adaptable sheep and goat resources efficiently.

Keywords: binary logit; entry; exits; flock; offtake; smallholder; southern Ethiopia