On-farm phenotypic characterization of cattle and their production system in jimma zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

In the framework of designing community-based breeding strategies for indigenous cattle breeds of smallholders in Ethiopia, a survey of production system and on-farm phenotypic characterization of Jimma cattle types, was undertaken in the Gera, Sigimo and Dedo districts of Jimma zone. Multi stage stratified purposive and random sampling was employed as sampling technique. Detailed structure questionnaire, focus group discussions, field observations of animals, linear body measurements, and secondary data collection were employed to produce the data. One hundred eighty sample cattle owners with different herd sizes were interviewed on their cattle husbandry practices. Six quantitative measurements and thirteen qualitative records were taken and observed from 540 mature cattle and subjected to multivariate analysis of variance. For the analyses of quantitative data, the main effects of district and age of cattle were fitted to the final model. Cluster analysis on quantitative variables was employed to identify homogenous cattle populations that may represent cattle types. The clustering technique was single-linkage, agglomerative, hierarchical and non-overlapping (SAHN). Cattle have multi-purpose roles in all of the three districts. Among the reasons for keeping cattle, draught performance in male cattle and milk production in female cattle were ranked highest. The results showed significant (p<0.01) differences in quantitative traits between districts for both male and female populations. The analyses of variance to ascertain the difference between age group 1 (18-30 months), 2 (31-41 months) and 3 (≥ 42 months) for males and females showed a significant (p<0.01) effect. The results also revealed that, there was significant (p<0.01) difference between districts for milk production and lactation length. The overall average age at sexual maturity for males and females was 37.46±0.44 and 36.16±0.34 months, respectively. The overall average age at first calving and calving interval was 42.49±0.66 and 13.49±0.23 months, respectively. Based on results of cluster analysis, it is revealed that, morphologically, at least three distinct cattle types were found in the area, namely the Gera cattle type (comprising of cattle from Gera-Naso and Genji-Chala sites), the Sigimo cattle type (Alia and Seriti sites) and the Dedo cattle type (WaroKolobo and Ofolle-Dawe sites). The Gera cattle type has the longest horn measurement, while the Sigimo cattle type has the shortest ear and horn length. On the other hand, the Dedo cattle type has big body frame and the longest ears. The characterization should be followed by community based genetic improvement scheme.