Suitability of different Awassi lines for efficient sheep production of Bedouins in the Negev in Israel
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Beschreibung
In Israel, more than half of the national sheep flock is kept by Bedouin in the Negev desert.
Extensive production systems co-exist besides semi-intensive systems with varying economic
success. There is a constant regional demand for sheep meat, but the local supply is not able
to cover it. The wide gap between the performance potential of the commonly used and
environmentally adapted local Awassi and improved sheep breeds suggests an increase in
economic efficiency by intensification of breeding. The choice of a suitable breed for a
specific system is seen as key factor for the farm success and requires the knowledge of the
animals’ adaptation. Information on the performance of Bedouin sheep flocks under the given
harsh production conditions are, however, missing. The purpose of the study was thus a
characterization of current production systems, the assessment of the aggregated performance
of the different Awassi lines kept in those systems and the impact of socio-economic and
production factors on the efficiency of Bedouin sheep production. Also breeding objectives of
Bedouin sheep farmers were investigated. The role of new breeding technologies in the
ongoing process of intensification of sheep farming systems was analyzed and discussed.
Data collection was step-wise with repeated field surveys from January 2007 till March 2009,
lasting 6 months altogether. In a first diagnostic survey 30 Bedouin households in the Negev
desert, located in two different climatic zones, arid and semi-arid, and keeping a minimum
flock size of 50 animals, were visited. Households were grouped into 4 tribe groups according
to location and ethnical background. In a second step, 21 households of the previous sample
were visited again and grouped according to the breed composition of their flocks and by their
use of hormonal synchronization and/or artificial insemination. Semi-structured interviews
and participative observation yielded information about the socio-economic situation of the
household, function of flocks, the livestock husbandry, sheep management and production.
Sheep market surveys, key person interviews and secondary data were used for verification of
data. Detailed information on sheep was obtained through on-farm performance recording run
in 16 sheep farms, including a total of 2420 breeding ewes. Sheep of different Improved
Awassi lines were present in those experimental flocks, including the Afec Awassi, carrying
the Booroola gene (BB/B+), which has a major impact on prolificacy, and the Assaf breed. In
a last step, 56 sheep farmers from different parts of the Negev were asked about their
selection criteria for replacement. Trait preferences were derived by a consecutive ranking
technique. The data analysis incorporated descriptive statistics, general linear models and
non-parametric tests performed with SAS 9.1 and SAS 9.2 software.
The diagnostic survey revealed that functions of sheep flocks differed significantly between
tribes: in the semi-arid area with a main focus on generating income, and in tribes of the arid
zone with a higher importance of subsistence related and social purposes. The primary
purpose was meat production. The dual purpose of meat and milk was still found in 57% of
the farms, yet only 13% of the farms were selling milk products. The missing market access
was the main reason for a strong decline in the use of milk, wool and manure during the last
decade. Lamb meat, providing the main output of all farms, ranged from 13 to 58 kg of
marketable live weight per ewe and year (LME). Classified according to their LME, 30% of
the investigated farms followed an extensive, 47% a semi-extensive and 23% a semi-intensive
management. Significant differences in meat output were found for the factors tribe group,
breed composition of flocks and selling age of lambs. The gross margin per ewe and year
varied between -27 € and 54 € and the net benefit per flock and year (NB) between -7,020 €
and 20,993 €. Both economic parameters were positively related to the meat output. Negative
NB’s were realized by 43% of the farms, belonging foremost to traditional Bedouin tribes,
oriented towards subsistence and living in remote areas. Only 27% of economically successful
farms generated an income comparable to that of a part-time off-farm job. These farmers
regularly used veterinary services to introduce improved breeds and modern breeding
technology. Their good market access facilitated a strong market-oriented production,
integrating lamb fattening, which had the highest impact on the production success.
During the two years of research a severe drought occurred in the study region, causing a
decline in LME, due to lower lambing rates and higher mortalities. To adapt to changing
conditions, farms keeping the pure local Awassi breed reduced their flock sizes stronger than
farms keeping also crossbreds. Consequently, the LME and the NB decreased stronger in
flocks of pure local Awassi, compared to flocks with crossbreds. The decline in the NB was
14 times lower in flocks with use of hormonal synchronization and/or artificial insemination
than in flocks with the local breed kept under traditional management. The lowest decline in
the NB and the benefit cost ratio (BCR) were found in flocks with more than 50% crossbreds.
Yet, a high variation in performance among flocks with different degrees of crossbreeding
was detected.
Data analysis of flocks with permanent performance recording revealed that prolificacy was
significantly affected by breed, besides farm and parity. Afec Awassi (B+) ewes had a
significantly (p<0.05) higher number of lambs born alive per ewe lambing (1.57 LBA/EL),
than Assaf ewes (1.24 LBA/EL), Assaf crossbred ewes (1.17 LBA/EL) and local Awassi ewes
(1.08 LBA/EL). Litter weight of lambs at weaning (LWW) showed also significant
differences (p<0.05) between Afec Awassi (B+) (31 kg/ewe) and local Awassi ewes (18
kg/ewe). The mortality rate of lambs at birth ranged by farm from 1.3% to 17.2% and from
birth to weaning from 5% to 23.3%, but did not differ significantly between breeds. Highest
prolificacies and lowest lamb mortalities at birth were found in farms with good feeding and
high labour input. As the lamb mortality at birth increased in litters larger than two, post-natal
care of lambs was essential for the success of the Afec Awassi line.
Farmers of tribes, located in the two different climatic zones, expressed different selection
criteria for replacement. Those of the arid zone ranked feed efficiency (good body condition
of the sheep with the available feed) highest, whereas farmers of the semi-arid zone gave
preference to fertility traits, ranking prolificacy first. The introgression of the Afec Awassi
(BB/B+), leading to higher prolificacy, corresponds with trait preferences of market-oriented
farmers of the semi-arid zone in the Negev.
The Afec Awassi line was the most profitable under good management. The setup of a
heterozygote (B+) breeding stock can thus be recommended for the semi-intensive and semi-extensive Bedouin sheep farms in the Negev with improved management. A prolificacy
higher than 2.0 LBA/EL is not advisable due to higher lamb mortalities after birth with
limitations in management. The Afec Awassi line does not match the trait preferences and
resource endowment of sheep farmers from the arid zone, following an extensive,
subsistence-oriented system. There, the local Awassi is still providing the most suitable
combination of traits of adaptation and performance, however, without avoiding losses from
sheep production.
Autor*in
B. Anna Al Baqain