ABSTRACT

Description of the production condition and level of performance is the first step in improving production performance. The study described the indigenous cattle reproductive performances, management practices and production limitations in north-western Ethiopia. Multistage purposive and random sampling methods were used to select the study sites/districts and households. A semi-structured questionnaire (320 interviewees), focus group discussions (12) and personal observations were used for data collection. Chi-square (χ2) test, the least squares mean and the ranking indexes were the statistical methods employed for data analysis. Livestock composition, reproductive performance and production constraints of cattle showed significant differences (p < 0.001) between agro-ecological zones. Cattle were the dominant livestock species, with mean numbers of 18.3 ± 9.9, 8.1 ± 3.2 and 5.4 ± 2.5 heads in the lowland, midland and highland agro-ecological zones, respectively. The mean ages at first mating of bulls, first service of heifers, first calving and calving interval of cows were best in the highlands, while the midland agro-ecology had the worst performance. Feed shortage (Index = 0.4) and disease prevalence (Index = 0.25) were the main cattle production problems. Natural pasture was the main feed source for cattle in the study areas. The study revealed a significant effect agro-ecology on landholding, cattle management practices, species composition; cattle herd structure, reproductive performances and cattle production constraints. This implies that the socioeconomic characteristics, management-level constraints for production and performance level of the livestock stock are important for developing improvement strategies for smallholder livestock production in different agro-ecological zones.

摘要

生产状况和绩效水平的描述是提高生产绩效的第一步。该研究描述了埃塞俄比亚西北部本土牛的繁殖性能、管理实践和生产限制。采用多阶段有目的和随机抽样方法选择研究地点/区和家庭。数据收集采用半结构化问卷（320 名受访者）、焦点小组讨论（12）和个人观察。数据分析采用卡方（χ2）检验、最小二乘均值和排序指数等统计方法。家畜组成、牛的繁殖性能和生产限制表现出显着差异（p < 0.001) 农业生态区之间。牛是主要牲畜种类，低地、中部和高原农业生态区的平均数量分别为18.3±9.9头、8.1±3.2头和5.4±2.5头。公牛首次交配年龄、小母牛首次配种、母牛首次产犊和产犊间隔的平均年龄在高原地区最好，而中部地区农业生态表现最差。饲料短缺（指数 = 0.4）和疾病流行（指数 = 0.25）是牛生产的主要问题。天然牧场是研究区牛的主要饲料来源。该研究揭示了农业生态对土地所有权、牛群管理实践、物种组成的显着影响；牛群结构、繁殖性能和牛生产限制。这意味着社会经济特征，