Suitability of different Awassi lines for efficient sheep production of Bedouins in the Negev in Israel

Book excerpt: Summary 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