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Small ruminant production and the small ruminant genetic resource in tropical Africa

Year of publication 1991

Pages 231

Author Animal Production and Health Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 9251029989

Series title FAO Animal Production and Health Paper

Series number 0254-6019

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This current publication does not pretend to catalogue every African indigenous "type", "breed" or "race" of small ruminant that has ever been identified or described. It does attempt to provide information on the major types or groupings, in particular in respect of their relationship to other types, their areas of distribution, the systems under which they are managed, their major morphological characteristics and their major production parameters. The imbalance in detail under the various ent rie is evidence, not of the knowledge that has been gained over the last two decades or so,, although this is considerable, but of how much remains to be done to characterize and to evaluate the indigenous African small ruminant resource. The sections on Productivity are best regarded as providing a baseline for future work. Many of the data are, in any case, from traditional systems where animals receive little, other than some management skills, in the way of inputs which might lead to im proved performance. Even on stations, however, some inputs have been hard to come by in recent years and it might not be inappropriate to suggest that management skills there, in many cases, are of a lower order than in the traditional systems....

Language English

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