At present small ruminants play an important part in the livelihood of people
throughout Africa. Their productivity is not yet well documented, but there
is no doubt that their ability to survive in harsh environments and provide
a number of products is substantial.
In an attempt to increase the productivity of small ruminants both to improve the standard of living of the animal owners, and the contribution of small ruminants to gross national products, constraints to production are now being investigated in a number of situations. The main technological constraints appear to be animal nutrition (particularly in the more arid areas) and animal disease (particularly in the more humid areas). In addition, sociological constraints, particularly marketing, may limit productivity and the response of the system to technological improvements. The breed types available in tropical Africa are not limiting factors except where other constraints have been overcome. Crossbreeding schemes have generally resulted in failure, with disease and nutritional problems causing high mortality and poor productivity. There is room however for selection within and possibly between, the indigenous breeds. This must take place under realistic conditions in the field where so many problems are encountered.
At the seminar delegates reported that research had been undertaken to investigate the productivity of indigenous breeds of sheep and goats in Botswana, Cameroun, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe. A large proportion of this information has not been published, and some has not yet been analysed. However in some countries such as Nigeria, there is already a national programme for coordinating and publishing research on indigenous breeds.
At present it is difficult to obtain international funding to study small ruminants in Africa. Several proposals were put forward to remedy this situation, including a large African conference on small ruminants, approaching deans of agricultural and veterinary faculties encouraging them to devote more time to teaching about small ruminants in universities, and setting up an operation similar to the ILCA/FAO/UNEP study on trypanotolerant livestock (ILCA, 1979b). In such an approach, relevant information on sheep and goats might be collected in conjunction with national organisations in a number of African countries and collated into a report which could be presented to international funding agencies as the basis of a proposal for future financial support. A network might then evolve on similar lines to the trypanotolerance network and ILCA could assist in coordination of research on small ruminants throughout Africa, to ensure the best utilisation of research resources.
