Opportunities of and constraints in integrating small livestock species into the farming systems of the forestsavannah zone of Cameroon
Date Issued
2006Language
en; frType
Journal ArticleReview status
Peer ReviewAccessibility
Limited AccessMetadata
Show full item recordCitation
Ebangi, A.L., Vabi, B.M., Niba, E.S. & Chikoye, D. (2006). Opportunities of and constraints in integrating small livestock species into the farming systems of the forest-savannah zone of Cameroon. Cameroon Journal of Agricultural Science, 2(1), 1-9.
Permanent link to cite or share this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91760
Abstract/Description
The rearing of small livestock species, particularly sheep, goats and pigs by resource-limited African farm-families remains an option for short term financial buffer and easiest means of accessing protein of animal origin. Like elsewhere in West and Central Africa, particularly in the forest-savannah transition zone of Cameroon, prominent breeds of small livestock species are the Fulbe (Peulh) sheep, West African Dwarf goats, and Bakossi or local pigs. Flock sizes are usually small, ranging between 3 and 51 for sheep; 3 and 20 for goats, and 4 and 25 for pigs. In the forest-savannah zone of Cameroon where this study was undertaken, water is usually available as reported by about 83% of the farm-families, though the management system is generally extensive as reported by 72% of the farm-families. Appropriate housing for small livestock species is also problematic across the agro-ecological zone as reported by nearly 68% of the farm-families. Under these management systems, mortality rates of as high as 40%, 41% and 30% for sheep, goats and pigs, respectively, are not uncommon. Similarly, reproductive performance and genetic variation, fitness and adaptability are limited by inbreeding, poor veterinary care and the absence of strategic supplementation. Putting together these plethora of constraints, the unexploited opportunities within the zone and related experiences elsewhere within sudano-sahelian and humid forest zones of Cameroon, this paper highlights a number of options for improving and/or integrating small livestock species into low inputs and subsistence-oriented farming systems of the forest-savannah zone of Cameroon.
AGROVOC Keywords
Subjects
FARMING SYSTEMS; FARM MANAGEMENT; NUTRITIONCountries
CameroonOrganizations Affiliated to the Authors
Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement, Cameroon; International Institute of Tropical AgricultureInvestors/sponsors
CARECollections
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