aistand south~ern afrkca - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Contribution of cros;sbred goats to milk production
and social welfare in Burundi
Summary
The on-going research programme is aimed at
evaluating the performance of an introduced
goat production package consisting of
crossbred goats (Alpine x Small East African),
fodder production, management and milk
marketing in the Ngozi area. Over3500 farmers
adopted the technology in the 10-year period
from 1980 to 1991. Data are being collected from
a sample of these and non-participating
farmers. Data will be analysed to optimise the
level of crossbreeding, management and
input/output for economic benefits, and the
overall farm performance.
Introduction
The Burundi highland plateau lies to the east of
the Zaire-Nile line, at an average altitude of
1800 m above sea level. The highland is part of
the Great Lakes Highlands which comprise
Burundi and Rwanda, the Kivu region of Zaire,
the Kigezi region of Uganda and the Buta region
of Tanzania. A major characteristic of this area
is the variable but generally high population
density (an average of 150 people/km 2 , with up
to 400 people/l:m 2 in some districts), resulting in
very small farms.
The increasing population density has forced
the expansion of arable cropping into lower
(Imbo plane of Burundi) and higher altitudes
(only suitable for tea and pyrethrum). Within the
agricultural systems, notable modifications
include shorter fallow periods, cropping on steep
land and in the swamps in dry seasons. The trend
is towards more intensive agricultural production
systems.
This evolution has progressively pushed
cattle out of the farming system as a result of the
shrinking of grazing areas. In Burur :4, the
number of cattle decreased at a rate of 6 8% per
annum between 1975 and 1987, faling to
479,000 in 1987. Over the same period the
number of goats increased by 2.2% annually to
723,000 in 1987, while the number o; sheep
increased by 1.2% annually to 329,000 in 1987
(ILCA, 1991). Despite the prestige attached to
cattle ownership, cattle have been replaced by
small species (goats, rodents and poultry). Jones
B. Rey
International Livestock Centre for Africa
P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
69
and Egli (1984) noted that there was .io apparent
need to intervene in the replacemeat of cattle
with goats, but suggested the need to improve
production systems through improved animal
health, breeding, feeding and marketing.
Development projects
There is a general trend towards the promotion
of crossbred goats, and particularly dairy
crossbreds, in the East African highlands, where
the population density and pressure on land are
increasing. Development agencies have taken a
variety of approaches, giving priority to either
research (Kenya) or development (Burundi). A
particular emphasis has been placed on "dualpurpose"
(meat and milk) goats obtained through
crossbreeding with exotic breeds (Table 1).
Goat research activities in
Burundi
A national network on small ruminants was
created in 1987, to link research and development
projects in Burundi. The coordination of
this network was under the auspices of the
national university (Facagro), which has a
national mandate t~oconduct research on small
ruminants. ISABU (Institut des sciences agronomiques
du Burundi) is responsible for cattle
research projects.
At the university station in Maramvya,
several research projects are in progress,
including the characterisation of the Small East
African goat population in Burundi and
experiments to determine the optimum use of
Leucaena, Panicum maximum, Pennisetum
purpureum and rice straw in goat diets.
Monitoring ofthe health status ofgoats on farms
around Maramvya has started recently.
A package of improved does (on loan),
improved feed resources and disease control was
proposed in 1986 and tested on 21 farms in
Mutaho.
The goat development project in
Ngozi
This development project started in 1980 with
funding from the German agency for technical
cooperation (GTZ). The project target group was
14 "communes" in an area ef 2000 km . Some
,500 farmers vere registered and took their does