On-Farm Phenotypic Characterization of Begaria Cattle Population and Their Production System in Guba District, North Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Production system and phenotypic characterization study on Begaria cattle was carried out in Guba district of Metekel Zone, Benishangul Gumz Region of Ethiopia. Based on a result of a reconnaissance survey three different localities, namely, Mankush, Fanguso, and Almahal were purposively selected for the study. Questionnaires were administered to 40 cattle owners in the area to assess the production system and document the performance of Begaria cattle. Quantitative and qualitative measurements were made on a total of 134 (124 female and 10 male) adult cattle identified as Begaria by producers. Quantitative data were analyzed using PROC GLM procedure of SAS by fitting the three locations as a fixed factor and different body measurements as a dependent variable. Multivariate analysis of morphometric measurements was also done to quantify the distance between the sub-populations from the three sites. Sedentary and transhumant ways of life were practiced in the study area. Among livestock, cattle were ranked first in terms of importance with an index of 0.45 followed by goat and chicken with an index of 0.32 and 0.11, respectively. Chi-square goodness of fit test for coat colour pattern in Begaria cattle was significant (Chi-square=164.1, df=3, P<0.01). The majority (71.6%) of the cattle had plain or uniform coat colour pattern followed by shaded and pied 18.7% and 9%, respectively. There was also a highly significant association (Chi-square = 23.32, P<0.01) between study locations and coat colour pattern. White or cream coat colours were dominant among Begaria cattle and together they accounted for 58.2% of the total variation. Multivariate discriminant analysis has shown a high misclassification error of individuals belonging to the three different sites implying similarity among the populations and high within site variation. Begaria cattle had multipurpose roles and males were mainly kept for income generation, draught power, and breeding while females were mainly used for milk production, breeding and income generation. Lower milk yield was reported with high variation between villages. This calls for identification of the sources of variation and subsequent improvement of milk production. Mixing of Begaria cattle (large Zebu) with the short sized Zebu from adjacent highland districts in the region and Felata breed from the adjoining areas of the Republic of Sudan is considered as a potential threat for dilution of Begaria cattle population. Thus, setting up and implementing in-situ conservation and genetic improvement program is of high priority to conserve the diversity and sustainably utilize Begaria cattle.