Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Do traditional sheep breeders perform conscious selection? An example from a participatory breeding program of Morada Nova sheep

  • Regular Articles
  • Published:
Tropical Animal Health and Production Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The implementation of sustainable breeding programs requires genetic breeding strategies that are appropriate for the reality production systems. It is also essential that the choice of animal selection criteria be based on breeders’ knowledge and objectives. This work is an ethno-zootechnical study of the Morada Nova sheep breed and its crossbreeds. The goals of this study were to register and analyze indigenous breeders’ knowledge and practices regarding animal selection criteria and to generate technical information to support a participatory breeding program of the breed. This study was conducted in the Morada Nova municipality in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were evaluated using two groups of individuals, purebred Morada Nova sheep breeders (RMN, n = 13) and breeders of Morada Nova crossbreeds (MMN, n = 48). Interview questions were used to identify local selection criteria adopted by each group in the choice of animals for breeding. Data from the interviews were submitted to frequency distribution analysis and the Shapiro-Wilk test to verify their distribution. Later, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the two groups of farmers based on that information, in addition to multivariate statistical analysis and evaluation of Smith salience index. Breeders in the RMN group used selection criteria related to breed standards, such as pelage color. In contrast, breeders of the MMN group used criteria related to productivity, such as body conformation and milk production. Breeders should be engaged in the development of breeding programs, and it is important to consider their preferences and objectives when evaluating breeding animals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abera, B., Kebede, K. and Gizaw, S., 2014. Indigenous breeding practices and selection criteria of sheep breed in Selale area, Central Ethiopia, International Journal of Livestock Research, 4, 49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albuquerque, U.P., Lucena, R.F.P. and Cunha, V.F.C., 2010. Métodos e Técnicas na Pesquisa Etnobiologica e Etnoecologica, Nuppea, Recife, PE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alencar, M. M. 2002. Critérios de seleção em bovinos de corte. (Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste. Campo Grande).

  • Alves, A.G.C., Pires, D.A. F and Ribeiro, M.N., 2010. Conhecimento local e produção animal: Uma perspectiva baseada na Etnozootecnia, Archivos de Zootecnia, 59, 45–56 .

    Google Scholar 

  • Analytic Technologies Inc. 2003. Visual Anthropac 1.0.1.36. Software for Cultural Domain Analysis: Freelists. http://www.analytictech.com/ Accessed: 10 May 2014.

  • Arandas, J.K.G., 2017. Etnozootecnia da raça ovina Morada Nova em seu centro de origem: história, critérios de seleção e sistema de produção. Tese (Doutorado) – Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Programa de Doutorado Integrado em Zootecnia, Recife, 140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayalew, W., Rischkowsky, B., King, J.M. and Bruns, E, 2003. Crossbreds did not generate more net benefits than indigenous goats in Ethiopian smallholdings, Agricultural Systems, 76, 1137–1156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayantunde, A., Kango, M., Hiernaux, P., Udo, H.M.J. & Tabo, R. 2007. Herders’ perceptions on ruminant livestock breeds and breeding management in southwestern Niger. Human Ecology, 36: 139–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bett, R.C., Kosgey, I.S., Kahi, A.K. and Peters, K.J., 2009. Analysis of production objectives and breeding practices of dairy goats in Kenya, Tropical Animal Health and Production, 41, 307–320

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campos, R.T., 2003. Tipologia dos produtores de ovinos e caprinos no estado do Ceará, Revista Econômica do Nordeste, 34, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carolino, N. and Castro, A., 2009. Actividades das sociedades ibéricas de recursos genéticos animais, Archivos de Zootecnia, 481, 484–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chacón, C.M., 2008. Conservación voluntaria por la sociedad civil en Costa Rica. In: Asociación conservación de la naturaleza. Voluntad de conserver, 2008 (Experiência seleccionadas de conservación por la sociedad civil en Iberoamérica, San José, Costa Rica), 5–11.

  • Darwin, C., 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. (Murray, London).

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C., 1868. The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. (2 vols. Murray, London).

  • Darwin, C., 1875. The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication. (Ed. 2. 2 vols. Murray, London).

  • Domingues, O., 1941. Carneiro deslanado de Morada Nova, Boletim da Sociedade Brasileira de Agronomia, 122, 1941–1944.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dossa, L.H., Sangaré, M., Buerkert, A. and Schlecht, E., 2015. Production objectives and breeding practices of urban goat and sheep keepers in West Africa: Regional analysis and implications for the development of supportive breeding programs, Springerplus, 4, 281.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker, A.G., Gómez, V. & Anderson, S. 2001. The economic valuation of farm animal genetic resources: a survey of available methods. Ecological Economics, 36, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO. Animal genetic resources a safety net for the future, 2009. http://www.fao.org/nr/cgrfa/cthemes/animals/en/. Accessed: 10 May 2014

  • Fernandes, A. A. O., 1992. Genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates for growth, survival and reproductive traits in Morada Nova hair sheep, (PhD thesis, Oklahoma State University)

  • Gavigan, R.G. and Parker, W.J., 1997. Sheep breeding objectives and selection: 492 criteria of Wairarapa and Tararua sheep breeders. In: Proceeding of the 493rd New Zealand Society of Animal Production, 57, 33–36.

  • Gebreyesus, G., Haile, A., Dessie, T., 2013. Breeding scheme based on community-based participatory analysis of local breeding practices, objectives and constraints for goats around Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 25, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Getachew, T., Haile, A. and Tibbo, M., 2010. Herd management and breeding practices of sheep owners in a mixed crop-livestock and a pastoral system of Ethiopia, African Journal of Agricultural Research, 685, 691–695.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gizaw, S., Komen, H. and van Arendonk, J., 2010. Participatory definition of breeding objectives and selection indexes for sheep breeding in traditional systems, Livestock Science, 128, 67–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González-Vázquez, J. A, Vázquez-Martínez L., Enríquez-García F and Cuautle-García, L.M., 2015. Criterios de selección empleados en ovinos de reemplazo en sistemas tradicionales de la sierra norte de Puebla, AICA, 286, 293–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede, G. 1997. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), 2014. Morada Nova/Ceará- dados gerais.

  • Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), 2015. Morada Nova/Ceará- dados gerais.

  • Instituto de Pesquisa e Estratégia Econômica do Ceará (IPECE), 2014. Perfil Básico Municipal Morada Nova.

  • König, E.Z., Mirkena, T., Strandberg, E. and Audho, J., 2015. Participatory definition of breeding objectives for sheep breeds under pastoral systems—the case of Red Maasai and Dorper sheep in Kenya, Tropical Animal Health and Production, 48,9–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kosgey, I.S. and Okeyo, A.M., 2007. Genetic improvement of small ruminants in low-input, smallholder production systems: Technical and infrastructural issues, Small Ruminant Research,70,76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liljestrand, J., 2012. Breeding practices of Red Maasai sheep in Maasai pastoralist communities, MSc thesis, A2E. Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala 364, 55–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariante, A.S. and Egito, A.A., 2002. Animal genetic resources in Brazil: Result of five centuries of natural selection, Theriogenology, 223, 235–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mbuku, S.M., Kosgey, I.S. and Kahi, A.K., 2010. Identification systems and selection criteria for small ruminants among pastoralist communities in northern Kenya: Prospects for a breeding programme, Tropical Animal Health and Production, 42, 1487–1492.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammed, T., Kebede, K. and Mekasha, Y., 2014. Herd management and breeding practices of sheep owners in North Wollo Zone, Northern Ethiopia, Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 21, 1570–1578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, J.P., Rischkowsky, B. and Haile, A., 2015. Community-based livestock breeding programmes: Essentials and examples, Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics, 132, 155–168.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, M., Shiotsuki, L. and Faco, O., 2013. Características raciais de ovinos da raça Morada Nova e seus impactos sobre o descarte involuntário de animais: Resultados preliminaries, Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos. In: Reunião Anual Da Sociedade Brasileira De Zootecnia, 2013, (Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia, Brasília) p.3.

  • Perezgrovas, R., 1995. Collaborative application of empirical criteria for high-quality selection fleeces: Tzotzil shepherdesses and sheep scientists work together to develop tools for genetic improvement, http://www.unesco.org/most/bpik17-2.htm. Accessed: 20 Jan 2014.

  • Philipsson, J., Rege, J.E.O., Zonabend, E. and Okeyo, A.M., 2011. Sustainable breeding programmes for tropical farming systems. In: Ojango, J.M., Malmfors, B. and Okeyo, A.M. (eds), Animal genetic training resource, Version 3, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya, and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Primack, R. B., 2001. Biologia da Conservação, (E. Rodrigues, Londrina).

  • Ribeiro, M.N., Arandas, J., Filho, E. and da Silva, R., 2014. Demografia e grau do perigo de extinção de ovinos da raça Morada Nova, Revista Zootecnia Tropical, 32, 309, 313.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS, 1999. SAS/STAT User’s guide, Version 8. v.2, SAS Institute Inc., Cary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steglich, M. and Peters, K., 2003. Participatory methods to assess traditional breeding systems. The case of cattle breeding in the Gambia. In: Participatory research and development for sustainable agriculture and natural resource management: A sourcebook, (CIP-Upward, Manila), 123–132.

  • Tadesse, D., Urge, M., Animut, G. and Mekasha, Y., 2014. Perceptions of households on the purpose of keeping, trait preference, and production constraints for selected goat types in Ethiopia. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 46, 363–370.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wuletaw, Z., Ayalew, W. and Soelkner, J., 2006. A breeding scheme based on analysis of community breeding objectives for cattle in North-western Ethiopia, Ethiopian Journal of Animal Production, 6.53–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurzinger, M., Ndumu, D. and Okeyo, A.M., 2008. Lifestyle and herding practices of Bahima pastoralists in Uganda, African Journal of Agricultural Research, 3, 542–548.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohary, D., Tchernov, E. and Horwitz, L.K. 1998 ‘The role of unconscious selection in the domestication of sheep and goats’, Journal of Zoology, 245, 129–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the sheep breeders of the Morada Nova municipality who participated in our survey. Also, thanks to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) for the financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil

    Janaina Kelli Gomes Arandas, Paulo Márcio Barbosa de Arruda Leite & Maria Norma Ribeiro

  2. Department of Biology, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil

    Ângelo Giuseppe Chaves Alves

  3. Fazenda Três Lagoas, Embrapa Caprinos e Ovinos, Estrada Sobral/Groaíras, Km 04, Caixa Postal 145, Sobral, CE, 62010-970, Brazil

    Olivardo Facó, Ernandes Barboza Belchior & Luciana Shiotsuki

Authors
  1. Janaina Kelli Gomes Arandas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ângelo Giuseppe Chaves Alves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Olivardo Facó
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ernandes Barboza Belchior
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Luciana Shiotsuki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Paulo Márcio Barbosa de Arruda Leite
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Maria Norma Ribeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janaina Kelli Gomes Arandas.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arandas, J.K.G., Alves, Â.G.C., Facó, O. et al. Do traditional sheep breeders perform conscious selection? An example from a participatory breeding program of Morada Nova sheep. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1479–1487 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1350-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1350-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation