Sheep production systems, challenges and opportunities at Horro district, Horro Guduru Wallaga zone, Oromia, Ethiopia: A review

Abstract

The review was conducted on sheep production systems, challenges, and opportunities in the Horro district of the Horro Guduru Wallaga zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. The objectives of the review were to characterise sheep production systems and investigate the challenges and opportunities of sheep production in Horro district. Different publications pertinent to the Horro sheep breed were consulted, and reports of the Horro district office of agriculture were also consulted, with particular emphasis on grazing, health, housing, and breeding management. Mixed crop-livestock production is the major production system in Horro district. Sheep are the second-most important livestock species raised in the district, next to cattle. Major feeds are natural pasture, crop residues, and crop aftermath in that order of importance. The primary style of feeding in the area is open grazing on communal grazing lands. Herding is common during the cropping season, and neighbouring households share the responsibility of looking after the mixed species of animals by taking turns. Animals are left free to roam during the remaining part of the year after the harvesting season. Sheep are kept in either separate houses or family houses during the night. The knowledge gap with regard to record keeping and conservation of feeds, the selection of breeding males and females, and the use of selected animals is the most important gap identified. In addition, liver fluke and seasonal shortages of feed are some of the problems for sheep production in Horro district. The presence of the Horro sheep breed, which is believed to originate from the area, and the presence of Wallaga University right at the heart of the sheep breed’s ecological niche, the Horro Guduru Wallaga zone, may be some of the major opportunities to improve the productivity of the sheep breed and enhance the livelihoods of smallholder sheep producers. In addition, the presence of a community-based sheep-breeding programme in two of the Horro Guduru district’s PAs and the possibility of optimising and scaling up the experience to wider areas are other big opportunities. Horro district is also one of the potential cereal and pulse crop producing areas due to its agro-ecology, thus its high potential for crop residues. Generally, the findings of the current review have to be considered in any genetic improvement intervention in Horro district and areas with similar production environments.