Characterization of Camel Production System in Afar Pastoralists, North East Ethiopia

摘要

A cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted to characterize camel production system in Afar Region. From the 110 responses of the camel owners interviewed 68.2% of them prefer camels as their first choice over other livestock species and mainly kept in the society for milk production. Disease accounted 40.9% of the main problems of camel rearing society of the Afar pastoralist and about 35.8% of the camel culling reasons were attributed to camel diseases. External parasite infestation and pneumonia were the most common health problems with 51% and 31.8% respectively. More than 80% of breeding male camels were selected from the own herd and rarely acquired from other sources. The (Mean±S.D.) age at first calving was 5.36±0.74 years in afar female camels and the life span ranges from 14-29 years. Daily milk yield of Afar camels ranges from 2.01-12.0 liters per day in 2-3 milking times. The average age to select breeding male is 2.75±1.50 years. The production system of the Afar society has never got enough support from the respected bodies. Policy makers, researchers and funding agencies should give attentions to camels in combating food security in the ever widening desertification in areas like Afar.