Characterization of production system of Sudanese camel breeds

摘要

Theaimofthisstudywastoattempttoilluminatetheconditionsunderwhichcamelsareraisedandtoidentifybreedinggoalsofcamelowners,husbandrypracticesandproductionconstraintsasanessentialsteptowardsthedevelopmentofasustainablebreedimprovementprogramme.Asetofdetailedstructuredquestionnaireswereusedtocollectinformationfromcamelbreedingareas(Sinnar,Gadaref,GeziraandNorthKordofanstates).Thecamelsareamajorcomponentoftheagro-pastoralsystemandarethedominantlivestockspeciesinpartsofthosestates.ThemajorityofcamelownersinSinnar,GedarefandNorthKordofanstatesindicatedlivestockbreedingtobetheirmainactivity,whilecamelownersinGezirastateconsideredthatbothlivestockandcropfarmingweretheirmainactivity.Camelshavemulti-functionalrolesindifferentproductionsystems.Salesofanimalsareimportantforobtainingregularcashincome,inadditiontosalesofagriculturalcrops,whilemilkproductionisusedonlyforhome-consumption.Theseriousproductionconstraintswhichweredefinedbycamelownersincludelackoffeeds,diseaseprevalenceandwatershortage.Thepriorityofcamelownersforgeneticimprovementwasforadualpurposeanimal(meatandmilkproduction)ratherthanaspecializedanimal.However,racingabilityalsoreceivedsomeconsideration.