The current state on characterisation of indigenous breeds of sheep and goats in Ethiopia

Emna Rekik, Tesfaye Getachew, Aynalem Haile, Joram Mwacharo. (22/11/2021). The current state on characterisation of indigenous breeds of sheep and goats in Ethiopia.

Abstract

From the beginning of domestication, the transportation of domestic animals resulted in genetic and demographic processes that explain their present-day global distribution, genetic diversity and structure. Animal genetic resources (AnGR) encompass all animal species, breeds, strains and varieties that have been utilised in the past and present and have potential to be used in the future for food production and agriculture (Assefa 2019). Maintaining sufficient diversity in AnGR is necessary to retain adaptation potential in times of uncertainty (Boettcher et al. 2015). Livestock are critical for global food security and livelihoods. Around 1.3 billion people, majority of who comprise the rural poor rely directly on livestock for their livelihoods (World Bank 2021). Many countries have indigenous animal breeds that could potentially contribute far more to food and agricultural production than they currently do, meeting much wider household and market needs. Genetic characterization involves generating knowledge on genetic variation and it is the initial step in the sustainable management of AnGR. In the absence of appropriate characterization, breed attributes and genes with potential for future benefit may be lost through, for example breed replacement and extinction. Efficient utilization of AnGR based on proper phenotypic and genetic characterisation, is a prerequisite to harness the opportunities presented by AnGR to meet the future demand for animal source foods and improve livelihoods of the poor (ILRI 2006). The ability of goats (Capra hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries), to adapt to a range of climatic and dietary extremes, combined with their specialized production traits and ease of transportation, has made these two ruminant livestock species the most adaptable, versatile and valuable domestic animals to humankind. The importance of sheep and goats (shoats), and their breeding for production and consumption, are diverse. Since domestication, shoats have been a source of animal proteins (milk and meat), a source of products of industrial significance (wool, mohair and skin), and as a source of products of agricultural significance (manure). Since the beginning of animal agriculture, shoats have played important socio-cultural roles in many human societies with no religious taboos being associated with the species. Shoats have also provided an efficient biological resource for utilising marginal environments, with poor potential for arable agriculture, through pastoralism/agropastoralism for the benefit of humankind. The Ethiopian livestock sector constitutes a substantial component of the country’s economy and sustains most farm and non-farm family’s (Shapiro et al. 2017). In 2021, there were approximately 42.9 and 52.5 million sheep and goats, respectively in Ethiopia (CSA 2021). The majority of sheep (99.56%) and goats (99.88%) are of indigenous genotypes (DAD-IS, 2021; http://dad.fao.org/; accessed June 2021). The shoat sector accounts for approximately 19% of the country’s GDP (equivalent to 35% of the agricultural GDP) and generates 16% of the Ethiopia’s foreign exchange earnings (MoA 2012). The annual estimate of the number of sheep and goats slaughtered in Ethiopia is approximately 10,272,026 and 11,321,888 heads, respectively (FAOSTAT, 2019). Shoats have been the target of community-based breeding programs (CBBP) in Ethiopia (Haile et al. 2019) due to their affordability to subsistence farmers, their tendency to be cared for by women, youth and children and their greater adaptation to marginal environments. The CBBP have been shown to have resulted in substantial improvement in animal performance and thus in the standard of living of resource poor farmers (Haile et al. 2020) and they currently being advocated as the go-to strategy for improving the performance of indigenous livestock. To take advantage of locally adapted indigenous breeds of livestock the generation, documentation and dissemination of information on a country’s livestock resources is important. Such knowledge can inform the development and design of selection criteria and breeding programs. Here, we present a digest of the most recent findings on the genetic characterisation of shoats in Ethiopia. Because of the country’s strategic location within a geographic region that has been critical in the initial introduction of domesticates into Africa (Boivin and Fuller 2009; Fuller et al. 2011), its indigenous shoats could be sharing a common historical and genetic legacy with other African breeds of shoats. We first provide an overview of the origin, introduction and dispersal of shoats into Africa and into Ethiopia evidenced from zoo-archeological and molecular findings. We then provide a brief summary of their phenotypic characterisation followed by an in-depth documentation of their genetic characterisation based on the analysis of a diverse set of genetic marker loci. We have excluded a documentation of the classification and description of shoats in Ethiopia as these have been well synthesized and documented by other authors (FARM-Africa 1996; Gizaw et al. 2008; Gizaw 2008a, 2008b) From the beginning of domestication, the transportation of domestic animals resulted in genetic and demographic processes that explain their present-day global distribution, genetic diversity and structure. Animal genetic resources (AnGR) encompass all animal species, breeds, strains and varieties that have been utilised in the past and present and have potential to be used in the future for food production and agriculture (Assefa 2019). Maintaining sufficient diversity in AnGR is necessary to retain adaptation potential in times of uncertainty (Boettcher et al. 2015). Livestock are critical for global food security and livelihoods. Around 1.3 billion people, majority of who comprise the rural poor rely directly on livestock for their livelihoods (World Bank 2021). Many countries have indigenous animal breeds that could potentially contribute far more to food and agricultural production than they currently do, meeting much wider household and market needs. Genetic characterization involves generating knowledge on genetic variation and it is the initial step in the sustainable management of AnGR. In the absence of appropriate characterization, breed attributes and genes with potential for future benefit may be lost through, for example breed replacement and extinction. Efficient utilization of AnGR based on proper phenotypic and genetic characterisation, is a prerequisite to harness the opportunities presented by AnGR to meet the future demand for animal source foods and improve livelihoods of the poor (ILRI 2006). The ability of goats (Capra hircus) and sheep (Ovis aries), to adapt to a range of climatic and dietary extremes, combined with their specialized production traits and ease of transportation, has made these two ruminant livestock species the most adaptable, versatile and valuable domestic animals to humankind. The importance of sheep and goats (shoats), and their breeding for production and consumption, are diverse. Since domestication, shoats have been a source of animal proteins (milk and meat), a source of products of industrial significance (wool, mohair and skin), and as a source of products of agricultural significance (manure). Since the beginning of animal agriculture, shoats have played important socio-cultural roles in many human societies with no religious taboos being associated with the species. Shoats have also provided an efficient biological resource for utilising marginal environments, with poor potential for arable agriculture, through pastoralism/agropastoralism for the benefit of humankind. The Ethiopian livestock sector constitutes a substantial component of the country’s economy and sustains most farm and non-farm family’s (Shapiro et al. 2017). In 2021, there were approximately 42.9 and 52.5 million sheep and goats, respectively in Ethiopia (CSA 2021). The majority of sheep (99.56%) and goats (99.88%) are of indigenous genotypes (DAD-IS, 2021; http://dad.fao.org/; accessed June 2021). The shoat sector accounts for approximately 19% of the country’s GDP (equivalent to 35% of the agricultural GDP) and generates 16% of the Ethiopia’s foreign exchange earnings (MoA 2012). The annual estimate of the number of sheep and goats slaughtered in Ethiopia is approximately 10,272,026 and 11,321,888 heads, respectively (FAOSTAT, 2019). Shoats have been the target of community-based breeding programs (CBBP) in Ethiopia (Haile et al. 2019) due to their affordability to subsistence farmers, their tendency to be cared for by women, youth and children and their greater adaptation to marginal environments. The CBBP have been shown to have resulted in substantial improvement in animal performance and thus in the standard of living of resource poor farmers (Haile et al. 2020) and they currently being advocated as the go-to strategy for improving the performance of indigenous livestock. To take advantage of locally adapted indigenous breeds of livestock the generation, documentation and dissemination of information on a country’s livestock resources is important. Such knowledge can inform the development and design of selection criteria and breeding programs. Here, we present a digest of the most recent findings on the genetic characterisation of shoats in Ethiopia. Because of the country’s strategic location within a geographic region that has been critical in the initial introduction of domesticates into Africa (Boivin and Fuller 2009; Fuller et al. 2011), its indigenous shoats could be sharing a common historical and genetic legacy with other African breeds of shoats. We first provide an overview of the origin, introduction and dispersal of shoats into Africa and into Ethiopia evidenced from zoo-archeological and molecular findings. We then provide a brief summary of their phenotypic characterisation followed by an in-depth documentation of their genetic characterisation based on the analysis of a diverse set of genetic marker loci. We have excluded a documentation of the classification and description of shoats in Ethiopia as these have been well synthesized and documented by other authors (FARM-Africa 1996; Gizaw et al. 2008; Gizaw 2008a, 2008b).