Community-based Approach in Characterization of Local Livestock Breeds: Conceptual and Methodological Approaches Based on a Case Study on Issa Goat Population of Eastern Ethiopia

Characterization of Animal Genetic Resources is the first step towards a well informed decision on efficient utilization. Attempts were so far made to characterize indigenous Animal Genetic Resources in the tropics following the conventional methodological approaches of characterization. Breeding programs implemented in many tropical countries for the last decades were driven by the results of these characterization studies, although many of these ended expensive failures. This book argues the inefficiency of conventional breed characterization approaches in the case of indigenous breeds managed under traditional systems and presents the conceptual foundations of Community-based characterization approaches. The Methodology part sheds light on practical approaches to community-based characterization presenting a case study conducted to characterize the Issa goat breed in Eastern Ethiopia. The discussion part elaborates wide range of findings of the study which would otherwise be hard to realize via the conventional Approach and should be especially useful to Animal breeding professionals and policy makers working on formulation and analysis of breeding programs in the tropics.