Bøger af Anna Al Baqain

In Israel, more than half of the national sheep flock is kept by Bedouin in the Negev desert.Extensive production systems co-exist besides semi-intensive systems with varying economicsuccess. There is a constant regional demand for sheep meat, but the local supply is not ableto cover it. The wide gap between the performance potential of the commonly used andenvironmentally adapted local Awassi and improved sheep breeds suggests an increase ineconomic efficiency by intensification of breeding. The choice of a suitable breed for aspecific system is seen as key factor for the farm success and requires the knowledge of theanimals¿ adaptation. Information on the performance of Bedouin sheep flocks under the givenharsh production conditions are, however, missing. The purpose of the study was thus acharacterization of current production systems, the assessment of the aggregated performanceof the different Awassi lines kept in those systems and the impact of socio-economic andproduction factors on the efficiency of Bedouin sheep production. Also breeding objectives ofBedouin sheep farmers were investigated. The role of new breeding technologies in theongoing process of intensification of sheep farming systems was analyzed and discussed.