Traditional Swine Production, Productivity and Management in Africa

This book provides an overall information on the socio-economic characteristics of swine producers, production systems, feeding, breed features, production and reproductive performance, breeding practice and constraints in the value chain. Our findings presented in this book were compared with the findings of similar studies conducted in different African countries so that the overall information presented in this book can represent the overall image of the swine production and its management practices in Africa. The Average reproductive performances of swine herds for age at first puberty, litter size and gestation length were ranged from 9 - 10 (months), 8 - 10 (piglets per farrowing) and 3 to 3.5 (months), respectively. The overall information provided in the book can support designing of community based breeding program which takes into consideration the breed selection criteria of the swine producers and the reproductive performance of the breeds in Africa. Furthermore, the key information generated from this study could support for developing research and development intervention strategies aiming to improve the swine sector and its economic benefit in the continent.

Dr. Zemelak Sahle Goraga received his PhD in AnimalBreeding and Genetics from Humboldt University ofBerlin, Germany. He has served as livestock researcherand related fields for above twelve years. Currently,he is working at the Ethiopian BiotechnologyInstitute. He has received several awards andpublished more than fifteen publications.