TITLE:
Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Community and Importance of Camel and other Livestock Species in Tahitay-Adiyabo District, Tigray Region in the Northern Periphery of Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Yosef Tadesse
KEYWORDS:
Camel, Livestock Species, Socioeconomic Profile, Source of Household Income
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.9 No.2,
April
17,
2019
ABSTRACT: The study was undertaken in the northern periphery
of the country, Tigray region, north-west Tigray zone, Tahitay Adiyabo district
from February to March, 2017. For this study, four Kebeles were selected purposively based on the presence of two major community groups (Tigrayans
and Kunama) and presence of camel species and other livestock species.
Seventy-two (72) households per district, of which 38 households from two kebeles for Kunama
community and 34 households from two kebeles for Tigrayan community groups were
selected randomly. A software package of SAS (2008) was employed to generate
descriptive statistics for qualitative and quantitative data. As the study
revealed, three-fifth and two-fifth of the respondents in the study area were
illiterate and attended primary education respectively. The two community groups were
significantly (P 0.05) different on
educational status and Tigriyans respondents were more educated than the other
counterpart. More than 2/3 children (7 - 17 years
of age) of the respondents in the study area were attended school.
Exceptionally, more
than 75% of the children for Tigriyan community group in the district were
attended school whereas 3/5th of Kunama community children were
attended school education. Average family size per household in the study area
was 6.22 ± 0.45 and significant (P 0.05) difference was
observed in the two community groups which was higher in Tigriyan community
(7.23). Livestock husbandry practices (breeding objectives, herding, milking
and marketing) were
decided entirely by husband or both and the decision by wife alone was reported
to be non-existent in the study area. From all respondents of Kunama community,
more than a quarter of them produce household income majorly from their
livestock and secondarily from crop. Livelihood diversification (off-farm
activities) was almost non-existent in the study area. The study shows that majority
of the respondents own ruminant animals and camel. Surprisingly, in the current study, all of the respondents own
camel species but camel milk marketing was the main problem of Kunama
community. From the Kunama community group, quarter of the respondents own camel and goat only.
This study suggested that attention should be given for child education in
Kunama community and absence of camel milk marketing may affect the
utilization of the species and as a consequence, it would extinct. Hence, in order to conserve this
species, camel milk market problem should be solved. Besides, in the study area, camel is the important
species for all the communities and attention should be given to improve camel
productivity.