Modeling herd development and revenues for Jabal Akhdar goats under current and intensified management practices

Dickhoefer, Uta; Nagieb, Maher; Neutzling, Aline dos Santos; Buerkert, Andreas; Schlecht, Eva

doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2012.03.015

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Significantly more concentrates were fed per doe on CM than CC or NC holdings (Figure 4), indicating that milk production relies on supplementary feeding. Forage supplementation was rarely reported in the current study or previous northern Moroccan studies [24], possibly due to the high price of forage in this region [42] which contrasts with reports from European Mediterranean studies [20,23,25,27,[32][33][34]36]. Supplementation with concentrates has been previously reported for commercial dairy holdings in northern Morocco [7,24] and is common practice on European Mediterranean holdings [20,23,25,27,29,31,34,36], but at much higher levels than in the current study, which showed a significant positive relationship between the level of concentrate feeding and milk yield per doe.…”

Section: Feeding Practicesmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Average reproductive life, equivalent to number of lactations achieved in a lifetime, was six years (QCV = 1.00, Table 4), similar to that found in Greek herds [27]. Enhancing reproductive life of the doe can increase profits through increased sales (as fewer offspring are required as replacements), more selective culling (to increase health and productivity) [42] and herd expansion. Reproductive performance and a high rate of parturition are vital for continued lactation for dairy production, and to produce offspring for meat production [12].…”

Section: Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

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Intensification of Mediterranean Goat Production Systems: A Case Study in Northern Morocco

et al. 2016

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Goats are important contributors to both food and financial security of the resource poor, particularly in marginal environments such as those in the Mediterranean region. To fully understand the feasibility and potential consequences of any intensification or husbandry changes that could contribute to higher outputs, it is important to have a thorough prior understanding of the functional dynamics of these systems. Here the current performance of ten goat holdings in the northern region of Morocco, classified as either commercial milk producers, commercial cheese producers or non-commercial dairy producers, was recorded, based on the Food and Agricultural Organisation and International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (FAO-CIHEAM) technical and economic indicators, to assess whether intensification of dairy production was financially viable. Fecundity and prolificacy rates were comparatively lower than those achieved by many European Mediterranean herds. Both kid and doe mortality were higher on commercial dairy holdings, where dairy sales provided an additional, rather than alternative, source of income to goat sales. Despite this, due to significantly higher expenditure on supplementary feed, gross margin per doe did not differ significantly between holding types. With the exception of indigenous Greek herds, all European Mediterranean herds outperform those of northern Morocco. The study suggests that a low level of supplementary feeding is constraining goat dairy production in northern Morocco, and that the current high cost and limited availability of additional supplementary feed restricts the financial viability of intensification. Alternative feeding strategies within a participatory approach that might ameliorate these problems, and value chain constraints, are discussed.

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Section: Feeding Practicesmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Intensification of Mediterranean Goat Production Systems: A Case Study in Northern Morocco

et al. 2016

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“…The country’s highest ranges are around Jabal Shams which experience no agricultural use except for seasonal grazing by sheep and goats and the Al Jabal Al Akhdar (“Green Mountains”) which are famous for their extensive, centuries-old terrace systems, also known as “hanging gardens” 3 . Depending on the amount and distribution of rainfall, many of these falaj -irrigated gardens 4 are cultivated year-round based on the intensive application of manure compost allowing nitrogen and carbon harvesting from vast grazing areas via goat and sheep herds 5 , 6 . The most spectacular area comprises the oases of Wadi Muaydin, a wide dissected canyon largely made of lime- and claystones and overlooked by the Sayq Plateau.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agro-ecological landuse transformation in oasis systems of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, northern Oman

Buerkert

Dix

Rawahi

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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The millenia-old oasis systems in the Western Hajar Mountains of Northern Oman have received widespread attention as models of sustainable irrigated agriculture in hyperarid Arabia. Given Oman’s rampant urbanization, growing scarcity of water and skilled labour, we quantified chances in water use, land use, and land cover between 2007 and 2018 using a rare time-series approach of detailed GIS-based crop mapping. Results from satellite image analysis and comprehensive ground truthing showed that urban areas grew from 206 ha in 2009 to 230 ha in 2014 and 252 ha in 2018. Throughout this decade, irrigated areas in backyards and front-house gardens of the town, planted largely to tree crops and vegetables, increased from 13.5 to 23.3 ha. Between 2007 and 2018 the actively used area of the studied oasis systems declined by 2.0% and the share of perennial crops without underplanting by 5.1%, while land under agroforestry increased by 2.1% and fallow land by 3.5%. Rising water demand of the sprawling town Sayh Qatanah led to terraces of Al ‘Ayn and Ash Sharayjah now being partly irrigated with treated wastewater which accelerated the abandonment of the old settlement structures. The labour- and water use efficiency-driven transformation of the Al Jabal Al Akhdar oasis agriculture into increasingly market-oriented landuse systems questions its function as example of sustainable, bio-cultural heritage of Arabia.

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Reproductive and economic performance of local livestock in southwestern Madagascar: Potentials and constraints of a highly extensive system

Feldt

Neudert

Fust

et al. 2016

Agricultural Systems

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Modeling herd development and revenues for Jabal Akhdar goats under current and intensified management practices

Cited by 9 publications

References 21 publications

Intensification of Mediterranean Goat Production Systems: A Case Study in Northern Morocco

Intensification of Mediterranean Goat Production Systems: A Case Study in Northern Morocco

Agro-ecological landuse transformation in oasis systems of Al Jabal Al Akhdar, northern Oman

Reproductive and economic performance of local livestock in southwestern Madagascar: Potentials and constraints of a highly extensive system

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