Farmers' Strategies for Breeding Subtropical Sheep in the UAE

Abstract

The knowledge of community-based breeding of sheep was linking to farmers breeding practices with animal derived food security in the United Arab Emirates. A stratified survey was conducted in person with 291 farmers from all regions of Abu Dhabi. The results revealed a substantially unequal distribution of sheep breeds, with the Najdi breed accounting for the biggest share (39.7%) and followed by the Awassi breed (26.4%). The remaining breeds were Habsi (1.5%), Hari (1.5%), Jaziri (1.7%), Orb (9.6%), Sudani (2.2%), Somali (3.2%), Pakistani (1.2%), Indian (1.5%), Chios (2.2%), their crossbreds (8.1%), and less common breeds (1.2%). Most breeds were found in the Al-Ain region (58.8%), while less was observed in Abu Dhabi (19.9%) and Al-Dhafra (21.3%). Both male and female farmers employed breeding practices based on scientific theories such as pure-breeding or crossbreeding and selection. Furthermore, farmers who are breeding just sheep flocks were more interested in breeding pure breeds, whereas farmers who are breeding mixed flocks of sheep and goats were more interested in crossbreeding. Additionally, potential efforts are required to resolve the wide and long use of rams as well as the inbreeding prevention plan. Other modifications included keeping aged ewes in the flock and female farmers' lack of breeding skills. They advocate for a community-based breeding program to be implemented by small-scale farmers to optimize productivity gains for better contribution in food security. For medium and large-scale production, an intensive breeding program is also advised in the Al-Ain region considering profitability and income generating. It is advisable to integrate farmers’ production traits and existing breeding practices into future sustainability strategies to better contribute to global food security‎‎‎.