Background

This case study is based on a livestock breed survey implemented in Swaziland and described in Case Study 11, which described approaches to data analysis in relation to the management of and purposes for keeping cattle by smallholder farmers.

As described in that case study, a lack of knowledge of the physical and performance characteristics of indigenous farm animal genetic resources in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the extent of existing genetic diversity has, through pressures to increase production, led to the underutilisation, dilution and replacement of these resources through crossbreeding with exotic breeds.

In order to obtain better knowledge of existing indigenous breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and donkeys, and the management thereof, FAO, together with ILRI, planned a series of surveys to gather this information across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, including Swaziland.

One objective was to obtain estimates of the total numbers of livestock in the country. This case study describes methods for obtaining such estimates, when applied to one of the regions in Swaziland, and provides some preliminary estimates of totals and confidence ranges for the six livestock species.