Chenyambuga S. W., Shija D. S., Shayo D., Kusiluka L. J. M. and Lekule F. P.

1. Comparison of production performance of Toggenburg and Norwegian crossbred goats under semi-arid and sub-humid conditions in Tanzania Chenyambuga S. W., Shija D. S., Shayo D., Kusiluka L. J. M. and Lekule F. P. Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

2. Introduction • Helping poor people to raise dairy goats successfully can have a very significant impact on their wellbeing. • Saanen, Anglo-Nubian, Alpine, Toggenburg and Norwegian dairy goat breeds have been introduced in Tanzania since 1960s. • Smallholder dairy goat production in rural areas started to be promoted in 1980s as one way of mitigating the problem of malnutrition and improving the living conditions of poor households.

3. The most important institutionsinvolved in distribution of dairy goats to small-scale farmers in rural areas were Heifer Project International (HPI) - Tanzania, FARM AFRICA, church based organisations and Sokoine University of Agriculture. • These institutions introduced dairy goats in rural areas with the aim of upgrading the local goats and increase their growth rates, milk yield and hence, improve food security as well as household income.

4. The introductions of these dairy goats in rural areas were done haphazardly without taking into consideration the prevailing environmental conditions. • Information on the performance of the different breeds in rural areas is scanty. It is not known which breed is suitable in which areas and production system.

5. Objective • This study was carried out to compare the growth rate, lactation performance and tolerance to helminthosis infection of Toggernburg and Nowergian breeds in Kongwa district with a semi-arid environment and Mvomero district with a sub- humid environment.

6. Materials and methods

7. Kongwa Villages - Ihanda and Masinyeti Annual rainfall - 400 to 800 mm. Temperature - 18 to 34oC Mvomero Villages- Kunke and Wami-Luhindo Annual rainfall of 600 -2000 mm Temperature- 18 to 30°C

8. - 30 farmers per village (total 120 households) were randomly selected and given training on improved goat husbandry practices – feeding system, housing, feeds and feeding, breeding, health management and record keeping.

9. Farmers constructed improved goat houses using locally available materials

10. Toggenburg Norwegian • Norwegian and Toggenburg dairy goats were purchased and distributed to farmers in March, 2012. • The goats were monitored for breeding and kidding • Milk production was recorded daily • Body weight of kids was measured at birth and then at monthly intervals for a period of one year. • Nematode eggs in faeces was determined every month.

11. Results

14. Table 3: Comparison of breeds on growth rate (LS Means ± SE) in the project villages

18. Figure 1: Comparison of breeds on worm burden (eggs per gram of faeces) in the project villages On average 32.6 and 54.7% of the Toggenburg and Norwegian goats, respectively, were infected with Nematode worms

19. Figure 1: Effect of location on worm burden (eggs per gram of faeces) in project villages

20. Conclusions and Recommendations • Toggenburg goats produce slightly higher amount of milk than the Norwegian goats • Toggenburg goats are relatively tolerant to worm infection compared to Norwegian goats • The production performances of Norwegian and Toggenburg goats in project areas are relatively low. • There is a need to improve management practices in order to improve productivity of the dairy goats. • There is a need to evaluate all the five dairy goat breeds found in the country and identify the most suitable breeds in each agro-ecological zone.

21. Acknowledgement • This research is supported with a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, www.idrc.ca, and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), www.acdi-cida.gc.ca