Assessment of Production System, Opportunities and Constraints of Sheep Production in Lagambo District, South Wollo Zone, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

As result of sheep is managed by poor smallholder farmers and pastoralists under traditional and extensive production systems. The level of production and productivity of sheep in Ethiopia is generally low. The aim of this study was assessing sheep production system, opportunities and constraints of sheep productionin Lagambo district based on household survey. A total of 289 households (130 in highland and 159 in midland) were interviewed for the household survey data collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and then described by descriptive statistics. According to the study, the average sheep flock size per household was 9.5 in highland and 7.86 in midland of study areas. The main reasons of keeping sheep in the study area were for cash income, meat production and for saving purpose. Natural pasture and river were the major feed and water source for sheep in the study area in dry and rain season. Majority (50.8% in highland and 71.7% in midland) of sheep owners used separate type of housing. Short maturity period, High market demand for sheep and low cost of sheep production were found as the major opportunity of sheep owner in the study area. Feed shortage and disease are the major constraints in the study areas. Therefore, to improve the productivity of sheep in the study area, developing alternative strategy to deal with shortage of feed resources, evaluating the available feed resources in terms of quantity and quality, developing water sourcesand extending animal health service in the area are suggested.