Goat production Constraints and Ethno-veterinary practices in Konso and Meta-Robi districts; Ethiopia.

 A survey was conducted in Konso and Meta-Robi districts of Ethiopia to identify and catalog the major goat production constraints and ethno-vet practices. A total of 240 households was selected for administration of semi-structured questionnaire. The average landholding per household, including own grazing in Meta-Robi was higher than Konso. Almost all (97.5%) of respondents in Meta-Robi and majority (67.2%) in Konso indicated that land holding is decreasing. In the study areas, rivers and rain water were reported to be the major water sources during the wet season while river water was the major water source in dry season. In both study areas, disease, feed shortage and drought were the first, second and third frequently mentioned production constraints, respectively. All respondents in Meta-Robi were sedentary on the other hand, 39.8% of farmers in Konso were transhumance. In Konso, the major goat diseases were CCPP, Trypanosomiasis and External Parasites whereas, in Meta-Robi, CCPP, External parasite and foot root. The majority of farmers occasionally used cauterization and phylotherapy for treatment of some diseases. Good understanding of the relative importance of the different constraints is fundamental prior to initiating any genetic improvement program.