Breeding strategies for sheep and goats in Romania (1) - S. M. Petrescu, A. Bogdan, A. Pop, V Tafta, V Git, G. Tobo, M. Petrescu

S. M Petrescu’, A. T. Bogdan¹, A. Pop’, V. Tafta², V. Git’, G. Tobo and M Petrescu³
1) National Centre for Animal reproduction and selection, Bucarest.
2) Cluj-Napoca University of Agricultural sciences, Faculty of Animal Sciences and Biotechnolop.
3) University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Bucarest.

The main reasons which justify raising the yield of animals are the existing economic, social and natural conditions which, as much as the tradition, are very favorable to the development of a modem and competitive livestock industry.

After 1989, important changes have occurred in the ownership structure, in the sense that most of the animals are to be found now in the private sector. Between the 3 1 December 1989 and the 3 1 December 1995 the total number of sheep and goats decreased from 16 459 000 to 13 I86 000 head of which 11 977 000 are in the private sector (91%).

These changes in animal ownership modified deeply the farm structure and their size. A present, on average there are about seven head per sheep farm

The evolution of the officially controlled number of sheep is shown in the following table and the structure of the breeding organisation in Romanian is represented in the table hereafter.

Table 1. Evolution of the number of sheep officially controlled in Romania

According to FAO/WHO recommendations concerning "human physiological requirements", an average person must receive daily 2800-3000 calories and approximately 1 gram of protein per kilo, i.e.: in terms of mutton, 5. I kg of meat per year (8%) of total meat consumption).

To achieve these goals the fundamental objectives in the short and medium terms are:

- stopping the decrease of the population;

- reassessing the relative weight of the different productions in the animal breeding programs for the meat and milk production;

- consider reintroducing on a large scale artificial insemination (A.I.) for sheep and goats, through the network of National Center for Animal Reproduction and Selection; in such a way that in 1996 25 % and in the year 2000 more than 50 % of the females will be inseminated;

as regards genetic resources, in Romania according to areas, semi tine wool breeds (Tzigaie type), fine wool breeds (Merino type), coarse wool breeds (Tzurcana type) and skin breeds (Karakul type) will be reared. At the same time pure-bred sheep and goats for meat and milk productions and their crossings with local breeds will be introduced,

- technical organizational programs will be elaborated and implemented to produce with superior quality and especially "bio-meat", through fattening lambs on natural pastures, for export to Western Europe and others countries.

In the national income derived from animal husbandry, sheep are in the second place, in terms of weight and their importance will increase because they can convert raw materials which otherwise could hardly be used directly by man.

The breeding program is subordinated to the objective of increasing, through genetic means, the production potential of animals with the proviso that constant feeding resources are ensured.

The basic principles of the sheep breeding program are:

- optimum breeding structure and sheep zoning according to pedoclimatic conditions and breeds biological requirements;

- farms functional stratification into a vertical integrated system - breeding pyramid consisting in elite testing farms, multiplication farms and production (commercial) farms;

- breeding pure-bred animals and pure lines as main breeding method in elite farms, so as to obtain maximum genetic progress;

- using "crossing" method on a large scale in commercial farms to valorize to a maximum the hybrid vigor.

To achieve these objectives the optimum breed structure will be:

- 38 % Merino type for fine wool and meat;
- 20 % Tzigaie type for semi fine wool, meat and milk;
- 38 % Tzurcana type for coarse wool and milk
- 4 % Karakul type for skin and furs.

To ensure that commercial farms with high genetic level rams, 3 % of the sheep population will be kept on the elite and testing farms responsible for rearing these rams. At the first level of the breeding pyramid, the program stipulates that at national level, some "gene pool" will be created and may take the form of a small sheep nucleus flock or deep frozen semen and embryo storage centers.

In the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, as regards sheep breeding strategy, the National Center for Animal Reproduction and Selection has the followings responsibilities:

- official production control, sheep selection and breeding;

- organizing reproduction;

- herd-book keeping;

- selecting every year the elite farms;

- collecting, systematizing and processing, in the "Data automatic processing system" (SPAD), the data obtained through the official production control;

- rams testing (at present by progeny method, and in the near future by BLUP procedure), for wool, milk, meat and skins (furs).

Figure 1 Sheep breeding pyramid in Romania

National coordinator:

National Center for Animal
Reproduction and Selection

Scientific background:

Palas Institute for Sheep and Goats Breeding
Agricultural University - Bucarest
Agricultural University - Cluj Napoca
Agricultural University - Iasi
Agricultural University - Timisoara