An overview of donkey utilisation and management in Ethiopia by Feseha Gebreabl, Alemu G Wold2, Friew Kelemu3, Abule Ibro4 and Ketema Yilma5 1Faculty of VeterinaryMedicine, Addis Ababa University,PO Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia 2Institute ofAgricultural Research,PO Box 2003,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia 3Institute ofAgricultural Research,Nazareth Research Centre, PO Box 436, Nazareth,Ethiopia 4Adami Tulu ResearchCentre, PO Box 35, Zeway,Ethiopia 5Farm-Africa (Ethiopia),PO Box 5746,Addis Ababa,Ethiopia Abstract Ethiopia is a country with one ofthe highest donkeypopulations in the world. The total numberranges from 4-5 million. Four recognizeddonkey types exist, unevenlydistributed in all agro-ecologicalzones and the two landscapepatterns. Thesmall scalefarmers and the Highlands havethe largestshare with 2-3 animalsper family, and with female donkeys being mostcommon (70%). Weaningand breedingages were established to be between4-5 yearsfor places like Awassa, Gondar and Dire Dawa. In the country as a wholedonkeys provide pack services,carrying overfljieen kinds of commoditiesweighing 60-100 kg and coveringdistances of 15-20 kmfor a duration of4-5 hours. Observations undertakenalong the main roads to andfrom Addis Ababa revealedthat the use ofdonkeys is directly related to the distancecovered. On the Gojam and Dessieroads moredonkeys carried goodsthan people while on theAmbo road morepeople carried goodsthan donkeys. Therole ofdonkeys in the diversification ofsources ofincome in rural areasis highlighted.In Tigray and the Rift Valley areastheir contribution in terms offirewood trade to the family incomewas found to be in the range of156 to 1404 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) annually(US$1 ==ETB 6.3). In Ejersa,sand is transportedin 20 litre containersfitted on the back ofa donkey.Each day a donkeymakes 80 shuttlesfrom the river basin to the roadsidetransporting a volume ofsand amountingto 4 m3and costingETB 90. Constraintsto improveddonkey use discussed,include health problems, nutrition and policy issues. Introduction Number and Distribution Various sourceshave given differentfigures for the donkeypopulation in Ethiopia.According to FAO it was 3.9 million (FAO, 1985),3.9 million (FAO, 1989)and 5.2 million (FAO, 1994).Jahnke (1983) and Fielding (1991)cited the 3.9 million estimate.As shownin Table 1,donkeys are found unevenlydistributed in all the zonesof the country (Admassie, Abebe,Ezra and Gay, 1993). Whateverthe overallfigure maybe it is necessaryto deductthe 128,700donkeys that now belongto Eritrea. Table 1: Donkey populations and densities in the different zones of Ethiopia Arsi 363 24.6 14.7 Bale 125 34.5 3.6 GarnoGofa 12 20.9 0.6 Gojarn 394 58.1 6.8 Gonder 491 54.9 9.0 Harerghe 226 59.8 3.8 IIubabor 16 15.3 1.0 Kefa 43 32.6 1.3 Shewa 959 72.9 13.2 Sidarno 125 54.1 2.3 Tigray 468 19.0 24.6 Welega 159 44.2 3.5 Welo 390 38.5 10.1 Total 3771 Source:Admassie et ai, (J993) The majority of the donkeysare found in the Highlands,with Shewa,Gonder, Tigray, Gojam,Welo and Arsi having the largestpopulations. The densityof donkeysis highestin Tigray, Arsi and Shewa.Areas with middle rangedensities are Gojam and Gonder,with low densitiesin all otherregions. The CentralStatistics Office (1995)reported that 44%, 34% and 19%of the donkeys arefound in Oromia,Amhara and Tigray Regionsrespectively (Table 2). Table 2: Number and percentage distribution of horses, donkeys, mules and camels used for draft power by type and region for private holdings (1000's). Tigray 0 0 138 19 4 18 4 66 Afar 0 0 <I 0 0 0 0 0 Arnhara 114 49 252 34 10 40 1 17 Oromia 97 41 324 444 4 17 1 17 Benshangule 0 0 <I <1 0 0 0 0 Separ 22 10 12 2 6 24 0 0 Gambela 0 0 <1 0 0 0 0 Addis Ababa 0 0 4 <1 <I 1 0 0 Dire Dawa 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 All regions 233 100 736 100 24 100 6 100 Source: Central StatisticsOffice (1995) Even though it is difficult at presentto suggestthe critical minimum donkeydensity required per unit of population (Fielding, 1991)to initiate and launchpromotion interventions as part of a national livestock policy, accordingto FAO (1989)there are 27 donkeysper 100people in Ethiopia, which is one of the highestratios in the world. Typesof donkeys The domestic donkey traces its ancestry to the wild assesfound in Egypt, the Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia. The two recognized races of the wild ass are: Equus asinus africanus and Equus asinus soma/iensis. About 2500 wild individuals are present in the Danakil Depression and Nogal Valley in the horn of Africa (Clark, 1974). Based on average size and coat colour four types of donkeys are recognized in Ethiopia: Jimma, Abyssinian, Ogaden and Sennar (Dreyfus, 1976). Ownershippattern In the Highlandsof Ethiopia farmersown anaverage of 2-3 donkeysper family. The following is a reviewof various surveysamples: TheShewa sample: Of the 120households surveyed by Wilson (1991), 102 (85%)owned or kept donkeys.The average numberof donkeysper household was 2.72 of which 66%were born on the farm and 30%were acquiredby purchase. The Tigray sample:This studywas also conductedby Wilson (1991). A total of277 householdswere sampledin two areasof centralTigray. Of these,135 (49%) kept donkeys.The averagenumber of donkeysper owning householdwas 1.52. TheDire Dawa and East Oromiasample: Of the 40 householdssurveyed in Dire Dawa by Fesehaand Yoseph(1996),28 (70%)owned a single donkey,6 (15%)owned two, 4 (10%)had three,and 2 (5%)had five. Whereasthe picture in EastOromia, which is locatedin the Highlandsshowed that 30 (75%)owned one,6 (15%)owned two and 4 (10%) ownedthree donkeys. The Gondersample: A total of 400 householdsaround the city of Gonderwas included in this study which was conductedby Fesehaand Aweke (1995). In termsof standardof living 83%of the households were found to be in the categoriesbelow average and poor. They owneda single donkeyand one or two ruminants.The donkey ownership profile amongstthe aboveaverage (17%) was between2 and 4 donkeysper family. The Rift Valleysample: A studyrevealed that donkeysconstitute about 90% of the equinepopulation. Seventypercent of the smallholdersin the areaown one or more donkeysmaking themthe third most kept livestockspecies after cattle and goats. Sex and Age structure In the Shewasample, of the 277 donkeys,76 (27%)were males and 201 (73%)were females.In the Dire Dawa sample, of the 30 donkeysdifferentiated into their respectivesexes, six were malesand 24 were females.In EastOromia 28 were malesand 2 were females. Biology, nutrition and uses Breeding Various observershave asserted that donkeysbreed all the year round. High foaling periodsregistered in the Debre Brehanarea were in the monthsof March, April, June,July and August (Wilson, 1991).In Gonderit was noted that breedingas well as parturitionperiods coincide in mostof the caseswith the onsetof the rainy season(May/June). According to Mohammedand Teketel(1991) mostfoaJings in Awassaoccur in Februaryand March. Growth Donkeys reachmature weight at betweentwo andthree years of age.The averageweight of donkeys,males and females combined,transporting goods into Debre Brehan,was approximately105 kg (Wilson, 1991).Breeding age for female donkeysis four-five years in Awassa,three-four years in Dire Dawa (Fesehaand Yoseph,1996), and five years in Gonder(Feseha and Aweke, 1995). For males it is four years in Dire Dawa,and four years in Gondar(Feseha and Aweke, 1995).Weaning age has also beenmonitored in someareas. It is 10 monthsin Wolisso, between8 and 10 months in Gonderand 10-12months in Dire Dawa(Feseha and Aweke, 1995). Nutrition Numerousobservations confirm that in almostall casesdonkeys are left to forage for themselveswhen not working. For mostof the time they generallymaintain good body condition with the exceptionof the monthsof March and April (Fesehaand Aweke, 1995). In a studyconducted in Gonder,60 donkeyswere examinedin March and another60 in April in orderto determinetheir body condition. In the findings obtained,29 and 32 respectivelywere placed in the poor body condition category.In the area,donkey husbandry is characterisedby inputswhich range from very limited to nil. Feedingof donkeysis entirely basedon grazing on communallyowned grasslands as well as roadsidesthat are overgrazedand whereforage growth is poor. Donkeys,whose feeding is often neglected,survive due to their tremendous capacityto utilise foods of low quality. Usesof donkeys In small scalefanning operationsdonkeys are usedfor transportand work as follows: .grains from fields to fannsteads .grains to local marketsor pick-up-points .agricultural inputs from distributioncentres to fannsteads .fuel wood, animal dung and charcoalfor the rural and urban sectors .water for the rural as well as the urban sector .relief suppliesfrom distributioncentres to fannsteads .cash crops suchas khat, potatoes,onions and othervegetables from fields to local marketsor pick-up points .sick, aged,dead and disabledpersons .threshing cerealcrops and beansby trampling .building materialssuch as stones,sands, tree polesand teff straw .earthenware suchas potsand plates .animal food suchas hay, teff and wheat straw .war hardwareand ammunition .weeding in maize fields .plowing of land in associationwith oxen. Loads and activity patterns Most donkeysare used as packanimals. Along the Koka-Awassaroute a considerablenumber are seenpulling carts. Table 3 showsthe results of studiesof load and activity patternsof donkeysat four sites.A study by lLRI in 1988as cited by Crossley(1991) has revealed that donkeysare utilised an averageof39 hours/year(h/y) in the DebreBrehan areafor transportof crops from field to farmstead,plus