Typology of Red Maradi goat farming systems in Benin based on farmers' survey.

Goat farming contributes to the family economy, sustainable livelihoods and reduces poverty in rural households in Sub-Sahara areas. Also called "Poor man's cow", Red Maradi goat is a Niger-originated dairy goat introduced in Benin by the West African Agricultural Productivity Project-Benin for improving local goat productivity. In order to assess the farming systems put in place by the farmers, a field survey was conducted between August and September 2019. It involved 56 Red Maradi goat farms from selected among the program's beneficiaries from Kandi, Ségbana, Banikoara and Malanville. Data were collected on both farmers' profile and the Red Maradi goats farming practices using structured questionnaire, and were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analysis using SPSS version 25. The results showed that Red Maradi goat farmers were mainly women (67.86 %) with low educational background (80.3 %). Red Maradi goats were raised under the same housing systems and feeding patterns, and received similar health care as local goats. Reproduction was free and females average ages at conception and first kidding were respectively 9.56 ± 0.87 and 14.35 ± 1.87 months; with 1.71 ± 0.51 kids/kidding. Red Maradi goats were not vaccinated (73.21 %) but were dewormed in almost all farms using chemical drugs. Animal health management (75.26 %), animal feeding (62.74 %) and animal housing (45.81 %) related problems were the major challenges faced by Red Maradi goat farms. Based on the farming practices, two (02) major groups of Red Maradi goat farming were identified: group 1 defined as "Semi-improved Red Maradi goat farming" met in Malanville and Banikoara, then group 2 "Wandering Red Maradi goats farming" met in Kandi and Ségbana. Whatever the group, there has been no investment aid and little technical support for the development of goat farming. These findings could guide in designing future actions to support the program's results for improving Red Maradi goat performance in Benin.