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Abstract

The local pig from Iberian peninsula was introduced to Chad in 1918 by missionaries arriving from Cameroon. In 1951, the Limousine breed from France was introduced by artificial insemination in order to improve the conformation and meat yield of the local pig. After five years of trials, the program failed in the northern part of the country for religions reasons. Nevertheless, in the southern region, which is mostly non-Muslim, the expansion achieved relative success until 1958. In addition, breeding stocks of Yorkshire and Berkshire pigs were imported from the middle Congo. A few semi-industrial farms, established in the 1950, adopted these breeds and have contributed to the export of meat in the sub-region of French Equatorial Africa. In its expansion the pig farming traditions have been supported by agricultural services and development societies (peasantries and village communities). Moreover, the lack of precise technical data on the performance records did not permit the evaluation of the performances of these breeds and crossbreeds. Feed issues, faulty herding and a lack of access to markets have been the major obstacles to the expansion and popularization of pig farming in rural areas.

Citation of the paper

"L'élevage porcin au Tchad: Bilan de l'introduction, de l'amélioration et de la diffusion des races exotiques" by Y. Mopaté Logténé, M.O. Koussou & C.Y. Kaboré-Zoungrana, published in Animal Genetic Resources Information, No. 38, 2006.