Ansari-Renani, H.R.1*, B. Rischkowsky2, J.P. Mueller3, S.M. Seyed Momen4 & S. Moradi5 Animal Science Research Institute (ASRI), P.O. Box 31585-1483, Karaj, I. R. Iran,
2International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria.
3Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Bariloche, Argentina.
4Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Centre, Kerman, I. R. Iran.
5Animal Science Dept., Agriculture College, University of Zanjan, Animal Science Research Institute (ASRI), Karaj, I. R. Iran
*Email of corresponding author: [email protected]
Introduction
According to Spooner (1973) the term “nomadism” has been applied to any society that is not settled in permanent dwellings, although etymologically it implies a pastoral subsistence base.
Approximately 25% of the world‟s land surface supporting about 20 million pastoral households of 180–200 million people. These lands usually fall under the categories of deserts, mountains and steppes of the world which include the Sahara, Sahel and Horn of Africa; the Middle East, Pakistan, India, Tibet and Mongolia in Asia and the mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Northern Chile and Argentina in South America. The number of nomads (called Ashayer in Persian language) engaged in this nomadic lifestyle in Iran is estimated at 2.5 million in 1966 (9.6 percent of total population) to 1.3 million in 1998 (2.1% of total population) (Notional centre of statistics, 2000).
Nomadic pastoralist system of Baft is characterised by low population density, self reliance on basic needs, displacement of livestock between grazing sites in different seasons and weak linkages to markets and public services. Rangeland is the main grazing area and the grazing depends on the seasonal rainfall. The animals provide the owner with milk, meat and wool and as a source of income. Presently, data on nomadic pastoralist of Iran is very limited.
Accordingly, the present work was designed to study the production of milk and dairy products in the nomadic region of Kerman province in Iran.
Materials and Methods
This study was undertaken in Kerman province in the south-western part of Iran. Kerman province is a highland region with <250 mm annual rainfall; and 85% of goat nutrition is based on range grazing and 15% on forage and post-harvest cereals produced in farms for fall and winter feeding. Summer is hot (up to 35 °C) and dry and winter is moderate. A total of 30 households were chosen at random within ± 20 km of Baft city in Kerman province as baseline herds. Information on nomad pastoralist activities was gathered primarily using a structured ICARDA questionnaire through indepth interviews with the nomadic men and women livestock producers of each household from Siahjel subtribe of the Raen tribe.
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Results and Discussion
Nomad goat farmers in Baft are more commercially oriented than those from other parts of Iran. The goats are reared primarily as source of cashmere, milk, meat and are also sold as live animals (Table 1). The results showed a high percentage of does in different herds and this is a strong indicator that milk production is a major reason for goat rearing among nomadic goat farmers. However, milk production still ranks second among reasons for keeping goats. Milk production is for home consumption in the form of dairy products.
Table 1. Ranking in descending order of importance of keeping goats
Reasons Bucks Does
Ranking % of importance Ranking % of importance
Cashmere production 6 33 7 25
Milk production - - 6 21
Selling and meat
consumption 5 27 5 18
Breeding 4 20 4 14
Wealth, status and saving 3 13 3 15
Social activities 2 5 2 5
Nomads prefer goats over sheep as they claim that goats yield more milk over a longer period but sheep are easier to handle and produce more butter and cheese. Thus sheep milk is preferred for the production of butter, ghee (water-free butter/fat), yoghurt and dried curds.
Of the total milk produced, about 5% is processed into butter, 5% into ghee, 31% into local cheese and the rest is either consumed as fresh milk or processed into other products.
Among the Raen nomads, milk is processed in the following stages; milk is filtered into a pot, heated and allowed to cool. Thereafter a small amount of yoghurt is added to the cooled milk as a starter. The yoghurt (Maust) is then transferred to an inverted cattle or sheep skin bag (Toolom or Mashk) which acts as a churn and water is added to the churn containing yoghurt in 1: 1 ratio. The churn is then suspended by a tripod and rocked back and forth until butter granules form. The butter (Maske) can be scooped out by hand or the buttermilk can be drained off by pouring. After removal of the butter, the remaining buttermilk (Doogh) may be consumed or further processed into hard, white cheese curds. To make cheese curds (Suzmeh), buttermilk is placed in a pot, gently heated on a low flame. The curd formed is put into a porous textile cloth sac and kneaded with a handful of salt while the remaining liquid continues to drip out. The curd (Kashk or Ghoroot) is shaped into balls, sun-dried and stored, which turns rock-hard with time. Dripped liquid can be heated while stirring with a wooden scoop to produce a soured brownish substance called Gharaghoroot, which is used as a paste for making stew. Ghee or clarified butter is made by removing most of the water from butter by gently heating the butter and stirring it continuously in a pot to which salt and turmeric are added. To make cheese (Paneer), milk is placed in a pot and gently heated on a low flame.
Animal Rennet made locally is added to the heated milk. Milk is allowed to coagulate at room temperature overnight. Whey is placed in a pot and gently heated to make Loor which can be consumed for breakfast.
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References
Spooner, B., 1973. The cultural ecology of pastoral nomads. [Reading, Mass]: Addison- Wesely. Publication.
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Proceedings of the 1st Asia Dairy Goat Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 9–12 April 2012
Paper 34