ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL OUTCOMES OF COMMUNITYBASED SHEEP GENETIC IMPROVEMENT IN TÜRKİYE: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF THE FIRST TWO FIVE-YEAR PHASES

This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sheep farming in Trkiye while establishing a baseline for future evaluations.It further assesses the economic and technical impacts of a community-based animal breeding scheme first implemented in 2006 and extended in five-year intervals.Initially covering nine sheep breeds across ten provinces, the scheme later incorporated additional breeds; however, this analysis focuses solely on the original nine breeds and the first two intervals (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015).Data were gathered from complete counts of scheme-participating farmers and randomly selected nonparticipants, yielding 442 valid responses (206 participants, 236 non-participants) through face-to-face interviews conducted between late 2014 and early 2015.Descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and least-squares dummy variable (LSDV) regression models were employed for data analysis.While descriptive findings indicated superior performance among participating farmers, regression results showed only a marginal difference in gross profit per ewe.Notably, breeders attentive to internal parasite management achieved higher lambing rates.The study concludes that enhancing women's involvement, feedstuff production, and housing conditions is essential for effective genetic improvement and sustainable sheep production.