Experiences with a large scale sheep genetic improvement project in the Peruvian highlands.

A low input Corriedale sheep breeding program aimed at isolated Andean peasant communities was started in 1997. Fifteen communal flocks (60,000 sheep) and one multi-communal flock (100,000 sheep) initially supplied best ewes to a central nucleus and established multiplier flocks. Ram hoggets of the nucleus are performance tested and best ones are used extensively in the nucleus and multipliers. Development towards a more efficient genetic structure and more accurate genetic evaluation is li mited by operational problems which turned out to be larger than expected. The establishment of a technical support facility where farmers are trained on sheep breeding practices proved to be a distinctive and useful feature of the program. We believe that further years of external orientation and support will be needed before the program can run efficiently and independently.