Am Okeyo

Comparison of production systems and selection criteria of Ankole cattle by breeders in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda

A survey in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda was conducted in order to determine the different production systems under which Ankole cattle are currently kept. Additionally, selection criteria of livestock keepers were documented. In Burundi, Rwanda and parts of Uganda, livestock keepers are sedentary and herds are small, whereas in the other areas Ankole cattle are kept in large herds, some of them still under a (semi-)nomadic system. Milk is the main product in all areas, and is partly for home consumption and partly for sale. Although the production systems vary in many aspects, the selection criteria for cows are similar. Productive traits such as milk yield, fertility and body size were ranked highly. For bulls, the trait ‘growth’ was ranked highly in all study areas. Phenotypic features (coat colour, horn shape and size) and ancestral information are more important in bulls than in cows. The only adaptive trait mentioned by livestock keepers was disease resistance. In areas of land scarcity (Burundi, Rwanda, western Uganda), a clear trend from pure Ankole cattle towards cross-bred animals can be observed.

The small East African shorthorn zebu cows in Kenya. I: linear body measurements

Assessment of genetic diversity is a prerequisite for the management and conservation of animal genetic resources. Appropriate design of breeding programmes is therefore impossible for breeds that have not been adequately characterized either phenotypically and/or genetically. Phenotypic characteristics are important in breed identification and classification in ways that farming communities can relate with. This study phenotypically characterized two breeds of zebu cattle in Kenya. A total of 12 measurements (face length, ear length, horn length, heart girth, height at withers, chest depth, body length, height at rump, pelvis width, corpus length, pin bone width and tail length) were collected on 373 Maasai and 277 Kamba zebu kept by traditional farmers in south-east Kenya. The data were classified on the basis of breed group, age group, sex and coat colour pattern. Breed group, age group and sex significantly influenced all measurements. Coat colour pattern significantly influenced only height at withers, corpus length, ear length and tail length. Except for horn and ear length, all the other measurements were significantly higher for the Maasai zebu. Additionally, the Maasai zebu was taller than it was long. The opposite was true for the Kamba zebu. The Maasai and Kamba zebus can be classified as medium-sized breeds; however, great variations exist in their body sizes within and between the breeds.

Productivity and morphology of Ankole cattle in three livestock production systems in Uganda

La caracterizacion fenotipica tiene una importancia fundamental en la mejora y conservacion de razas. Se han estudiado 248 explotaciones en Uganda para determinar el rendimiento y las caracteristicas morfologicas del ganado Ankole en tres sistemas de produccion (LPS, por sus siglas en ingles) de Uganda. Se han medido en 120 toros y 180 vacas la alzada a la cruz (HW, por sus siglas en ingles), perimetro toracico (HW, por sus siglas en ingles), diametro longitudinal (BL, por sus siglas en ingles), longitud de la oreja (EL, por sus siglas en ingles), longitud del cuerno (HL, por sus siglas en ingles), distancia entre las puntas de los cuernos (HS, por sus siglas en ingles) y el peso corporal (BW, por sus siglas en ingles). Los datos han sido analizados utilizando LPS (pastos para el ganado, agropastoral, pastoral), el condado (Gomba, Kazo, Kiboga, Mawoggola, Nyabushozi) y el sexo (hembras y machos) como factores principales. En los resultados, la edad de madurez sexual (ASM, por sus siglas en ingles) fue de 23.6 ± 0.5 meses para los toros y de 22.7 ± 0.5 para las vacas. La edad para el primer parto (AFC, por sus siglas en ingles) fue de 33.2 ± 0.5 meses, mientras que el intervalo entre partos (CI, por sus siglas en ingles) fue de 12.9 ± 0.8 meses. La duracion de la lactacion (LL, por sus siglas en ingles) difirio entre LPS (5.5 ± 0.4, 6.3 ± 0.3 y 7.4 ± 0.2 meses en agropastoral, pastos para el ganado y pastoral, respectivamente). La produccion media de leche fue de 2.2 ± 0.1 kg/vaca mientras que la supervivencia antes del destete fue de 90.0 ± 6.5%. El sexo y LPS influyo significativamente en HW, HL y HS. Se observaron correlaciones positivas entre BW y HG, BL y HL. Los coeficientes de correlacion fueron mucho mas bajos en las hembras que en los machos, excepto en BW vs HG y BW vs HW. Los resultados muestran grandes variaciones entre rendimiento y morfologia, sugiriendo que dentro del plan de seleccion racial y/o de gestion puede conllevar mejora sustancial en el campo de la productividad.

Community-based alternative breeding plans for indigenous sheep breeds in four agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia.

Based on the results of participatory approaches to define traits in the breeding objectives, four scenarios of ram selection and ram use were compared via deterministic modelling of breeding plans for community-based sheep breeding programmes in four diverse agro-ecological regions of Ethiopia. The regions (and production systems) were Afar (pastoral/agro-pastoral), Bonga and Horro (both mixed crop-livestock) and Menz (sheep-barley). The schemes or scenarios differed in terms of selection intensity and duration of ram use. The predicted genetic gains per year in yearling weight (kilograms) were comparable across the schemes but differed among the breeds and ranged from 0.399 to 0.440 in Afar, 0.813 to 0.894 in Bonga, 0.850 to 0.940 in Horro, and 0.616 to 0.699 in Menz. The genetic gains per year in number of lambs born per ewe bred ranged from 0.009 to 0.010 in both Bonga and Horro. The predicted genetic gain in the proportion of lambs weaned per ewe joined was nearly comparable in all breeds ranging from 0.008 to 0.011. The genetic gain per year in milk yield of Afar breed was in the order of 0.018 to 0.020 kg, while the genetic gain per generation for greasy fleece weight (kg) ranged from 0.016 to 0.024 in Menz. Generally, strong selection and shorter duration of ram use for breeding were the preferred options. The expected genetic gains are satisfactory but largely rely on accurate and continuous pedigree and performance recording.

Breeding objectives and the relative importance of traits in plant and animal breeding: a comparative review

Breeding objectives always involve consideration of multiple traits, even in situations where output of a single trait is dominant. We review literature dealing with formal definition of breeding objectives. Involvement of farmers in the process of setting up breeding objectives is also considered. In the optimal selection index, the relative importance of a trait is scaled by its economic value, derived as marginal profit related to a change in expression of defined size. Normative approaches to derive economic values use partial derivatives of a profit equation with respect to the traits involved or model the bio-economic system with various techniques. The theory is well developed and includes consideration of non-linear profit functions and traits with an intermediate optimum. It is frequently applied in animal breeding. In dairy cattle breeding, a major change of focus from traits related to output (i.e., milk yield) to traits related to cost of input (health, fertility, feed efficiency) has taken place recently. Plant breeders find the concept of deriving relative economic weights of traits difficult to apply and often replace the optimal index by restricted or desired gains indices. A change of paradigms similar to that in cattle breeding seems advisable. Participatory approaches to evaluate the relative importance of traits are more frequently applied in plant breeding than in animal breeding. We review two studies, dealing with methods of acquiring information about selection criteria of farmers planting maize in the Ethiopian highlands and of pastoralists keeping cattle in Uganda, in detail.

Institutional and organizational frameworks for dairy and beef cattle recording in Kenya: a review and opportunities for improvement

Para facilitar la mejora del ganado en los paises en desarrollo, son importantes tanto los registros de las poblaciones animales como de sus diferentes niveles de productividad. Sin embargo, en estos paises, el registro del ganado presenta un enorme desafio. Este trabajo presenta un resumen de la evolucion historica y el escenario actual en los registros relativos al ganado bovino de produccion carnica y lechera en Kenia, donde un sistema de registro esta en marcha desde 1963, a pesar de que el potencial productivo de la mayoria de los animales de dicho pais sigue siendo desconocido. El trabajo pone en contexto la situacion del registro animal relacionado con el potencial para su desarrollo futuro, tanto en produccion lechera como carnica dentro del pais. A pesar del enorme potencial existente, tan solo un bajo numero de registros animales han sido tomados, debido a la enorme cantidad de desafios existentes, los cuales incluyen los limitados fondos, la falta de incentivos para registrar, escasa retroalimentacion de los registros, una fragmentada estructura organizativa, una deficiente infraestructura, poco personal calificado, y la falta de politicas de apoyo. Se estan debatiendo estrategias para superar todas las dificultades existentes y lograr una utilizacion sostenible de las poblaciones de ganado existentes. El hecho de vincular los registros con las personas que proporcionan una serie de servicios basicos podria mejorar la recopilacion de datos, su procesamiento y que, a su vez, existiera una retroalimentacion de informacion hacia los productores de ganado. La calidad de los servicios de extension proporcionados se debe mejorar con objeto de apoyar de forma integral la produccion animal. Las recientes regulaciones internacionales sobre la trazabilidad de productos de origen animal vendidos en diferentes paises hacen pensar que, a menos que Kenia ponga en marcha un solido programa de registro animal, el pais sera excluido de los mercados en lo relativo a sus pr

Genetic variations between indigenous fat-tailed sheep populations in Kenya

Sheep are an important source of meat in Kenya. However, there are different sheep types raised in different agro-ecological zones and their genetic status is unknown. This study was designed to establish this. Using samples of blood from 391 fat-tailed sheep from five districts in Kenya, variation/similarities in their blood proteins, namely albumin, transferrin, esterase-A, esterase-C and haemoglobin was studied. Protein of Merino sheep was also used as a reference. Transferrin, esterase-A and esterase-C were polymorphic in all the populations investigated, while albumin was monomorphic for the S allele in all the fat-tailed sheep, and haemoglobin was fixed for the B allele in Kwale, Makueni and Siaya populations but was variable in Kakamega, Kajiado and Merino populations. The degree of within and between populations genetic diversity and variability was low with Kajiado population, being on average the most diverse among the indigenous sheep. The genetic distance and phylogenetic tree analysis indicated close genetic relationships among the fat-tailed sheep, which were clearly distinguished from the Merino.

Participatory definition of breeding objectives for sheep breeds under pastoral systems—the case of Red Maasai and Dorper sheep in Kenya

Crossing local breeds with exotic breeds may be an option for increased livestock productivity. However, there is a risk for endangerment of the local breeds. One such case is in Kenya where the imported Dorper breed is used for crossbreeding with Red Maasai sheep. The aim of this study was to investigate farmers’ trait preferences as a basis for determination of breeding objectives for Red Maasai and Dorper sheep at two sites, Amboseli and Isinya, in Kenya. Within their own flock, each farmer identified three ewes representing the best, average and poorest within each breed group: Red Maasai, Dorper and Crosses. Farmers gave reasons for their ranking. Body measurements and weights were also taken. At the harshest site, Amboseli, differences between breed groups in body weight were small and breeds were equally preferred. In Isinya, where environmental conditions are better and farmers are more market oriented, Dorper and Crosses had significantly higher body weights and market prices and were thus preferred by the farmers. Red Maasai were preferred for their maternal and adaptive traits. Breeding objectives should emphasize growth traits and milk production in both breeds at both sites. Body condition needs to be specifically considered in the breeding objectives for sheep in Amboseli, whereas adaptive traits need to be generally emphasized in Dorper.

Characterization of indigenous fat-tailed and fat-rumped hair sheep in Kenya: diversity in blood proteins.

This paper reports the variation in five blood proteins from five populations of sheep found in Kenya. Blood samples were collected from a total of 309 adult sheep of both sexes in Kwale, Makueni and Kakamega districts for the fat-tailed sheep and in Isiolo district for the fat-rumped hair sheep. Fine-wooled Merino sheep were used in this study as the reference population. Transferrin, esterase-A and esterase-C were polymorphic in all the populations investigated, while albumin was monomorphic for the S allele in the fat-tailed sheep and haemoglobin was fixed for the B allele in the Kwale, Makueni and Isiolo populations. Phylogenies derived from the pairwise genetic distance estimates showed a clear separation between the indigenous sheep populations and the exotic Merino. However, the topology of the former showed rather poor consistency with their morphological classification based on the localization of their fat deposits, namely fat-tailed or fat-rumped hair sheep.

Goat Production in Eastern Africa: Practices, Breed Characteristics, and Opportunities for Their Sustainability

It is estimated that 14% of the livestock in Eastern Africa are comprised of 146 million goats. The goats are in varying agroecological zones under farming systems ranging from small-scale mixed crop–livestock systems with a few animals raised on limited land resources, to extensive pastoral systems where large numbers of animals are raised on large tracts of land. The goats are raised primarily for meat, with milk treated as a secondary trait. Use of goat products at rural household levels in the region is not well documented. The goat populations have been developed over time through selection processes resulting in diverse goat breeds, with some adapted to harsh environmental conditions. In recent years, a strong drive to increase the productivity of goats has resulted in changes in breeding and management strategies and practices, including introduction of foreign breeds, mainly from temperate environments for use in crossbreeding programs, and a narrowing of the range and diversity of indigenous breed types. This, in addition to a lack of detailed information on the characteristics of the indigenous breeds, threatens the existing diversity of goat populations. This chapter presents an overview of the present-day indigenous goat breeds and the production systems under which they are raised in Eastern Africa. The chapter also highlights key constraints to improving goat productivity and outlines opportunities and changes to mitigate threats within the farming systems. The growing populations of goats and their potential for improving the livelihood of different communities call for innovative strategies to reduce their environmental footprint in the existing ecosystems.