Crossbreeding of Cattle in Africa

Wilson, R.T.

doi:10.15640/jaes.v7n1a3

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…We refer to table 2 in the SI for a more detailed description of changes in input and parameter values. (A) "Animal genetic improvement": This scenario represents the historically most preferred strategy for driving productivity improvements within the region, whereby more exotic animal genotypes are introduced, often through cross-breeding (Wilson 2018;Marshall et al 2019). Within the mixed crop-livestock system, this results in increased live weight of cattle but restricted milk yield increases due to the limiting effects of diseases, such as mastitis and other infections.…”

Section: Livestock Intervention Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

et al. 2020

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The gap between milk demand and domestic supply in Tanzania is large and projected to widen. Meeting such demand through local production of affordable milk presents an opportunity to improve the welfare of producers and market agents through the income and employment generated along the value chain (VC). Efforts to maximize milk yields, production and profitability need to be balanced with long-term sustainability. We combined environmental and economic ex-ante impact assessments of four intervention scenarios for two production systems in the Tanzanian dairy VC using the CLEANED model and an economic feasibility analysis. Intervention scenarios propose increases in milk production through (i) animal genetic improvement, (ii) improved feed, (iii) improved animal health and (iv) a package combining all interventions. Results show that economically feasible farm-level productivity increases of up to 140% go hand-in-hand with increased resource-use efficiency and up to 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities. Absolute increases in water, land and nitrogen requirements in mixed crop-livestock systems call for careful management of stocks and quality of these resources. An overall rise in GHG emissions is expected, with a maximum of 53% increase associated with an 89% increase in milk supply at VC level. The CLEANED tool proved effective to evaluate livestock interventions that improve incomes and food security with minimal environmental footprint. Here, our simulations suggest that due to current low productivity, the greatest efficiency gains in combination with relatively low increases in total GHG emissions can be made in the extensive agro-pastoral dairy systems, which represent the majority of herds.

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Section: Livestock Intervention Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

et al. 2020

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“…Indiscriminate or poorly planned crossbreeding is one of the major threats to cattle breed diversity in sub-Saharan Africa [62,63]. This situation has spread throughout in the natural habitat of the Lagune cattle breed leading to its replacement by zebus and crossbreed cattle.…”

Section: General Management Of Lagune Cattle Herdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and Resilience to Socio-Ecological Changes of Smallholder Lagune Cattle Farming Systems of Benin

Ahozonlin

Dossa

2020

Sustainability

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The indigenous smallholder Lagune breed and the production systems in which it is embedded in Southern Benin have received very little research or policy attention. Consequently, very little information exists on the diversity of these production systems or on their capacity to adapt to ongoing socio-economic and environmental changes. This study aimed to explore and characterize the diversity of Lagune cattle production systems along with farmers’ local knowledge and resilience strategies. A questionnaire was administered to 417 Lagune cattle farmers across two agro-ecological zones: Ouémé Valley (OVZ) and Pobe (PZ). It included, inter alia, questions related to households’ socio-economic conditions, their cattle herd characteristics, and management practices. Categorical principal component analysis and the two-step clustering method were used to classify the production systems which were then compared using the chi-square and ANOVA procedures. Four distinct farm types were identified. This study revealed the important role of agroecology in the diversity of farmers’ breeding practices. Controlled mating was more common in tethering systems whereas uncontrolled mating, widespread in free-roaming systems, has favored Lagune breed admixture with zebus. Opportunities for conserving the genetic diversity within the Lagune breed might be greater in PZ where breed admixture was almost inexistent.

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“…Upgrading local goats by cross-breeding is still the prevailing strategy in East Africa, in spite of the limited results obtained in terms of productivity and the genetic erosion caused to the native gene pool ( Ahuya, 1997 ; Gichohi, 1998 ; Ayalew et al, 2003 ; Onzima, 2014 ; FAO, 2015 ; Mruttu et al, 2016 ; Wilson, 2018 ). These considerations provide an understanding of the levels of admixture observed, which are corroborated by additional admixture analyses (see Supplementary Text 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Search for Selection Signatures Related to Trypanosomosis Tolerance in African Goats

et al. 2021

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Livestock is heavily affected by trypanosomosis in Africa. Through strong selective pressure, several African indigenous breeds of cattle and small ruminants have acquired varying degrees of tolerance against this disease. In this study, we combined LFMM and PCAdapt for analyzing two datasets of goats from West-Central Africa and East Africa, respectively, both comprising breeds with different assumed levels of trypanotolerance. The objectives were (i) to identify molecular signatures of selection related to trypanotolerance; and (ii) to guide an optimal sampling for subsequent studies. From 33 identified signatures, 18 had been detected previously in the literature as being mainly associated with climatic adaptations. The most plausible signatures of trypanotolerance indicate the genes DIS3L2, COPS7B, PD5A, UBE2K, and UBR1. The last gene is of particular interest since previous literature has already identified E3-ubiquitin ligases as playing a decisive role in the immune response. For following-up on these findings, the West-Central African area appears particularly relevant because of (i) a clear parasitic load gradient related to a humidity gradient, and (ii) still restricted admixture levels between goat breeds. This study illustrates the importance of protecting local breeds, which have retained unique allelic combinations conferring their remarkable adaptations.

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Crossbreeding of Cattle in Africa

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

Diversity and Resilience to Socio-Ecological Changes of Smallholder Lagune Cattle Farming Systems of Benin

Search for Selection Signatures Related to Trypanosomosis Tolerance in African Goats

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