Implicit prices of indigenous cattle traits in central Ethiopia: Application of revealed and stated preference approaches

The diversity of animal genetic resources has a quasi-public good nature that makes market prices inadequate indicator of its economic worth. Applying the characteristics theory of value, this research estimated the relative economic worth of the attributes of cattle genetic resources in central Ethiopia. Transaction level data were collected over four seasons in a year and choice experiment survey was done in five markets to generate data on both revealed and stated preferences of cattle buyers. Heteroscedasticity efficient estimation and random parameters logit were employed to analyse the data. The results essentially show that attributes related to the subsistence functions of cattle are more valued than attributes that directly influence marketable products of the animals. The findings imply the strong need to invest on improvement of attributes of cattle in the study area that enhance the subsistence functions of cattle that their owners accord higher priority to support their livelihoods than they do to tradable products

Breeding strategy to improve Ethiopian Boran cattle for meat and milk production

In Ethiopia, genetic improvement of the indigenous cattle for dairy production, focusing on crossbreeding, has been practised for the last five decades, albeit with little success. Selection as an improvement tool has been given less emphasis and as such there have been no systematic and organized selection schemes for cattle genetic improvement in Ethiopia. In addition, little or no genetic improvement work targeted at improving beef production has been undertaken so far. Therefore, there is a need to develop effective and sustainable genetic improvement schemes for indigenous cattle breeds of Ethiopia. This report is prepared to develop breeding plans for the Ethiopian Boran cattle and is based on: 1) secondary data sources that include literature review from earlier works on Ethiopian Boran cattle; 2) results of data collected and analysed from dairy herds at Debre Zeit research Station of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Holetta Agricultural Research Center of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR); 3) detailed desk work to design the improvement program; and 4) suitability analysis for Boran cattle using GIS. Ethiopian Boran, although a beef breed in many tropical countries, has been used as a dairy animal in many development and experimental activities in Ethiopia. The breed has been found to be fast growing, fertile and good milk producer compared to other indigenous cattle breeds in Ethiopia. The growth, reproduction and milk production performance of Boran has been improved in different parts of the world including Kenya, South Africa, Australia and USA. This indicates the huge potential of the breed that could be tapped if appropriate breeding strategy supported by proper management could be designed and fully implemented. In this report, selection scheme based on open nucleus breeding program is suggested to improve the beef and dairy attributes of the Ethiopian Boran cattle. Where crossbreeding is an option to improve dairy performance, a detail operational scheme is also suggested. Suitability of Ethiopian Boran cattle to different locations in Ethiopia is also mapped using GIS

Mineralogical and Geochemical Characterization of Clay and Lacustrine Deposits of Lake Ashenge Basin, Northern Ethiopia: Implication for Industrial Applications

The paper tries to characterize and evaluate clay, lacustrine and diatomaceous earth deposits of Lake Ashenge basin, near Koram, northern Ethiopia and comment on its industrial implications. The country rocks are dominantly basalts and basaltic agglomerates overlain by minor amounts of rhyolite and ignimbrite. Sedimentary deposits, clays and associated sediments include 1) intercalations of lacustrine diatomaceous earth, other lacustrine and clays with channel deposits (gravel, pebbly sand and silt); 2) intercalations of diatomaceous earth, peat and clays with channel deposits exposed; and 3) intercalations of clay with channel deposits. X-ray diffractometer analysis of clay samples indicates kaolinite as a dominant clay mineral among others. On the basis of the abundance of different minerals, the clays are subdivided into four groups, 1) Kaolinite (K), 2) Microcline-Kaolinite (MK), 3) Muscovite-Kaolinite (MuK), and 4) Muscovite-Microcline-Kaolinite (MuMK). Other minor mineral phases include quartz, vermiculite, low-high albite, calcite and calcite magnesia. Diatomaceous clays are almost free from kaolinite. Kaolinite, being the dominant clay mineral varies from 6% in light brown to 77% in light grey clays. Al2O3 and SiO2 dominate the clay geochemistry among other oxides and based on the Al2O3 content, the kaolinite variety is subdivided into high Al2O3 (16-21 wt %) and low Al2O3 (8-13 wt%) types. Higher Al2O3 and similar SiO2 and Fe2O3 values in clays compared to the source basaltic rocks are related to the topography, mineralogy and climatic conditions that exist in the area. Compared to the low grade kaolinite type (about 56*106 tones), diatomaceous earth variety (77.3*105 tones) is relatively of good quality with high SiO2 content.Keywords: Clay and lacustrine deposits, Kaolinite, Diatomite, Lake Ashenge, Tigray, Ethiopi