Enhancing individual animal resilience to environmental disturbances to address low productivity in dairy cattle performing in sub-Saharan Africa

The current review examines potential solutions to enhance the sustainability and productivity of the dairy sector in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an emphasis on breeding for resilience. Additionally, the paper explores various indicators for measuring resilience and provides insights into the data that can be utilized to quantify resilience in SSA’s dairy production systems. Dairy production contributes significantly to food and nutritional security and employment in SSA. However, besides the general lack of enabling policy and institutional environments, production is negatively affected by environmental challenges such as high temperatures and heat stress, diseases and parasites, unreliable rainfall patterns, shortages of feeds and forages and undue preference for taurine cattle breeds regardless of their poor adaptability to prevailing local conditions. Fostering the resilience capacity of dairy animals is imperative to combat climate-related adversities and maintain productivity. This can only be achieved if reliable and practical methods for quantifying and analyzing resilience in SSA are described and undertaken. This study has reviewed variance of deviations, root mean square of deviations, autocorrelation of deviations, skewness of deviations, slope of the reaction norm and its absolute value as possible indicators of resilience in SSA. While previous research has reported genetic variation and favorable correlations of these indicators with health, fitness, and fertility traits, their potential in SSA environments requires further investigation. Besides, labor- and cost-effective phenotypic data collection is essential for characterization of resilience using these indicators. Through this study, we propose frequently collected data on milk production traits, body fat-related traits, and activity patterns as suitable in the sub-Saharan Africa context. The African Asian Dairy Genetic Gains Project by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) offers a valuable opportunity to collate data from diverse dairy systems in SSA for testing the potential of these indicators. Insights from this study are helpful in improving resilience of dairy animals in SSA, which would contribute to poverty alleviation, animal welfare improvement, and better preparedness in lieu of climate change in SSA.</p

The livestock sector transformation in Ethiopia: the fundamental role of animal identification, registration, data recording and traceability systems

Livestock production in Ethiopia is predominated by extensive production systems where animals graze in communal grazing lands that exposes to disease transmission and indiscriminate breeding. Intensive stall feeding occurs, mostly in peri-urban settings, with cows mainly fed on straw and limited fresh forages. Animal movement within the country for herd replacement poses disease risk due to lack of movement control. Export of live animals and animal products, mostly meat require traceability system which not only able to identify the animal and the premises, where they are raised, but also traces how they left such premises to the ultimate markets. Ethiopia has developed a road map for livestock information system which also requires household, farm, and animal level information. This paper describes and discusses the need for a harmonized national livestock identification, registration, and data recording system, review existing experiences in the country and elsewhere in Eastern Africa, based on which recommendations in the related areas are made. The critical place of animal identification, registration and data recording as the basis for animal and animal product traceability, disease control, genetic improvement of farmers’ animals, annual planning, acquisition of bank loan and insurance are outlined. The need and values of adopting standardized identification system, establish a centralized database, and data capture tools are articulated. In addition, for success, the importance of long-term commitment, at different levels, including the role of both the public and private sectors are emphasized. The role of government in enforcing the related laws and policies, the requisite organizational structure, infrastructure, and human capacity needs are also pointed out. Professional societies like the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production (ESAP), and Ethiopian Veterinary Association (EVA) are platforms to exhaustively discuss and promote establishment and implementation of national system for animal identification, registration, and data capture are underscored