Restricted Application of Insecticides: A Promising Tsetse Control Technique, but What Do the Farmers Think of It?

Restricted application of insecticides to cattle is a cheap and safe farmer-based method to control tsetse and the diseases they transmit, i.e. human and animal African trypanosomoses. The efficiency of this new control method has been demonstrated earlier but no data is available on its perception and adoption intensity by farmers. We studied these two features in Burkina Faso, where the method has diffused thanks to two development projects. The study allowed identifying three groups of farmers with various adoption intensities, of which one was modern and two traditional. The economic benefit and the farmers' knowledge of the epidemiological system appeared to have a low impact on the early adoption process whereas some modern practices, as well as social factors appeared critical. The quality of technical support provided to the farmers had also a great influence on the adoption rate. The study highlighted individual variations in risk perceptions and benefits, as well as the prominent role of the socio-technical network of cattle farmers. The results of the study are discussed to highlight the factors that should be taken into consideration, to move discoveries from bench to field for an improved control of trypanosomoses vectors

Mapping stakeholder viewpoints in biodiversity management: an application in Niger using Q methodology

The purpose of this paper is to examine the viewpoints of stakeholders in the management and conservation of farm animal biodiversity in Niger. The research applies Q methodology in order to reveal consensual and divergent discourses. After the development of the set of items on the topic of biodiversity (Q sample), the statements were sorted by the respondents through a 7-grade scale, from −3 to +3. The analysis of Q-sort data with the qmethod package under the R software highlighted three distinct stakeholder viewpoints on the importance of biodiversity in agriculture and animal husbandry, the balance between progress and preservation and the effectiveness of different methods of conservation. The study shows an apparent consensus on the importance of biodiversity that is obviously a promoted topic in the country. Behind the consensus, different discourses are defined that all appear divided by the same dilemma between conservation and economic development. Understanding the different answers and weight attributed to each of the components of the dilemma will guide awareness-raising campaigns and help to pinpoint divergent interests among stakeholders

Breeding criteria and willingness-to-pay for improved Azawak zebu sires in Niger

In Niger, the growth in local demand for milk and meat makes it necessary to consider a genetic improvement of indigenous cattle. In Toukounous breeding station, the Azawak zebu has undergone over 50 years of line breeding for milk and meat production traits. To understand the diffusion potential of improved Azawak sires in Niger, this study proposes to estimate the values that cattle keepers ascribe to different breeding criteria. In a first participatory stage, the breeding criteria used by cattle keepers were first listed and their relative importance was semi-quantified in three different production zones: agricultural, peri- urban and pastoral. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) for chosen breeding criteria have then been estimated through stated preference methods with 150 breeders. From participatory surveys, the most important attributes in sire choice were reproductive performance, feeding requirements, and docility. The criteria considered for conjoint analysis were feeding requirements, docility, meat or dairy type, reproductive performance, coat color, and tail length. The WTP was 149 € for low feed requirements, 139 € for docility, and 132 € for a long tail. The meat or dairy type of the sire showed a lesser importance in the decision-making

The Koundoum sheep breed in Niger: morpho-biometric study and description of the production system

The diffusion of highly productive breeds across developing countries goes along with a neglect of indigenous breeds, which are well suited to their environment but often show low yields. Thus, in Niger, the flock of Koundoum sheep are rapidly decreasing. The Koundoum is one of the few wool sheep breeds of Africa and shows important adaptive feature to its native environment, i.e. the humid pastures on the banks of the Niger River. To characterise the breed and to understand its production context, a survey has been conducted in 104 herds in four communes along the Niger River (Kollo, Tillabery, Say and Tera). Nine body measurements, including live weight, were taken on 180 adult sheep (101 females and 79 males). The herds varied from 2 to 60 heads, with a median size of eight animals and two thirds of the herds having less than 10 animals. Mainly fed on natural pastures, 85.6% of the herds received crop residues. Only natural mating was practiced. Veterinary care was restricted to anti-helminthic and some indigenous treatments. The frequent affiliation of breeders to professional unions appeared as favourable to the implementation of a collective conservation program. The Koundoum sheep were white or black coated, with the black colour being most frequent (75.6%). Wattles were present in both sexes at similar frequencies of around 14%. All biometric variables were significantly and positively correlated between them. The thoracic perimeter showed the best correlation with live weight in both males and females. Three variables were selected for live weight prediction: thoracic perimeter, height at withers and rump length. From the present study, it is expected that the in situ conservation of the Koundoum sheep will be highly problematic, due to lack of market opportunities for wool and the willingness of smallholders to get involved in pure Koundoum rearing

Effects of genetic and non-genetic factors on growth performance in Azawak cattle in Niger description of the subject

Description du sujet. Les effets des facteurs non génétiques sur les caractères de croissance du bovin Azawak au Niger et les paramètres génétiques sont estimés à partir des performances enregistrées sur des animaux élevés dans la station de Toukounous. Objectifs. Grâce aux résultats obtenus, un modèle de prédiction des valeurs d’élevage de candidats reproducteurs améliorateurs sera développé. Méthode. Les facteurs non génétiques ont été évalués grâce à des modèles linéaires fixes et les paramètres génétiques grâce à un modèle animal multi-caractère par la méthode REML. Résultats. Les effets du sexe, de la saison et de l’année de naissance et leurs interactions sont significatifs (p < 0,05) sur tous les poids étudiés, à la naissance et de 12 à 20 mois et sur les gains moyens quotidiens de la naissance à 12 (GMQ12) et 18 (GMQ18) mois. L’héritabilité est modérée pour le poids à la naissance (0,20) et à 12, 14 et 20 mois (0,15 à 0,43). Elle est élevée pour le poids à 13 mois (0,61), le GMQ12 (0,58) et le GMQ18 (0,44). Les corrélations génétiques entre les poids et les gains sont faibles à élevées et elles se réduisent progressivement avec l’espacement des pesées, mais elles sont positives à l’exception de celles entre le GMQ12 et le poids à 17 mois et le GMQ12 et GMQ18. Les corrélations environnementales suivent les mêmes tendances que les corrélations génétiques. Conclusions. L’héritabilité des poids et des gains est modérée à élevée, une amélioration génétique pourrait être obtenue par la sélection sur les performances de croissance.Description of the subject. The effects of both non-genetic factors and of genetic parameters on the growth traits of Azawak cattle in Niger were estimated from performance data collected on animals raised in the Toukounous animal breeding station. Objectives. Following on from the results obtained, a model to predict breeding values of breeding stocks is to be developed. Method. The influence of non-genetic factors and of genetic parameters was estimated using a fixed effects linear model and a multi character animal model (REML), respectively. Results. Sex, season and year of birth, and their interactions had a significant effect (p <0.05) on weight from birth to 20 months and average daily gains from birth to 12 months (ADG12) and to 18 months (ADG18). Heritability was moderate for birth weight (0.20) and for weight at 12, 14 and 20 months (0.15 to 0.43), whereas it was higher for weight at 13 months (0.61), gradually as the interval between weighing increased. All genetic correlations were positive except those between ADG12 and weight at 17 months and between ADG12 and ADG18. Environmental correlations followed the same trends as genetic correlations. Conclusions. Heritability of weight and gains was moderate to high, indicating that an improvement in meat production could be obtained from selection according to growth performance