Light case study : Improving dairy production in Senegal

Ref. Ares(2016)6357987 - 10/11/201

Aflatoxins in dairy cattle feed in Senegal

Aflatoxins are toxic byproducts from moulds, especially Aspergillus flavus. These moulds grow on crops, and in particular maize and ground nuts are often contaminated. In humans, aflatoxins cause rare, high case fatality outbreaks (acute aflatoxicosis) while long term consumption leads to hepatocellular cancer (globally, around 20,000 deaths annually). Aflatoxins are also associated with childhood stunting, although a causal relation is not yet proven. Humans are exposed through the consumption of contaminated foods, including cereals, legumes and human and animal milk (as aflatoxins are excreted in milk). Similarly in livestock, aflatoxins cause hepatic disease, immunosuppression and reduced productivity. In tropical and sub-tropical developing countries, aflatoxins are common and 4.5 billion people are chronically exposed. In addition to the burden of this exposure, the reduction in livestock productivity impacts food security and trade and hence increases aflatoxins' total burden. Knowledge about aflatoxins in Senegal is scarce, especially in relation to the dairy cattle value chain. In this pilot project we measured aflatoxin B1 levels in dairy cattle feeds. Feed samples were obtained from low-input cattle farms in two regions in Senegal (the Thies and Diourbel regions) in August 2015, with between 16 and 36 samples per feed type. Aflatoxin levels were determined by a commercial competitive ELISA. Feeds with the highest levels of aflatoxin were purchased concentrate (with an average of 50 ppb, and a range of 0 to 305 ppb), ground-nut cake (45ppb, 0 to 187ppb) and millet bran (37ppb, 0 to186 ppb). A number of other feeds tested contained aflatoxins at lower levels, namely cornmeal (18ppb, 0 to 104 ppb), wheat bran (9ppb, 0 to 41 ppb) and rice bran (7ppb, 0 to 58ppb). The percentage of feed samples that were above the World Health Organisation's recommended limit for aflatoxin in animal feed (of 5ppb) was high, for example 96% for ground-nut cake, 80% for millet bran, and 69% for concentrate. Although, the aflatoxin levels reported may not significantly affect herd productivity, their impacts on susceptible livestock and carry-over to animal source food may be problematic. Overall, these results suggest the need for further investigation on aflatoxin in Senegal dairy

Gendered Intra-household Contributions to Low-input Dairy in Senegal

A survey was conducted in two sites of Senegal to determine the intra-household gender roles in the Senegal dairy cattle systems. Two surveys, baseline and longitudinal were conducted and the main survey respondents were the households heads. Households were grouped into two levels (higher or lower) of market orientation using the longitudinal household milk production data. Baseline survey results revealed that adult males (\u3e 15 years of age) were responsible for the costs and decision making of most of the dairy related activities though less so when production was quite low. Adult males, hired males (\u3e 15 years of age), and any other household members, except the female gender were the main labor source for the dairy activities. When comparing who received income from milk sales, income from lower market orientated households went to females for a larger proportion of households, than in higher market orientated households

Net benefits of smallholder dairy cattle farms in Senegal can be significantly increased through the use of better dairy cattle breeds and improved management practices

Senegal, located in West Africa, is an example of a low-to middle-income country where the govern-ment has prioritized improving livestock production self-sufficiency, with a strong focus on dairy. Among other initiatives, the use of exotic dairy cattle has been promoted, despite no evidence for the potential liveli-hood benefits (or otherwise) to smallholder farmers on adopting the new genetics. The current work fills this evidence gap by performing a farm-level economic study comparing the keeping of different breed and cross-breed types of dairy cattle under different management levels. Data for the study were obtained by monitoring 220 smallholder dairy cattle farms, with a combined cattle population of about 3,000 animals, over an almost 2-yr period. Findings of the study suggest that the most net-beneficial and cost-beneficial dairy cattle enterprise that could be used by the smallholder farmers was to keep crossbred indigenous zebu by exotic Bos taurus animals under management standards that are consid-ered good compared with local standards. This dairy enterprise type was 7.4-fold more net beneficial and had a 1.4-fold more favorable cost-benefit ratio than the traditional system of keeping indigenous zebu animals under poor (low-input) management. Interestingly, the keeping of (near) pure B. taurus dairy cattle resulted in the highest milk yields and thus benefit from milk, but was not the most net beneficial due to the high costs of keeping these animals, particularly in terms of feed. We also found that increasing the managementlevel of any of the breed or cross-breed types under consideration, including the indigenous zebu animals, resulted in an increased net benefit of 2.2-to 2.9-fold. Results of this economic analysis are discussed as part of a broader trade-off analysis, resulting in recommendations to strengthen the Senegal dairy sector. The combined intervention of improved dairy cattle genetics and management is considered a promising intervention to improve livelihoods of the rural poor as well as livestock production self-sufficiency for Senegal; some other system constraints are addressed.Peer reviewe