University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Abstract
The importance of milk and beef production in Latin America is high and increasing. In Nicaragua
and neighbouring countries, smallholder dual-purpose (i.e., milk and beef) cattle production
offers opportunities for poor cattle owners to improve their food and nutrition security, and increase
their income. The milk and beef value chain employs thousands of people in production, processing
and marketing. In order to improve production, many farmers currently practice crossbreeding, involving
a large range of breed combinations, but without clear breeding strategies. To assess current
farmers´ practices and develop appropriate breeding and related management recommendations, a
research project that brings together the national agricultural university of Nicaragua (UNA), the
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
(CIAT and BOKU-University is being implemented in two study sites in Central Nicaragua,
Camoapa and Matigu´as Municipalities. A gender-responsive baseline survey with questionnaires
was performed with 289 households in Camoapa and 252 in Matigu´as, using a random sampling
procedure based on official census data. A “paperless” data collection format was adopted using
the “Open Data Kit” (ODK) information technology platform.
Most households (>83 %) were male-headed in both municipalities. Mean age of the household
head was higher in Camoapa (51.4±14 years) than in Matiguas (48.9±14 years).
Most of the cattle reared in the two municipalities were cross-breds (>98 %). The crosses comprised
combinations between several breed-types. The most abundant breed-type in Matigu´as was
the Brahman, while in Camoapa there were more Brown Swiss and Holstein cross animals. At both
locations also other breeds such as Creole, Girolando, Jersey, Nellore, Reyna and Simmental were
found, whereas a large proportion of animals were crosses of unknown breed-types. Farmers stated
different reasons for using various breeds in their herds such as availability of semen or bulls or
different purposes for production. This is also reflected in the selection criteria of farmers. In comparison
to Matigu´as, cattle production in Camoapa is more intensive (higher number of animals per
hectare, stronger tendency towards dairy production), this probably being an effect of a stronger
presence of development organisations