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 government 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 livelihood 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 considered 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 management level 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.

Characterisation of adopters and non-adopters of dairy technologies in Ethiopia and Kenya.

While there is a general consensus that using dairy technologies, such as improved breeds of dairy cows, can substantially increase farm productivity and income, adoption of such technologies has been generally low in developing countries. The underlying reasons for non-adoption of beneficial technologies in the dairy sector are not fully understood. In this study, we characterised adopters and non-adopters of dairy technologies in Ethiopia and Kenya based on farmers' resources ownership in order to identify why many farmers in Ethiopia and Kenya have not adopted improved dairy technologies. As compared to non-adopters, farmers who adopt dairy technology own relatively more farm resources. The result signals that differences in resource endowments could lead to divergent technology adoption scenarios. Results show that a higher proportion of sample smallholders in Kenya have adopted dairy technologies than those in Ethiopia. Except for the use of veterinary services, fewer than 10% of sample farmers in Ethiopia have adopted dairy technologies-less than half the number of adopters in Kenya. The higher level of dairy technology adoption in Kenya can be ascribed partly to the long history of dairy development, including improvements in the value chain for the delivery of inputs, services and fluid milk marketing. Interventions that deal with the constraints related to access to farm resources and input and output markets could facilitate uptake of dairy technology in developing countries.

Understanding farmers' preferences for artificial insemination services provided through dairy hubs.

Africa has a shortage of animal products but increasing demand because of population growth, urbanisation and changing consumer patterns. Attempts to boost livestock production through the use of breeding technologies such as artificial insemination (AI) have been failing in many countries because costs have escalated and success rates have been relatively low. One example is Kenya, a country with a relatively large number of cows and a dairy industry model relevant to neighbouring countries. There, an innovative dairy marketing approach (farmer-owned collective marketing systems called dairy hubs) has been implemented to enhance access to dairy markets and dairy-related services, including breeding services such as AI. So far, the rate of participation in these dairy hubs has been slow and mixed. In order to understand this phenomenon better and to inform dairy-related development activities by the Kenyan government, we investigated which characteristics of AI services, offered through the dairy hubs, farmers prefer. To do so, we applied a choice experiment (CE), a non-market valuation technique, which allowed us to identify farmers' preferences for desired characteristics should more dairy hubs be installed in the future. This is the first study to use a CE to evaluate breeding services in Kenya and the results can complement findings of studies of breeding objectives and selection criteria. The results of the CE reveal that dairy farmers prefer to have AI services offered rather than having no service. Farmers prefer AI services to be available at dairy hubs rather than provided by private agents not affiliated to the hubs, to have follow-up services for pregnancy detections, and to use sexed semen rather than conventional semen. Farmers would further like some flexibility in payment systems which include input credit, and are willing to share the costs of any AI repeats that may need to occur. These results provide evidence of a positive attitude to AI services provided through the hubs, which could mean that AI uptake would improve if service characteristics are improved to match farmer preferences. The dairy hubs concept is currently in the implementation phase with most hubs at startup phase, hence understanding which AI service characteristics farmers prefer can inform the design of high-quality and cost-effective AI services in the future.

Use of SNP genotyping to determine pedigree and breed composition of dairy cattle in Kenya.

High levels of inbreeding in East African dairy cattle are a potential concern because of use of a limited range of imported germplasm coupled with strong selection, especially by disease, and sparse performance recording. To address this, genetic relationships and breed composition in an admixed population of Kenyan dairy cattle were estimated by means of a 50K SNP scan. Genomic DNA from 3 worldwide Holstein and 20 Kenyan bulls, 71 putative cow-calf pairs, 25 cows from a large ranch and 5 other Kenyan animals were genotyped for 37 238 informative SNPs. Sires were predicted and 89% of putative dam-calf relationships were supported by genotype data. Animals were clustered with the HapMap population using Structure software to assess breed composition. Cows from a large ranch primarily clustered with Holsteins, while animals from smaller farms were generally crosses between Holstein and Guernsey. Coefficients of relatedness were estimated and showed evidence of heavy use of one AI bull. We conclude that little native germplasm exists within the genotyped populations and mostly European ancestry remains.

Valuing goat genetic resources: a pro-poor growth strategy in the Kenyan semi-arid tropics.

Goats, "the poor man's cow", provide very important genetic resources that can be exploited for continued improvements of the livelihoods of poor livestock keepers in the semi-arid tropics. This study presents the evaluation of the economic values of goat genetic resources (GGRs) in terms of the important non-market traits embedded in goats and how this information can be utilised to improve livelihoods in semi-arid regions. The results obtained from mixed logit models derived from stated choice data collected from 314 respondents in the semi-arid Marsabit district of Kenya reveal that disease resistance is the most highly valued trait whose resultant augmentation results into a welfare improvement of up to KShs.2899. Drought tolerance and milk traits were found to be implicitly valued at KShs.2620 and 1179 respectively. The study further revealed that improvement in milk trait in does, body size and disease resistance traits in bucks, and drought tolerance trait in both does and bucks will collectively improve the producers' welfare hence should be given priority. However, improvement in the reproduction and production ("overall body condition/ meatiness" trait) potential of goats will be worthwhile only if issues concerning access to pasture and water resources are addressed prior and simultaneously.

Economic valuation of sheep genetic resources: implications for sustainable utilization in the Kenyan semi-arid tropics.

Sheep, recognised as one of the important livestock species especially in the semi-arid tropics with high genetic resource potentials, can be exploited through sustainable utilization in order to improve livestock keepers' livelihoods. This study presents the evaluation of the economic values of sheep genetic resources (SGR) in terms of the important non-market traits embedded in sheep and how this information can be utilised to improve livelihoods in semi-arid regions. The results obtained from mixed logit models results derived from stated choice data collected from 157 respondents in the semi-arid Marsabit district of Kenya reveal that disease resistance is the most highly valued trait whose resultant increment results into a welfare improvement of up to KShs.1537. Drought tolerance and fat deposition traits were found to be implicitly valued at KShs.694 and 738 respectively. The results further point out that for livestock stakeholders to effectively improve the livelihoods of poor livestock-keepers, development strategies for improving the management and/or utilisation of SGR in terms of drought tolerance, should not only be tailor made to target regions that are frequently devastated by drought but should also succeed other strategies or efforts that would first lead to the improvement of producers' economic status.