Showing papers in "Livestock research for rural development in 2007"

Coastal sand dune vegetation: a potential source of food, fodder and pharmaceuticals.

Abstract: Coastal sand dune (CSD) flora has a wide range of applications in nutrition, medicine, industry and agriculture. The native people are intimately associated with dune vegetation for a variety of traditional benefits particularly food, fodder, health, soil fertility and recreation. Temperate CSDs comprise of mainly the members of Poaceae, while tropics with Asteraceae, Cyperaceae and Fabaceae and Poaceae. Many CSD legumes meet the protein and energy requirement of rural population and livestock. Canavalia maritima is a major strand legume with pantropical distribution. Tender pods and seeds are edible after boiling or roasting in Northern Australia, while seeds are important source of dietary protein in West Africa and Nigeria. Canavalia cathartica is another wild legume with wide distribution throughout CSDs of tropical Asia and Africa. Seeds of CSD Canavalia serve as potential source of proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids and energy. The CSD legumes of west coast of India are useful as green manure, mulch, cover crop, pasture, fodder, oil and medicinal value. The strand plants possess several bioactive compounds of human, veterinary and industrial importance.

The effects of non-genetic factors and estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters and trends for milk yield in Ayrshire cattle in Kenya

Abstract: Dairy cattle production in Kenya has been growing into an important agricultural sector, but it still faces numerous difficulties in environmental constraints. The purpose of this study was to identify significant non-genetic effects on milk production to give advices for farm management and estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for milk traits. Data consisting of 4475 lactation records from 10 large-scale Ayrshire herds collected from 1980 to 2005 were used to evaluate effects of non-genetic factors and determine genetic and phenotypic parameters and trends of 305 d milk yield (305d MY). The data analyses using least square techniques of Proc GLM of SAS identified significant sources of variation by herd, parity and year of calving on 305d MY. The overall mean for 305d MY was 3009.8 ±1098 kg, with the corresponding heritability and repeatability estimates of 0.12 ±0.05 and 0.35 ± 0.01 respectively. Genetic trend for 305d MY was -2.1 kg/yr and statistically significant (P<0.01) indicating annual decrease in breeding values over the study period. The high variation as indicated by both large standard errors and low heritabilities of the milk trait indicate that much improvement in this trait could be achieved through improved management. The negative annual genetic changes in milk yield observed could largely be due to ineffective breeding strategies both at herd and national level.

Effect of a combination of organic acid salts as antibiotic replacer on the performance and gut health of broiler chickens

Abstract: An experiment was conducted to determine the influence of a combination of organic acid salts as substitute for antibiotics on the performance and gut health of broiler chickens. One hundred and twenty day-old commercial Vencobb-100 broiler chicks were purchased and randomly distributed into three groups, with four replicates of 10 birds in each group. Control (C) birds were given a standard basal diet with virginiamycin @ 0.5 g/kg as antibiotic; Treatment 1 (T1) was a diet with 1.5g/kg each of ammonium formate and calcium propionate and Treatment 2 (T2) a diet with 1g/kg each of calcium propionate, ammonium formate and calcium lactate. No significant difference between antibiotic and the acidifier supplemented groups was found in live weight or live weight gain (LWG). However, cumulative feed intake was higher (P 0.05) in pH of different segments of the G.I. tract was observed between the treatments.

Socio-economic factors influencing small ruminant breeding in Kenya

Abstract: In order to design an effective small ruminant (i.e., goats and sheep) breeding program in Kenya and other areas with similar production circumstances, it is important to understand the socio-economic factors applying to the relevant production system. Information on these was obtained from a questionnaire carried out on both smallholders and pastoral/ extensive farmers in seven selected districts. From the 458 responding households, 18% kept only goats, 34% kept only sheep, and 48% kept both species. Goats were generally ranked lower in popularity. The most represented breeds in the households were the indigenous East African goat and the Red Maasai sheep, and crossbred genotypes of goats and sheep. However, according to the farmers, the pure breeds were more popular than the crossbreeds. The households owned the majority of the used land for small ruminant production. In many cases, male household members were in control of the land. Animals were in most cases owned by the household head only or by both the household head and the spouse. The most important water source for animals was the river with the frequency of watering in the dry season in some cases being as low as once a day. Both males and females made most decisions in smallholder households. Women in the pastoral/ extensive systems participated less significantly in decision making than those in smallholder households, although they were responsible to many animal production related activities.

Physical and chemical quality characteristics of warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) meat

Abstract: The warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), a game species from Africa, has been evaluated in this study as a potential meat source according to carcass and meat quality characteristics. Dressing percentage, calculated on the basis of cold carcass weight without skin and head, presents a value of 52 %. The contribution of the shoulder (37 %), loin (7 %), back (9 %), belly (14 %) and hind legs (32 %) to the cold carcass weight also differ substantially from that found for the domestic pig. However, pH (6.32), pH , (5.49), drip loss (2.76 %), cooking loss (16.79 %), shear force (3.36 kg), colour characteristics CIEL (46.37), CIEa* (5.06) and CIEb* (9.21), moisture (74.04 %), lipid (1.69 %), protein (22.14 %) and ash (1.29 %) compared well to literature values for meat from other pig species. The fatty acid profile of the meat differs substantially from other pig species, with unsaturated, mono-unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents of 35.75, 16.70 and 47.56 %, respectively, resulting in a polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio of 1.33. It has been concluded from this study that warthogs provide a meat source suitable for human consumption that can also be promoted on its health properties.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza risk, biosecurity and smallholder adversity

Abstract: There is considerable global concern over the newly emergent H5N1 strain of avian influenza that has affected millions of domestic poultry flocks and resulted in more than 150 deaths in humans. There has been little analysis of the general assumption that smallholder backyard poultry flocks are inherently at higher risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) than confined and commercial scale operations. We utilized data from Thailand, collected in 2004, to test the relative risks of HPAI infection in poultry flocks, by species, type of operation, and geographic location. The results indicate that backyard flocks are at lower risk of HPAI infection compared to commercial scale operations of broiler or layer chickens or quail. These findings are plausible in terms of the opportunities for breach of biosecurity in commercial scale, industrial operations. Both experimental and observational studies in developed country settings have demonstrated the capacity of microbes to enter and leave these larger operations despite the implementation of standard biosecurity measures. Patterns of infection during 2002 Newcastle disease epidemic in Denmark proved further evidence to question that smallholder backyard flocks are at higher risk of epidemic diseases than commercial operations. These results should be considered by policy makers and public health officials when developing plans to control or prevent HPAI in order to limit avoidable adverse effects on the livelihood of smallholder poultry producers in developing countries.

Manufacturing efficiencies and microbioal properties of butter and Ayib - Ethiopian cottage cheese

Abstract: Four butter-making methods (3 traditional: clay pot - CP, 'mesbekia' - M - a wooden agitator with three to five finger like projections at one end, and a combination of the two - CP+M; and one improved internal wooden agitator fitted to the traditional clay pot - IWA) were evaluated for their efficiencies in terms of fat recovery and churning time at 12 smallholder milk producers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. About 21 litres of milk was needed to produce one kg of butter (83% total solids - TS). An average churning time of 222 min was recorded for the three traditional methods with a mean fat recovery of about 90%. Churning time was significantly reduced by 65% for the IWA as compared to the average of the 3 traditional methods. The effect of holding Ayib (Ethiopian cottage cheese) in whey for different time length (1 h, 2 h and overnight) on Ayib yield was compared. The mean Ayib-making time and temperature was respectively 48 min and 57°C. Weight of Ayib recovered significantly increased with increasing length of time Ayib stayed in whey before separation, amounting to 1266, 1475 and 1776 g per 9.2 litres of buttermilk for 1 h, 2 h and overnight, respectively. About 6 litres of buttermilk was needed to produce one kg of Ayib (20.4% TS). Besides, aerobic mesophylic bacterial count (AMC), counts of enterobacteria, and coliform bacterial count (CC) were performed. Average AMC, counts of enterobacteria and CC of butter samples were 8, 5.3 and 3.8 log cfu/g, respectively, while the counts for Ayib samples were 7.9, 5.1 and 4.4 log cfu/g, respectively. Enterobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella and Klyuvera were the genera identified, while Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella gr. 47 are the species commonly isolated from both products. The knowledge on traditional butter- and Ayib-making efficiencies and their microbial properties is essential to increase yield and improve quality and preservation of the products. (Resume d'auteur)

Influence of fibrolytic enzymes on in vitro methane production and rumen fermentation of a substrate containing 60% of grass hay.

Abstract: Article available on line / Article disponible en ligne à l’adresse : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://om.ciheam.org/article.php?IDPDF=800388 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Categorisation of dairy production systems: A strategy for targeting meaningful development of the systems in Uganda

Abstract: Dairy production is a major contributor towards national economies and household food security and incomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Milk production in the region is estimated at 1.27 million metric tonnes year-1. However, this level of milk production is inadequate for the existing human population who would require 103 million metric tonnes year-1. In Uganda, milk production only meets approximately 20% of the population's nutritional requirements. As such, methods need to be sought to increase milk production in the region. Research efforts have made strides in identifying the causes of the production-demand gap in the SSA region and a spectrum of interventions to bolster the productivity. Unfortunately, these efforts have by far yielded insignificant results. First and foremost, for exploiting the full potential of the dairy cattle population in the region, among the critical elements often overlooked in research and development processes is the recognition of systematic parametric variations within the sector, which if considered could provide entry-points for targeting intervention efforts. One such high potential entry-point is the recognition of the existence of a dairy intensification "vector" across a country or region, along which exist sections with sequentially marked nuclei of fairly uniform socio-economic and biophysical dairy sub-systems features. To enhance the process of targeting research and development in the Ugandan dairy sector, dairy production systems in the country were categorised on basis of level of intensification of production. Data were collected from 300 households in Mbarara, Masaka and Jinja districts in Uganda. The major variables derived from the data for the categorisation process were those related with milk production, expenditure, income, land area and cattle herds. The data was subjected to a cluster analysis which although produced 16 groups only five had prominent membership (above 5% of the farms). The five major clusters were selected as representative of the dairy production systems. A ranking system was used to develop an intensification continuum for the 5 systems. Herding-on own and communal land (cluster 9) was the least intensive, this was followed by Herding-mainly on own land (cluster 12) and Fenced (cluster 8) respectively. Semi-Zero Grazing (cluster 15) and Zero Grazing (cluster 13) were the most intensive dairy production systems with the latter being at the highest end of the continuum.

An assessment of the efficiency of the dairy bull dam selection methodology in Kenya

Abstract: Data consisting of 5670 lactation records made by 2958 cows between 1990 and 2004 from 18 Ayrshire herds were used to evaluate the efficiency of the current bull dam selection method in Kenya. A univariate DF-REML procedure and the animal model with relationship was used to estimate Breeding Values (BVs) for unadjusted total lactation milk yield, as used by the current methodology. The mean milk yield was 4085 Kg with SD of 1396 Kg, and the breeding values (BVs) for milk yield for all the animals ranged from - 979 kg to + 1115 Kg. with a heritability of 0.18 ± 0.045. The BVs were then arranged in descending order and then ranked. Based on the unadjusted lactation records, the BVs for the top 100 cows ranged from +550 Kg to +1115 Kg. Only 25 of the 113 bull dams that were included in the study were ranked in the top 100 cows. The results indicate that there are a large number of cows in the national herd with high genetic merit that had been left out of the breeding programme using the current bull dam selection methodology and that cows with lower genetic merit have been used due to the inefficiency of the current bull dam selection method. Thus, the current method of bull dam selection is inefficient and needs to be improved by genetic evaluation of all the cows before bull dam selection.