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Introduction
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Publications
Publications (190)
Transforming Africa’s agricultural production and food systems is an imperative to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and deliver on the Africa Union’s 2063 vision, ‘the Africa we want’. Transforming livestock systems through genetic improvement will sustainably increase productivity and proffer an inclusive socioeconomic deve...
The profitability of indigenous chickens (IC) reared in different production systems in South Sudan was evaluated using a bio-economic model. Three production systems considered were free-range system (FRS), where chickens foraged for feed through scavenging without any form of supplementation; intensive system (IS), in which chickens were housed a...
The current study aimed at generating essential information on breeding practices and traits of the economic importance of indigenous chicken (IC) farmers in the three historical regions of South Sudan (Bhar el Gazel, Upper Nile and Equatoria). Data on perceived important traits according to farmers (n=385), marketers (n=100) and consumers (n=100)...
Current projections indicate that 25% of human population of 9.5b in 2050 will be in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with about 21% of the world grazing land for ruminant production currently accounts for only 8% of world ruminant output. If this poor trend in agricultural productivity continues, the surge in demand, climate change and dwindling n...
Poultry production and in particular indigenous chicken (IC) production has been recognised as an avenue to improve livelihoods of the rural households. Previous attempts to improve their productivity have had little success due to, among others, lack of a holistic approach in solving the constraints and dissemination of inappropriate technologies...
We tested hypothesis that inclusion of the disease resistance indicator traits in a dairy goats’ breeding goal would result to increased profitability of smallholder farmers. Deterministic simulation was used to compare responses for breeding schemes without (Scheme I) and with (Schemes II, III and IV) disease resistance in the breeding goal. Faeca...
Keywords Curve Maturity Parameter Inflection point
Previous genetic and economic evaluation of beef cattle breeding programmes have used genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates obtained in different studies. Such parameters are heterogeneous because they are obtained from different locations, using different sample sizes and estimation methods. The consequence of using such parameters is underes...
The majority of the Kenyan population resides in the rural areas and is characterised by low income and food insecurity leading to high levels of poverty. Poultry production and in particular indigenous chicken (IC) production play a significant role in the economic and social life of these resource-poor households, contributing to cheap source of...
Context
In the present study we assessed the use of average relationship as a means to control future rates of inbreeding in small cattle closed nucleus and its effect on genetic gain for milk yield as a means of managing genetic variability in livestock improvement programs.
Aim
The aim was to strike an ideal balance between genetic gain and loss...
Selection response from a two-tier nucleus breeding scheme using the current Kenyan breeding goal was compared with an alternative that also accounts for protein yield (PY) and mastitis resistance (MR). The economic value for PY was estimated using a bio-economic model. For mastitis resistance, like other disease resistance traits, the economic val...
ABSTRACT
Genetic and phenotypic parameters for longevity, genetic relationship between longevity and growth, milk yield and fertility traits and rate of inbreeding were estimated for Sahiwal cattle in Kenya. The aim was to assess the genetic diversity and inbreeding depression for performance traits. Data utilized were for cows born between 1972 an...
It was reasoned that technologies that increase the reproductive rate of males and females in dairy cattle would realize higher responses to selection. The authors tested this hypothesis using deterministic simulation of breeding schemes that resembled those of dairy cattle in Kenya. The response to selection was estimated for four breeding schemes...
This paper presents a review of dairy goat production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2010- 2017, its current state, constraints and prospects for research and development. Since the introduction of dairy goats in SSA in pre-colonial times, their populations have continued to increase due to declining land size as a result of land fragmentation an...
Dairy cattle farming in developing countries is mainly by resource poor smallholder farmers. Intensification of production within smallholder production systems is being driven by increasing demand for animal products. Current intensification is driven by importation of high-input high-output genotypes. This puts in question the sustainability of t...
p> The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the cluster ecotype and the part of chicken on nutritional composition, and functionality of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins that are most relevant to the technological features of chicken meat. Over 50 chickens from each ecotype cluster purchased, slaughtered and the meat stored under r...
Pedigree data of 18315 animals born from 1961 to 2008 from the National Sahiwal Stud, Kenya was used to assess and predict genetic diversity for the Kenyan Sahiwal population. Current (Nec) and predicted effective population sizes (Nef) were calculated from rates of inbreeding (∆F) and coancestry (∆f) per generation, respectively. Population struct...
Performance data of Sahiwal cows born between 1972 and 2004 with milk records between 1976 and 2008 were analysed to estimate genetic parameters for longevity in Sahiwal cattle in Kenya. Measures of longevity related to productive life were: time between birth and last milking record in months (Long_1), time between first calving and last milking r...
Indigenous chicken (IC) in Kenya performs a major food security and socio-economic function for most households, especially of the rural poor. The trend has been to move from rearing IC on free-range systems to more intensive and semi intensive systems. This study was conducted by use of Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and the Just About Ri...
Performance data of Sahiwal cows born between 1972 and 2004 and with milk production records between 1976 and 2008 from the National Sahiwal Stud, Kenya, were anlysed to estimate genetic parameters for longevity in Sahiwal cattle in Kenya. Longevity was defined alternatively as related to productive life or survival. Measures of longevity related t...
Pedigree and performance data for the Sahiwal cattle from the National Sahiwal Stud (NSS) in Kenya were used to evaluate the effect of inbreeding on first lactation milk yield (LMY), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), and lactation length (LL). Effects of inbreeding on the traits were determined by fitting four regression models (li...
Data on breeding practices and traits of economic importance for the indigenous chicken (IC) were collected through personal interviews using structured questionnaires and direct observations of chicken management practices. The study was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016 in Rwamagana, Rulindo, Ruhango, Kicukiro and Muhanga districts of...
This study aims to determine the genetic and phenotypic parameters of net feed efficiency (NFE) traits namely Residual feed intake (RFI), residual gain (RG), and residual intake and gain (RIG) along the growth curve of indigenous chicken in Kenya. Feed intake and body weight data was collected on 107 experimental birds on a daily and weekly basis,...
The primary emphasis of the long-term Sahiwal cattle breeding programme is to increase milk yield by selecting cows based on their performance in first three lactations. It is therefore important to have knowledge on the extend of additive genetic variance and genetic parameters for these traits. Genetic and phenotypic parameter estimates normally...
Characterization of indigenous chicken (IC) production systems in Rwanda was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016 with the aim of understanding socio-economic characteristics, management of IC, production parameters, feed resources, and constraints faced by farmers rearing IC. A survey involving 206 households was carried out in 5 districts...
In this study, indigenous chickens were collected from eight different regions in Kenya and kept at InCIP-Egerton University. These were studied using eighteen microsatellite markers to determine genetic variation. Statistics related to genetic variation were estimated using GenALEx6. Mean percentage polymorphic loci (PPL) was 96.71% and 4% genetic...
In developing countries minimal and erratic performance and pedigree recording impede implementation of large-sized breeding programs. Small-sized nucleus programs offer an alternative but rely on their economic performance for their viability. We investigated the economic performance of 2 alternative small-sized dairy nucleus programs [i.e., proge...
p>Dairy cattle industries contribute to food and nutrition security and are a source of income for numerous households in many developing countries. Selective breeding can enhance efficiency in these industries. Developing dairy industries are characterized by diverse production and marketing systems. In this paper, we use weighted goal aggregating...
This study aims to investigate the influence of non-genetic factors on feed efficiency in indigenous chicken. Residual feed intake (RFI), residual gain (RG) and residual intake and gain (RIG) were used as measures of feed efficiency. Feed intake and body weight data were collected on 107 experimental birds on a daily and weekly basis, respectively,...
Pedigree analysis using genealogical information of 18 315 animals born between 1949 and 2008 was done to quantify genetic variability of the Sahiwal population in Kenya. Generation intervals for sire pathways were longer than dam pathways and increased over year periods, from about 4–16 years. The later was due to use of old bulls for breeding in...
A deterministic simulation model was used to test the hypothesis that utilization of untested juvenile bucks could be an alternative to old buck strategy in dissemination of superior genetic materials in dairy goats breeding program. We compared the genetic and economic gains realised when the untested juvenile and old bucks were used to disseminat...
longevity in sahiwal cattle in kenya
Sahiwal cattle breed is an important genetic resource that supports livelihoods of pastoralists in Kenya. However, information about its population structure, demographic trends, and genetic diversity is scarce. The objective of this study was to characterize the population structure, explore demographic trends, and evaluate genetic diversity param...
In this study, one hundred and fifty indigenous chickens from eight regions in
Kenya were collected and kept at InCIP-Egerton University, and sampled for
study to determine the presence of viral disease resistance genes, Mx1, TVB*R,
TVBS*1 and TVBS*3. Twenty samples were randomly selected and experiments
done in duplicates for results validation an...
In Kenya, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is mostly grown in ponds. To avoid excessive reproduction and stunted growth, fingerlings are treated with methyl-testosterone to make all-male populations (monosex). For a national breeding programme that aims to provide genetically improved broodstock to hatcheries that supply monosex fry to smallhol...
In general, livestock and fish farming systems in developing countries tend to be highly diverse in terms of agro-ecological conditions and market orientation. There are no studies that have investigated if and how this diversity translates to varying preferences for breeding objective traits. This is particularly important for breeding programmes...
This study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic supplementation on serum natural IgM levels binding keyhole limpet hemocyanin in indigenous chicken (IC). One hundred and fifty two months old chicken raised under low input-output system were sourced from small scale indigenous chicken farmers from Nyakach and Emineng sub counties of...
Economic and Biological Values for Pasture-Based
Dairy Cattle Production Systems
Indigenous chickens (IC) depend on nutrients scavenged for growth and egg production but scavenging alone does not provide sufficient nutrients for both maintenance and high production. Feeding interventions to improve productivity have been applied uniformly without considering the different growth phases though IC exhibit points of low and high r...
This review gives insights into genetic and feeding regime development for indigenous chicken genetic resources. We highlight and combine confirming evidence of genetic diversity and variability using morphological and molecular techniques. We further discuss previous past and current genetic attempts to improve on reproduction and production trait...
Body weight at 12 weeks of age records of 443 indigenous chicken, progeny of 44 sires were used to estimate preliminary results of selection for growth in indigenous chicken in Kenya after two generations of selection. Estimated breeding values were estimated using a sire model. Mean body weight at 12 weeks (BW12) among males and females was 666.7...
There exist biodiversity that encompasses the genetic variants within and among the local genotypes of chickens distributed around the world and Kenya is no exception. This variation has been explored, extensively studied using quantitative and molecular techniques. This review paper highlights studies done on deciphering these diversity, past and...
This study evaluates the effect of certified organic production on poverty in smallholder production systems. Data was collected from cross sectional survey of local market-oriented peri-urban vegetable and rural honey producers in Kenya. Poverty was measured using the multidimensional poverty methodology and endogenous switching probit model used...
The objective of the study was to determine the codon usage bias in the porcine genome and decipher its determinants. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of codon bias, the coding sequence (CDS) from the swine reference sequence (ssc10.2) was extracted using Biomart. An in house built Perl script was used to derive various genomic traits and c...
Data on breeding management, breed and trait preference for pigs were collected from smallholder farmers in Kiambu and Kakamega Counties of Kenya. The production systems evaluated were semi-intensive and extensive and depicted varying pig production intensities, production objectives, pig performances as well as farmers’ breed and trait preferences...
This study estimated economic values for production traits (dressing percentage (DP), %; live weight for growers (LWg), kg; live weight for sows (LWs), kg) and functional traits (feed intake for growers (FEEDg), feed intake for sow (FEEDs), preweaning survival rate (PrSR), %; postweaning survival (PoSR), %; sow survival rate (SoSR), %, total number...
Economic and biological values for milk yield (MY), milk butter fat (FY), daily gain (DG), weaning weight (WWT), mature live weight (MLW), calving interval (CI), pre-weaning survival rate (PreSR), post-weaning survival rate (PostSR), age at first calving (AFC), and productive life time (PLT) were estimated under fixed herd (FH) and pasture (FP) pro...
This study evaluated pig production practices by smallholder farmers in two distinct production systems geared towards addressing their constraints and prospects for improvement. The production systems evaluated were semi-intensive and extensive and differed in remoteness, market access, resource availability and pig production intensity. Data were...
Genetic improvement of farm animals encompasses both mating and selection for desired traits and indigenous chicken genetic resources are no exception. In Kenya, previous attempts to genetically improve indigenous chicken involved cross-breeding scheme by utilizing cockerels and pullets of exotic breeds with the local indigenous chicken. This schem...
The study investigated the genetic make-up of different ecotypes of indigenous chickens (ICs) in Kenya based on major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-linked and non-MHC microsatellite markers. Blood samples were collected from eight regions (48 birds per region) of Kenya: Kakamega (KK), Siaya (BN), West Pokot (WP), Turkana (TK), Bomet (BM), Narok...
A deterministic bio-economic model was developed and applied to evaluate biological and economic variables that characterize smallholder pig production systems in Kenya. Two pig production systems were considered namely, semi-intensive (SI) and extensive (EX). The input variables were categorized into biological variables including production and f...
Selection and production environments may differ in level of management. In production environment the majority of animals may have, especially in tropical environments, lower milk production due to inadequate feed intake and other constraints associated with flat or decreasing lactation curves. Holstein-Friesian herds in Kenya were separated in se...
Dairy cattle breeding programs in developing countries are constrained by minimal and erratic pedigree and performance recording on cows on commercial farms. Small-sized nucleus breeding programs offer a viable alternative. Deterministic simulations using selection index theory were performed to determine the optimum design for small-sized nucleus...
World Congress for Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Poster 2014 on Risk rated economic values in smallholder production systems in Kenya
In Kenya, selection of dams for the national contract mating scheme is based on 305-day lactation milk yield (TMY) performance across parities. At farm level, only cows that had good TMY performance in previous parity are retained for the subsequent lactation. This strategy has resulted in improved milk production performance, although increased in...
This study derived economic values for production traits (dressing percentage, DP, %; live weight for growers, LWg, kg; live weight for sows, LWs, kg) and functional traits (feed intake for growers, FEEDg, feed intake for sow, FEEDs, preweaning survival rate, PrSR, %; postweaning survival, PoSR, %; sow survival rate, SoSR, %, total number of piglet...
Abstract Text:
The study reports the effect of incorporating risk in the derivation of economic values for traits of the breeding goal of Small East African goats under the pastoral production system. A model previously used to derive conventional economic values was revised to incorporate variances of profit and risk attitudes of livestock keepe...
Dairy cattle selection strategy in Kenya prefers cows with good 305-day lactation milk yield (TMY) in previous parity. This has improved milk production although increased incidences of physiological disorders and reduced fertility have been reported in herds. Records on functional traits are scarce. Properties of lactation curves could indirectly...
Postnatal mortality (PM) of calves is an economically important trait, because a high mortality rate of calves decreases farm income and significantly increases production costs. In spite of the economic importance of PM, genetic studies on PM have been scarce for Japanese Black cattle. The objectives of this study were to estimate the direct and m...
Open nucleus dairy cattle breeding schemes (ONBS) in developing countries are advantageous due to lower operational costs. However, genotype by environment interaction (GE) between the selection (SE) and production environment (PE) should be considered. Records of 5,468 cows, daughters of 251 sires with at least a first lactation record between 199...
This paper uses data from a survey of 186 dairy households in two divisional administrative zones in the Kenya highlands to establish the dominant milk marketing channel based on net returns. Cumulative density function results show that, the private channel dominates over all the other channels except at the 0.8 probability level of choice where t...
Economic values for production traits (milk yield, MY, g; 12-month live weight, yLW, kg; consumable meat percentage, CM, %) and functional traits (mature doe live weight, DoLW, kg; mature buck live weight, LWb, kg; kidding frequency, KF; pre-weaning survival rate, PrSR, %; post-weaning survival rate, PoSR,%; doe survival rate, DoSR, %; and residual...
The aim of the current simulation study was to maximise the amount (kg) of high value meat arising from surplus males and females per kilogram of the goat population and, maximise weight gains to turnoff age. Subsequently, the study aimed to decrease turnoff age, maximisation of reproduction rates and minimisation of the mature weight of does in th...
This empirical investigation of a range of actors, organisations and drivers influencing dairy goat management in Kenya applied the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) as the analytical tool. Information was elicited using baseline survey involving questionnaires and participatory appraisal exercises. Venn diagrams and focus grou...
Predictive functions for milk yield, dry matter intake, and phosphorous-manure derived from the National Research Council 2001 and the present study were incorporated in the development of a multiple objective dairy feed formulation software program (MoF-Dairy Edition-2010); that attempted to optimise feed cost, milk yield and profits while minimis...
The Tuning Africa programme aims to promote cooperation between African universities, and to open up new opportunities for collaboration with European universities. This project serves as a platform for developing reference points at subject area level. The tuning methodology helps to develop high quality curricula and learning standards for studen...
Pedigree data from 11 267 animals born between 1960 and 2004 were used to analyse population structure and genetic variability of the Holstein–Friesian population in Kenya. Parameters estimated were the pedigree completeness index, average inbreeding coefficient, number of founders, effective number of founders and ancestors, and genetically import...
1. The aim of the study was to evaluate the genetic and economic breeding objectives for an indigenous chicken (IC) breeding programme in Kenya. 2. A closed three-tier nucleus breeding programme with three breeding objectives and two selection schemes was simulated. The breeding objectives included IC dual-purpose (ICD) for both eggs and meat, IC l...
Aquaculture, a sub-component within the fisheries sector is a vital economic activity and livelihood component of rural communities living beside rivers and river floodplains in East Africa. It provides a good alternative source of income and proteins for rural communities. This study aimed to characterize fish production and marketing practices in...
Low input production systems operate on long term values of supporting stable livestock production through efficient and sustainable combination of various production resources to achieve the desired production objectives. Strategies of goat breeding in low-input systems that emphasize on more robustness are a challenge now more than ever, owing to...
A bio-economic model was developed to evaluate the utilisation of indigenous chickens (IC) under different production systems accounting for the risk attitude of the farmers. The model classified the production systems into three categories based on the level of management: free-range system (FRS), where chickens were left to scavenge for feed reso...
Poultry production and in particular indigenous chicken (IC) production has been
recognised as an avenue to improve livelihoods of the rural households. Previous
attempts to improve their productivity have had little success due to, among others,
lack of a holistic approach in solving the constraints and dissemination of
inappropriate technologies...
The majority of the Kenyan population resides in the rural areas and is characterised by low income and food insecurity leading to high levels of poverty. Poultry production and in particular indigenous chicken (IC) production play a significant role in the economic and social life of these resource-poor households, contributing to cheap source of...
The economic values for productive (egg number, average daily gain, live weight, and mature weight) and functional (fertility, hatchability, broodiness, survival rate, feed intake, and egg weight) traits were derived for three production systems utilizing indigenous chicken in Kenya. The production systems considered were free-range, semi-intensive...
The majority of the Kenyan population resides in the rural areas and is
characterised by low income and food insecurity leading to high levels of
poverty. Poultry production and in particular indigenous chicken (IC) production
play a significant role in the economic and social life of these resource-poor
households, contributing to cheap source of...
The objective of this paper was to estimate the farmers' preferences based on the non-market traits in selection, breeding and conservation of indigenous chicken. The study was carried out in four selected counties of Kenya. Data were collected using structured questionnaires with the use of multi-attribute elicitation techniques applied to 450 rur...
Studies on Sahiwal cattle genetic resources in the tropics have mainly concentrated on evaluating their performance levels, with only a few published reports describing the breed characteristics. The aim of this study was to critically examine the existing breeding and conservation programmes for Sahiwal cattle in the tropics, focusing on Pakistan,...
The objective of the present study was to determine the optimal culling strategy in relation to biological and economic efficiency (BE and EE, respectively) and annualized net revenue (AN) in the Japanese Black cow-calf production system with special reference to the beef quality of culled cows. The herd model focused on two ways of mating: one-mat...
This study analysed the existing pig management and breeding practices of smallholder farmers under different production systems geared towards the development of breeding objectives and design of pig breeding programmes in Kenya. The two distinct systems evaluated included semi-intensive system and extensive system and they differed in remo-teness...
The present study was conducted with an aim to generate essential information on breed selection practices and traits of economic importance of indigenous chicken (IC) farmers in Kenya. The study was carried out in six counties of Kenya with highest population of IC, namely; Siaya, Kakamega, Bomet, Narok, West Pokot and Turkana. A total of 594 farm...
The objective of this study was to describe the lactation curve of dairy cattle in Kenya using a suitable lactation function in order to facilitate inclusion of partial lactations in national dairy cattle evaluation and to assess the effect of data characteristics on lactation curve parameters. Six functions were fitted to test day (TD) milk yield...
The Sahiwal cattle breeding program in Kenya has been operational on an interim basis for over 45 years. However, there have been no systematic efforts undertaken to evaluate its suitability, or to examine how competitive it is compared with other alternative programs in terms of genetic and economic merit. The objective of this study was therefore...
Indigenous chicken (IC) and their production systems were characterized to understand how the whole system operates for purposes of identifying threats and opportunities for holistic improvement. A survey involving 594 households was conducted in six counties with the highest population of IC in Kenya using structured questionnaires. Data on IC far...
The Sahiwal breed has been used for upgrading the East African Zebu (EAZ) for improved milk production and growth performance in the southern rangelands of Kenya. Main users of this breed are Maasai pastoralists. Until now, there has been no deliberate effort to understand why these pastoralists specifically prefer to keep Sahiwal genetic resources...
The objective of this study was to describe the lactation curve of dairy cattle in Kenya using a suitable lactation function in order to facilitate inclusion of partial lactations in national dairy cattle evaluation and to assess the effect of data characteristics on lactation curve parameters. Six functions were fitted to test day (TD) milk yield r...
The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for growth and survival traits of Sahiwal cattle in Kenya and determine their relationship to milk production and fertility. Performance records of 5,681 animals were obtained from the National Sahiwal Stud and the traits considered were: birth weight (kilogrammes), weaning wei...
The objective of this study was to define breeding objectives and consequently determine optimum crossbreeding levels for goats in the smallholder production systems. Profits and economic values (EVs) were estimated for four genotypes namely (a) original stock or local goat breeds with 0% German Alpine blood level (OS), (b) F1 with 50% German Alpin...
Animal recording is an interactive process that involves several practices. The efficiency of the process
is essential to ensure the utility of outcomes necessary for sustainable participation. Most evaluation approaches define efficiency in economic terms. Animal recording systems lack outputs of direct economic benefits; hence, efficiency evaluation b...
The economic values for resistance to helminthosis and Newcastle Disease (ND) in indigenous chicken were estimated relative to egg number (EN), average daily gain (ADG, g) and live weight at 21 weeks (LW, g) using selection index methodology. Both traditional and risk-rated economic values for EN, ADG and LW were used. Faecal worm egg count (FEC, e...
Animal recording in Kenya is characterised by erratic producer participation and high drop-out rates from the national recording scheme. This study evaluates factors influencing efficiency of beef and dairy cattle recording system. Factors influencing efficiency of animal identification and registration, pedigree and performance recording, and gene...
