Annelin Molotsi

• PhD
• Senior Lecturer at University of South Africa

Sustainable livestock production is important to ensure continuous availability of resources for future generations. Most smallholder livestock farming systems in developing countries have been perceived to be environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. Farming with livestock that is robust and adaptable to harsh environments is impor...

Despite effective control of flies using synthetic pesticides, fly resistance and environmental contamination have led to the inadequacy of this strategy. The use of integrated pest management approaches has since been advocated in contemporary research to sustainably control fly populations. Recent studies have found garlic (Allium Sativum) and it...

Pre-slaughter practices, pork physicochemical quality, and fatty acid (FA) composition of 36 Landrace barrows aged six months, sourced from five smallholder urban farms (SUFs) in low-income, high-density suburbs and one commercial abattoir in Cape Metropole District, South Africa were evaluated. Pigs on SUFs were fed three diets: (1) kitchen-bakery...

The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) is a Pan-African initiative aimed at improving food systems and biodiversity conservation through genomics while ensuring equitable data sharing and benefits. The Open Institute is the knowledge exchange platform of the AfricaBP which aims to bridge local knowledge gaps in biodiversity genomics and bioinform...

This poster presents the present progress on a genome assembly of the Kolbroek pig prepared through UNISA, in partnership with the Africa Biogenome project. Sequences were generated via Inqaba Biotech. The workflow applied was the Verterbrate Genome Project's curated workflow and this was run on the Galaxy Platform (Europe)

The study aimed to determine farmers’ and extension officers’ experiences with public extension and the prospects of improving the public extension service through digital-based technology. Quantitative data were collected from 101 commercially oriented active beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project in the North West Province, South Africa, using...

The study aimed to determine farmers' and extension officers' experiences with public extension and the prospects of improving the public extension service through digital-based technology. Quantitative data were collected from 101 commercially oriented active beneficiaries of the Nguni cattle project in the North West Province, South Africa, using...

Domesticated sheep have adapted to contrasting and extreme environments and continue to play important roles in local community‐based economies throughout Africa. Here we review the Neolithic migrations of thin‐tailed sheep and the later introductions of fat‐tailed sheep into eastern Africa. According to contemporary pictorial evidence, the latter...

Genetic heterogeneity, as the driver of evolutionary potential and counterbalance to inbreeding depression, is an important consideration for ensuring livestock adaptability, robustness and resilience to erratic and challenging environments. Accordingly, the low genetic diversity within exotic livestock breeds may suggest survival uncertainty and e...

Understanding the drivers of farmers’ challenges and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) is crucial for the sustainable development of the small-scale urban pig enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 160 structured questionnaires were individually administered to determine factors driving small-scale farmers’ challenges and...

Small-scale urban pig farming (SUPF) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) contributes to food, nutrition, income and social security of indigent urbanites but is associated with animal, human and environmental health risks. In this context, it is critical to identify key strategies to optimize the benefits and minimize the risks of SUPF in SSA. The current...

Context The scarcity of water and feed for sheep is a characteristic feature in the dryland areas of South Africa, and adversely affects meat production and quality. To address this challenge, breeds with high water, feed and production efficiencies must be used to produce meat of desirable quality. Aim The study aimed to compare physicochemical,...

The study compared water intake, balance and efficiency, nutrient intake, digestibility and utilisation, growth performance, carcass attributes and income over feed costs for six South African sheep breeds; Pedi, Damara, Meatmaster, Dorper, Dohne Merino and Merino. Wether lambs (4–5 mo) were adapted to a pelleted total mixed diet containing 143.5 g...

The transformation of smallholder farming is poised to be one of the key drivers of achieving the dual objectives of food security and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Smallholder farmers account for between 60–80% of the food produced in the region but face many challenges that impede their productivity. Such challenges include a lac...

The cheetah species (Acinonyx jubatus) is currently listed as vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Captive breeding has long since been used as a method of conservation of the species, with the aim to produce a healthy, strong population of cheetahs with an increased genetic variety when compared to the...

Water scarcity is amongst the major challenges threatening smallholder sheep production in subsistence-oriented communal farms in dryland areas. Local contextual factors are a prerequisite for effective policy development and optimisation of water resources management for smallholder sheep production. Two-hundred and fifty-two structured questionna...

The creation of commercialization opportunities for smallholder farmers has taken primacy on the development agenda of many developing countries. Invariably, most of the smallholders are less productive than commercial farmers and continue to lag in commercialization. Apart from the various multifaceted challenges which smallholder farmers face, li...

This study set out to characterize the farming and management practices of smallholder pig production systems in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data was gathered in three municipalities: Khayelitsha (27 farmers), Mamre (26 farmers) and Malmesbury (22 farmers) with the use of a structured questionnaire through both face-to-face and telephonic inter...

Water scarcity is among key the challenges facing sheep production in the arid and semiarid areas, and is predicted to worsen in future. Despite sheep in dry areas being capable of surviving relatively long periods with little water, deficiency of this essential nutrient produces lightweight carcasses and dark, dry and less tender meat. Responses t...

Genetic mutation occurs within genes and is responsible for the observed phenotypic variation between breeds within a species. It is known that indigenous sheep breeds are more robust and able to reproduce in adverse conditions in comparison to exotic sheep breeds. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether there are any genetic muta...

Smallholder farmers often make use of low-input systems, suggesting that robust and adaptable individuals are needed in these systems that have good production and reproduction in these low-input systems. One of the reasons certain individuals may be more adaptable or have higher production outputs could be due to the presence of advantageous mutat...

Indigenous sheep play an important role in the livelihoods of communal farmers in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), and this underlines the need to curb the genetic erosion of these valuable resources. This contribution reports that the phenotypic performance and genetics gains of institutional and commercial sheep in Southern Afric...

The purpose of this study was to determine off-take rates in smallholder sheep farming systems in the Western Cape province of South Africa. A purposeful sampling technique was used where smallholder farmers were selected based on certain criteria. The criterion set out was that farmers must own between five and 100 sheep. Interviews were conducted...

A study was conducted using HAPFLK and Bayescan to identify selection signatures in purebred Dorper, Namaqua Afrikaner and South African Mutton Merino sheep breeds. Selection signatures obtained using HAPFLK identified 26 significant SNP markers with selective sweeps on chromosome 1 and chromosome 2. Heat shock protein 28 (DNAJC28) were under selec...

A population structure study was performed in South African ovine populations using the OvineSNP50 beadchip. Blood samples were obtained from 295 sheep of which 172 had been identified as smallholder Dorpers, 4 smallholder White Dorpers, 46 purebred Dorpers, 26 purebred South African Mutton Merinos and 47 purebred Namaqua Afrikaners. Blood from the...

The aim of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with genomic region underlying variation in the binomial reproductive trait 'wet-dry' in sheep. The wet-dry phenotype was used to represent the reproductive status of the ewes, divided into two categories, dry (ewes that did not lamb or that lost a lamb) and wet...

Abstract Text: ABSTRACT: The study estimated direct and maternal effects on production traits and evaluated the direct and maternal genetic progress over 18 years. Data analyzed were on 12,463 pigs from 15 herds, performance-tested between 1990 and 2008. Backfat thickness, test period and lifetime gains and slaughter age were analysed using an an...