Robert Onzima

MUNI University · Faculty of Agriculture & Environmental Science Department of Animal Science

This study evaluates the economic viability and profitability of crossbreeding programs for improving indigenous goat breeds under smallholder subsistence production systems in Uganda. A survey was conducted among 156 households in 4 districts of South Western Highlands Agro-Ecological zone where cross-breeding programs have been implemented to ass...

The success of breeding programs in improving indigenous livestock breeds in Uganda has hitherto been limited due to lack of involvement of the key stakeholders. Thus, participatory approaches are being promoted for designing community based improvement programs. The aim of this study was to characterize the indigenous goat production systems and a...

Well-adapted indigenous goats are an important genetic resource for future sustainable production in marginal areas. The introduction of exotic Boer goats for meat production in Uganda has had an effect on the diversity of the goat genetic resources in the country. Little is known about the effect of exotic Boer goats on the genetic diversity and p...

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs), Haemonchus contortus, are a major health problem in goat production. Resistance to H. contortus, the most prevalent GIN in Uganda, was studied among three indigenous goat breeds to assess their differences. Twelve male goats of each breed approximately 7 months old of small East African (SEA), Mubende, and Kigezi...

Animal Genetics

Both natural and artificial selection are among the main driving forces shaping genetic variation across the genome of livestock species. Selection typically leaves signatures in the genome, which are often characterized by high genetic differentiation across breeds and/or a strong reduction in genetic diversity in regions associated with traits un...

Domestication and selection in livestock species tend to leave unique genomic imprints in the genome. Under intense selection pressure, these genomic regions show reduction in genetic diversity (runs of homozygosity, ROH). Analysis of ROH provide an informative indicator for inbreeding levels. Using genome-wide SNP data, we analysed six local goat...

Table S1 Significant f4 statistics for Ugandan goat breeds indicating gene flow in the breeds.

Figure S2 Cross‐validation error plot indicating the choice of the appropriate K value.

Table S2 Breed composition of cluster 1, 2, 3 and 4, interpreted as representative of Small East African, Karamojong/Sebei, Boer and Kigezi ancestries respectively, estimated for each individual belonging to goat populations from Uganda.

Figure S1 Genetic relationships among five Ugandan indigenous goat breeds and one commercial goat breed; constructed using a neighbour‐ joining tree from identity‐by‐state (IBS) distances derived from 46 105 SNPs.

Uganda has a large population of goats, predominantly from indigenous breeds reared in diverse production systems, whose existence is threatened by crossbreeding with exotic Boer goats. Knowledge about the genetic characteristics and relationships among these Ugandan goat breeds and the potential admixture with Boer goats is still limited. Using a...

The success of breeding programs in improving indigenous livestock breeds in Uganda has hitherto been limited due to lack of involvement of the key stakeholders. Thus, participatory approaches are being promoted for designing community based improvement programs. 217 farm households representing three goat production systems (combinations of breed...

This study evaluates the economic viability and profitability of crossbreeding programs for improving indigenous goat breeds under smallholder subsistence production systems in Uganda. A survey was conducted among 156 households in 4 districts of South Western Highlands Agro-Ecological zone where cross-breeding programs have been implemented to ass...

Abstract Text: This study evaluates the economic viability and profitability of crossbreeding programs for improving indigenous goat breeds under smallholder subsistence production systems in Uganda. A survey was conducted among 156 households in 4 districts of South Western Highlands Agro-Ecological zone where cross-breeding programs have been i...