Project to benefit small-holder dairy farmers in East Africa initiated.
Work officially begins this week on a new research project to identify what are the best genotypes of dairy cattle for small-holder dairy farmers in East Africa and how these genotypes can be delivered to farmers. The project, funded by a US$2.86m grant to UNE from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a collaboration between UNE, PICOTEAM, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
Under the right conditions, a move into small-holder dairy farming can dramatically increase household income of resource poor farmers, and in East Africa small-holder dairy farming is growing rapidly. The key to success is to ensure that farmers have access to appropriate (improved) genotypes of cattle, the knowledge and resources to manage them and have reliable access to markets to sell their milk. The Project Principal Investigator, Professor John Gibson noted, “Dr Ed Rege of PICOTEAM and I undertook a study looking for opportunities for improved genetics to help improve livelihoods of poor farmers in Africa. We observed that dramatic improvements of livelihoods typically involved an interaction between market access, improved management and improved genetics, rather than improvement in any one component in isolation. When we looked at East African small-holder dairy development, we observed major programs linking farmers to markets and improving their management capacity and access to services but no clear strategy for supply of appropriate genotypes to small-holders. The majority of animals being used are the result of many generations of uncontrolled and unrecorded crossing between indigenous breeds and imported dairy breeds. We saw a major opportunity to identify which genotypes best improve farmer livelihoods without increasing risk significantly.” The project will harness the latest genome technologies by assaying small-holder’s cows of unknown genotype for over 800,000 variations (snp) in the genome and use this information to determine its breed mixture. This estimate of breed composition will then be related to detailed information on performance and management of these animals in situ, to determine which breed composition performs best in these smallholder systems. This approach dramatically reduces the time and cost required to get results, by eliminating the need to set up controlled breedings and then wait until animals are born, reared and have complete several lactations. It also improves the relevance of results by working directly with animals on smallholder farms, rather than within test stations whose conditions are typically quite different from those of the average farmer. The second part of the project is to engage with key players in the region to develop a partnership and a business model that is capable of delivering the most appropriate genotypes, cost effectively and sustainably to a high proportion of the large population of small-holder farmers in the region.
Professor Gibson is both optimistic and cautious, noting: “The whole team is excited about this opportunity to harness the latest science to provide better options for poor farmers. But we are well aware of our heavy responsibility to deliver results that will truly benefit these farmers without generating significantly increased risk. For farmers living on just a few dollars income per day, the opportunities for improving their livelihoods are great but the risk of getting it wrong can be devastating. Equally the risk to smallholders of doing nothing to answer these key questions is also high. Our goal is to deliver results on both what to deliver and how to deliver it that will be truly sustainable.”
The project is expected to run until December 2012, and the results are expected to drive a subsequent implementation phase where a new partnership and business model is facilitated to establish itself and deliver appropriate genotypes widely to smallholders in the region. Prof Iain Young, Head of The School of Environmental and Rural Sciences (ERS) said, “ERS and UNE more generally has a long history in R&D and training for international development and we are actively expanding our engagement in these activities. The vision of ERS is “Saving the Planet. Feeding the World”. Using our expertise to assist the developing world is both exciting science and a moral imperative.”
Professor John Gibson is Director of the Centre for Genetic Analysis and Applications in the School of Environmental and Rural Science at UNE. Email jgibson5@une.edu.au, tel +61 (0)2 6773 2930; Mobile: +61 (0)437 039951
PICOTEAM, an international consulting group specialising in capacity development. Project contact, Dr Ed Rege, email: ed.rege@picoteam.org Tel +254 20 4223000
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is a member institute of the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), which focuses on livestock research for poverty alleviation and food security in the developing world, with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Project contact Dr Steve Staal, email: s.staal@cgiar.org Tel +254 20 4223400
Photo courtesy of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
