LoCaBreed2.0 - Förderung lokaler Kapazitäten für die Praxis und Forschung in der Viehzucht in Burkina Faso

Healthy and well-managed livestock is essential for the economic and social development in Burkina Faso and has been identified as a strategic sub-sector in the fight against poverty allowing sustainable rural development. LoCaBreed, the Academic Partnership of five Burkinabe and Austrian institutions, has successfully worked in this sub-sector implementing community based breeding programs (CBBP) with farmers in the South-West of Burkina Faso, supporting their transition from cattle keepers to breeders, including formation of a Lobi cattle breeders association. LoCaBreed2.0 builds on that foundation, by expanding gender, youth and ethnicity sensitive CBBP to additional communities to generate genetic progress, but more so by cooperating with governmental institutions in developing a national recording and breeding strategy for ruminant livestock populations and prompting support of non-governmental organizations for developing and implementing CBBP for cattle and small ruminants, particularly goats. New digital tools for mobile recording using cloud based data management making records available for routine selection of best animals in each community as well as marketing of breeding stock will be the backbone of breeding operations. Goat CBBP will be established in participating cattle CBBP communities to especially benefit women, traditional owners and keepers of goats and opening a range of research questions related to breeding objectives and modes of breeding operation. Specific attention will be given to the participation of women, youth and dimensions of ethnic diversity in LoCaBreed2.0 continuing, and expanding, LoCaBreed efforts to involve women in cattle CBBP, which had comparatively little success, mostly due to local traditional gender norms. Value chain analysis, with special focus on women’s participation and marketing strategies will be conducted. With regard to basic research related to genetics and genomics, diversity studies of local cattle and goat populations will be performed and genetic variants conferring resistance/tolerance to trypanosomosis will be searched for. Finally, LoCaBreed2.0 will review and develop educational resources to strengthen and further develop Master curricula related to animal breeding and genetics for Burkina Faso. The LoCaBreed2.0 team will encompass several PhD students promoting animal breeding research capacities for development in Burkina Faso and Austria.