Indigenous selection criteria and genetic diversity in African long-horned Ankole cattle

Cattle selection programmes implemented in developing countries using methodology from developed countries have very often failed. The causes for such failure are numerous but it is often attributed to lack of resources and a low level of organisation. An alternative or at least additional reason might be that the “improved” individuals do not meet the standards of those people actually keeping the livestock. This is related to intangible, non-market values which will often be missed by scientific breeding goals. This project aims at testing established and developing new methods of evaluating intangible values for selection decisions, using Ankole cattle as a reference. The Ankole cattle belongs to the Sanga group of cattle that is indigneous to the central and eastern regions of Africa. It is classified as an intermediate Bos indicus/Bos taurus breed type with a small hump and characteristically long and large horns. The Ankole breed is a particularly good example as its huge horns seem to defy scientific breeding goals. Also, the Ankole is kept by pastoralists in large herds with comparatively little access to markets. The fact that the pastoral live style is threatened by social changes and political interference makes it worthwile to study the production system in depth and record between different countries (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania). Additional goals are the study of phenotypic and genetic diversity within the breed across these countries and validation of the FAO/ILRI breed survey instruments for cattle in all four countries. For the study of the production system and indigenous knowledge different methods of participatory rural appraisal will be applied. Workshops and group discussions will be held with farmers to get general information. For more detailed information single households will be visited and semi-structured interviews will be conducted. Methodology for actual and virtual choice experiment will be developed to assess indigenous selection criteria.