Crossbreeding as innovation for dairy stock keepers in the tropics: adoption, adaptation and farmers´ breeding experiments

Livelihoods of many resource-poor farmers in developing countries depend on livestock, especially dairy cattle. The availability of productive breeds is a major constraint in sector development and its´ market orientation. Therefore crossbreeding of local, well adapted breeds with high-yielding dairy breeds from the temperate zone is encouraged by governments and institutions in numerous countries in the tropics to ensure productivity growth of the livestock sector within a short period of time. Nevertheless, a slow up-take rate by farmers has been reported and a substantial information gap about reasons, why adoption of crossbreeding is in such slow progress has been identified. The aim of the project is to create empirical knowledge on the development of crossbreeding by smallholder dairy cattle keepers in the tropics and to look at crossbreeding as an innovation. For this reason specific questions are addressed in the project. What are major drivers in genetic improvement of dairy cattle? What kinds of actor configurations facilitate the innovation process and enhance ability of the system to respond to changing contexts/external drivers? What factors influence the actor alignment process? What are the organisational and institutional innovations and, enabling environment that would facilitate development of cost-effective delivery mechanisms that are accessible and affordable to the poor? Which successive innovations take place? This study is carried out in Uganda, Ethiopia and India, where crossbreeding has been introduced by different stakeholders. In Uganda crossbreeding is farmer-driven, whereas in Ethiopia it has been promoted by the regional government and in one province of India a non-governmental organisation has started a cross-breeding program. The approach chosen makes sure to assess crossbreeding in different smallholder dairy production systems. A combination of methods is used to capture and analyse data. Methods such as Innovation histories, social network analysis and the four elements framework of the World Bank on innovation studies are combined. After data collection and a first analysis of the findings a feedback loop in all study sites is planned. This allows a validation of data and cross-checking of information. This project contributes knowledge necessary to ensure sustainability of crossbreeding programs for dairy cattle in the tropics by means of analysing adoption, adaptation, farmers’ breeding experiments and subsequent innovations.