CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/114640

SAPLING will work with research, development and private sector actors to support sustainable growth of the livestock sector in LMICs, developing market-driven solutions to incentivize small- and medium-scale producers to invest in sustainable productivity and capture growing demand, while enhancing social inclusion, supporting improved nutrition, and contributing to environmental protection. More information

Part of the CGIAR Action Area on Resilient Agrifood Systems

Primary CGIAR impact area: Poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs

https://www.cgiar.org/initiative/17-sustainable-animal-productivity-for-livelihoods-nutrition-and-gender-inclusion-sapling/

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 1099
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    Gender roles in ruminant disease management in Uganda: Implications for the control of peste des petits ruminants and Rift Valley fever
    (Journal Article, 2025-04-25) Namatovu, Jane; Lule, Peter; Asindu, Marsy; Campbell, Zoë A.; Tumusiime, Dan; Kiara, Henry K.; Bett, Bernard K.; Roesel, Kristina; Ouma, Emily A.; Osman, Nussieba A.
    There is a distinct division of tasks and roles between men and women in livestock management in the different ruminant production systems in Uganda. Division of roles can influence disease control and prevention. This qualitative study asks what men and women do to prevent or control diseases that affect them and their livestock and what factors influence the choice of disease control measures taken. Discussants represented three production systems (pastoral, agro-pastoral, and mixed crop livestock), selected for the high prevalence of two livestock diseases (peste des petits ruminants and Rift Valley fever). Sex-disaggregated focus group discussions with livestock keepers and key informant interviews with veterinarians and other experts were conducted in six districts in the western, northeastern, and eastern regions of Uganda. Gendered livestock management roles strategically positioned men, women, girls, and boys to observe different clinical manifestations of disease. Livestock keepers mostly reported within-farm prevention and control methods, for which they presumably had more control than between-farm or community-level methods. While livestock keepers embraced disease control options such as the use of drugs, spraying acaracides, and the use of traditional herbs, many had concerns and misconceptions about vaccination as a preventive measure. Although women had fewer concerns about vaccine side effects, they still faced constraints, such as mistrust of animal health workers, limited decision-making powers, domestic workload, and inability to access vaccination points. The study findings can guide appropriate, gender-responsive interventions tailored by production system for controlling ruminant diseases in Uganda.
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    Livestock for sustainable food system
    (Presentation, 2025-03-15) Unger, Fred; Hung Nguyen-Viet; Baltenweck, Isabelle; Whitbread, Anthony M.; Tarawali, Shirley A.
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    Information flows within farmer networks and the implications for farmer-to-farmer extension: evidence from the Kenyan dairy sector
    (Journal Article, 2025-02-11) Morrison, R.; Cassar, X.; Duncan, Alan J.; Rao, E.J.O.; Barnes, Andrew P.
    Purpose This article analyses the information flows within farmer networks to understand how farmer-to-farmer extension strategies can be made more effective. Design/methodology/approach Sociograms are used alongside regressions to provide a novel insight into information flows and power dynamics within dairy farmer networks. Primary survey data from four farmer networks (n = 255) collected through a method of snowball sampling in western Kenya in 2022 is analysed. Findings The findings show that farmer networks are heterogenous and have varying levels and types of social capital which impacts how information is shared. Certain individuals within the networks are well positioned to transfer information to other network members and therefore may make effective lead farmers. These individuals tend to be market-orientated and male. Practical implications The results of this study highlight that training a lead farmer to spread information and awareness of agricultural technologies may not always be effective due to low social capital. Therefore, whilst farmer-to-farmer extension may be a low-cost alternative to traditional extension services, policy makers should also consider implementing interventions that focus on increasing the social capital base of farmers. Theoretical implications This study increases our knowledge of how agricultural innovations diffuse through networks. This contributes to our wider understanding of how innovation systems work providing greater insight in the role of farmers as agents of change. Originality/value This study offers insight into how farmer network structures can differ depending on context and how this influences knowledge diffusion. It also offers a unique insight into the characteristics of farmers who may make ideal ‘lead farmers’ for knowledge exchange due to the position they occupy within their networks. KEYWORDS: Farmer interactions extension social networks Kenya
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    Genetic relationships among resilience, fertility and milk production traits in crossbred dairy cows performing in sub-Saharan Africa
    (Journal Article, 2025) Oloo, Richard Dooso; Mrode, Raphael A.; Ekine-Dzivenu, Chinyere C.; Ojango, Julie M.K.; Bennewitz, J.; Gebreyohanes, Gebregziabher; Okeyo Mwai, Ally; Chagunda, M.G.G.
    Change in climate over the past years and its impact on the environment have necessitated the inclusion of resilience traits in the breeding objectives of dairy cattle. However, the relationship between resilience and other traits of economic importance in dairy production is currently not well known. This study examined the genetic parameters and relationships among resilience, fertility and milk production traits in dairy cattle in Kenya. Indicators of general resilience and heat tolerance were defined from the first parity test-day milk yield records. Indicators of general resilience included variance of actual deviations (LnVar1), variance of standardised deviations (LnVar2), lag-1 autocorrelation (rauto) and skewness (Skew) of standardised deviations in milk yield. Heat tolerance indicators at temperature-humidity index 80 included the slope of the reaction norm (Slope), absolute slope of the reaction norm (Absolute), and the intercept of the reaction norm model (Intercept). Cows with > 50% taurine genes had lower age at first calving (AFC), longer calving intervals (CI) and higher test-day milk yield (MY). The heritability estimates of AFC, CI and MY were 0.17 ± 0.033, 0.06 ± 0.012 and 0.35 ± 0.021, respectively. The repeatability estimates of CI and MY were 0.06 ± 0.012 and 0.47 ± 0.009, respectively. The low heritability and non-significant permanent environmental variance of CI showed that CI is heavily influenced by external factors, such as management practices. AFC was negatively genetically correlated with both CI (−0.88 ± 0.077) and MY (−0.53 ± 0.059) showing that animals that attain sexual maturity earlier exhibit longer CI and higher milk production. A positive genetic correlation (0.62 ± 0.077) between CI and MY shows that high-yielding cows face challenges in maintaining shorter calving intervals. Heritability estimates of nearly all resilience indicators were significant and ranged from 0.05 to 0.34. Heat tolerance indicators showed low to non-significant genetic correlations with general resilience indicators, suggesting that different genetic factors are involved in responses to different types of disturbances. There was a generally positive genetic correlation between resilience and fertility, implying that resilient animals might have better fertility. All indicators, except LnVar1 and LnVar2, revealed an antagonistic genetic relationship between resilience and milk production. The findings present an opportunity for including resilience in the development and application of selection indices in dairy cattle, especially for the tropics.
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    Genetic relationships among resilience, fertility, and milk yield in dairy cattle performing in sub-Saharan Africa
    (Thesis, 2025-02-25) Oloo, Richard Dooso
    Despite the relevance of dairy production in the fight against food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the negative effects of climate change and general changes in the production environment pose tremendous challenges to its profitability. Genetic improvement of resilience, the capacity of animals to be either minimally affected by an environmental disturbance or rapidly recover from a disturbance in their environment, is deemed as a part of the solution to low dairy productivity and poor cattle adaptability in SSA. However, to breed for resilience, reliable and practical methods for quantifying and analyzing resilience in SSA need to be described and undertaken. This thesis explored the measurement of resilience using different indicators and examined the relationships of resilience with fertility and milk production in dairy cows performing in SSA. Chapter two of this thesis reviewed potential solutions to enhance the sustainability and productivity of the dairy sector in SSA with an emphasis on breeding for resilience. It described the dairy production in SSA, and environmental challenges cattle have to weather in this region. The chapter further discussed different forms of resilience (general resilience and specialized resilience), indicators for measuring resilience, and provided insights into the data that can be utilized to quantify resilience in SSA’s dairy production systems. It is concluded that improving resilience of dairy animals in SSA would contribute to poverty alleviation, animal welfare improvement, and better preparedness in lieu of climate change in this region. In chapter three, the potential of quantifying general resilience using indicators based on deviations in milk yield was examined. Three indicators of general resilience were defined: variance (LnVar), lag-1 autocorrelation (rauto), and skewness (Skew) of deviations in milk yield based on actual and standardized deviations of observed milk yield from predicted milk yield. The heritability estimates of all resilience indicators except Skew were significant and ranged from 0.05 to 0.19. Weak to moderate genetic correlations were observed among indicators of general resilience, suggesting that these indicators captured different aspects of resilience. LnVar indicators indicated that resilient cows are genetically associated with better longevity. The use of actual deviations and standardized deviations to define indicators yielded identical traits except in LnVar. Standardization of deviations or correcting for the milk production potential of animals ensures that the resultant LnVar indicator does not inaccurately categorize low-producing animals as inherently resilient. The study concluded that LnVar holds a significant potential as a robust resilience indicator for dairy animals performing in SSA. The fourth chapter investigated the response of milk production at varying heat loads as an indication of heat tolerance, which is a specialized resilience. Random regression models, including reaction norm functions, were fitted to derive two resilience indicators: the slope of the reaction norm (Slope), and its absolute value (Absolute), reflecting changes in milk yield in response to varying heat load. Heritability estimates for these indicators ranged from 0.06 to 0.33 and were mostly significantly different from zero. The correlation analysis between these indicators and average milk yield revealed that high- producing cows are more vulnerable to heat stress and have less stable milk production under heat-stress conditions. The study demonstrated the possibility of using the slope of the reaction norm and its absolute value to measure the specialized resilience of dairy cattle to heat stress conditions in SSA. Chapter 5 examined the genetic parameters and relationships among resilience, fertility, and milk production traits. The heritability estimates of age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), and test-day milk yield (MY) were 0.17, 0.06, and 0.35 respectively, and were all significantly different from zero. AFC was negatively correlated with both CI and MY, showing that animals that attain sexual maturity earlier exhibit longer calving intervals and higher milk production. A positive correlation between CI and MY showed that high-yielding cows faced challenges in maintaining shorter calving intervals. There was a generally positive correlation between resilience and fertility, implying that resilient animals might have better fertility. All indicators, except the variance of actual deviation corrected for milk production and variance of standardized deviations, revealed an antagonistic relationship between resilience and milk production. This thesis showed the potential for quantifying and breeding for resilience in dairy cattle performing in SSA. Cows with more than 50% Zebu genes and those performing in semi-arid environments had higher resilience, higher AFC, shorter CI, and lower MY. This suggests that zebu genes confer resilience advantage to animals and exposure of animals to various disturbances in semi-arid environments improved their resilience capacity. Different directions of relationship observed among the traits studied imply that developing a multi-trait selection index that combines all these traits could strike the right balance among resilience, fertility, and milk production. The implications of these findings are valuable in improving the productivity of dairy cattle through selective breeding for resilience to environmental stressors, particularly in low-income countries situated in tropical regions.
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    A genome-wide association study of biomass yield and feed quality in buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.)
    (Journal Article, 2024-02-06) Negawo, Alemayehu T.; Muktar, Meki S.; Gutiérrez, R.A.S.; Habte, Ermias; Muchugi, Alice; Jones, Christopher S.
    The development of modern genomic tools has helped accelerate genetic gains in the breeding program of food crops. More recently, genomic resources have been developed for tropical forages, providing key resources for developing new climate-resilient high-yielding forage varieties. In this study, we present a genome-wide association study for biomass yield and feed quality traits in buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L. aka Pennisetum ciliare L.). Genome-wide markers, generated using the DArTSeq platform and mapped onto the Setaria italica reference genome, were used for the genome-wide association study. The results revealed several markers associated with biomass yield and feed quality traits. A total of 78 marker–trait associations were identified with R2 values ranging from 0.138 to 0.236. The marker–trait associations were distributed across different chromosomes. Of these associations, the most marker–trait associations (23) were observed on Chr9, followed by Chr5 with 12. The fewest number of marker–trait associations were observed on Chr4 with 2. In terms of traits, 17 markers were associated with biomass yield, 24 with crude protein, 26 with TDN, 14 with ADF, 10 with NDF and 6 with DMI. A total of 20 of the identified markers were associated with at least two traits. The identified marker–trait associations provide a useful genomic resource for the future improvement and breeding of buffel grass.
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    Binti Shujaaz
    (Extension Material, 2024-07-01) Komba, Lucky; Mpenze, Neema; Mbugua, Narayan; Biamah, Stephan; Deacon, Bridget; Galiè, Alessandra ; Achandi, Esther; Omondi, Immaculate A.; Campbell, Zoë A. ; Jeremiah, Adolf; Jumba, Humphrey; Ngoteya, Godfrey; Kariuki, Eunice; Omore, Amos O.
    Binti Shujaaz means “heroine” in Swahili, a fitting name for the young women who are persevering in chicken keeping despite restrictive gender norms in their communities that can limit young women in agri-business. This comic book written in Swahili was distributed in Tanzania in 2024 to support community conversations about norms. The stories were informed by research on social norms conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute.
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    Editorial: Sustainable and resilient food systems in times of crises
    (Journal Item, 2025-02-11) Ben Hassen, Tarek; El Bilali, Hamid; Daher, Bassel; Burkart, Stefan
    The global food system is facing multiple and multifaceted challenges and crises: increasing population, climate change, pandemics, conflicts, economic shocks, and natural disasters. These challenges have exposed its fragility and underscored the urgency of transitioning to sustainable and resilient food systems. Such systems ensure equitable access to nutritious food, minimize environmental impacts, and enhance resilience against shocks. In crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the vulnerabilities of the global food system have become starkly apparent, leading to disruptions in supply chains, food shortages, and inflation. Additionally, climate change and natural disasters further threaten food security worldwide. This Research Topic explores innovative approaches—including agroecological practices, circular economies, and localized food systems—to build resilience and sustainability. To provide a comprehensive understanding of these pressing issues, the 17 articles of this Research Topic are organized into four thematic areas: the impacts of crises on food systems, the effects of COVID-19 on food systems, sustainable food systems and practices, and the social, economic, and waste management dimensions of food systems.
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    TreeEyed: A QGIS plugin for tree monitoring in silvopastoral systems using state of the art AI models
    (Journal Article, 2025-01-29) Ruiz-Hurtado, Andres Felipe; Bolaños, Juliana Perez; Arrechea-Castillo, Darwin Alexis; Cardoso, Juan Andres
    Tree monitoring is a challenging task due to the labour-intensive and time-consuming data collection methods required. We present TreeEyed, a QGIS plugin designed to facilitate the monitoring of trees using remote sensing RGB imagery and artificial intelligence models. The plugin offers several tools including tree inference process for tree segmentation and detection. This tool was implemented to facilitate the manipulation and processing of Geographical Information System (GIS) data from different sources, allowing multi-resolution, variable extent, and generating results in a standard GIS format (georeferenced raster and vector). Additional options like postprocessing, dataset generation, and data validation are also incorporated.
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    Transforming the future of dairy production with digital solutions
    (Poster, 2024-11-29) International Livestock Research Institute
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    Conservation of tropical local and indigenous Suidae genetic resources using the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)derived from somatic cells
    (Poster, 2024-11-29) Tiambo, Christian K.; Muhonja, Christine Kamidi; Ogugo, Moses; Sally, Katee; Jesang, Ascah; Marshall, Karen; Burdon, Tom
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    Flexible assessment of biosecurity in small- and medium scale poultry farms in low and middle income countries
    (Journal Article, 2025-02-08) Nielsen, S.S.; Kemunto, Naomi P.; Muloi, Dishon M.; Bojesen, A.M.; Knight-Jones, Theodore J.D.; Ayebare, Dreck; Dione, Michel M.; Ibayi, Eugine L.; Poulsen, L.L.; Moodley, Arshnee
    Background: Biosecurity measures are essential for mitigating the risk of pathogen introduction and spread in farms. While standardised tools for monitoring biosecurity implementation exist, they are often not tailored to the specific needs of low and middle income countries (LMICs), where pathogen occurrence and farming practices can be highly variable compared to intensive high income country settings. The aim of our study was to develop a flexible risk assessment tool for evaluating biosecurity practices on small and medium-scale poultry farms in LMICs. The methodology described here allows local experts to adapt the tool to current conditions. Results: The development process began by combining two existing questionnaires. These were evaluated by nine experts with expertise in diverse farming systems in LMICs. The experts conducted a knowledge aggregation process to assign weights to the different areas and individual questions within the questionnaires. The median scores from the final expert elicitation informed the weighting of questions in the newly developed questionnaire. These weights are adaptable and can be adjusted to reflect population-specific conditions, which may vary in pathogen load and farming practices. Conclusions: We have developed a flexible biosecurity assessment tool tailored to small-and medium-scaled poultry farms in LMICs. This tool can be used as presented or adapted to local conditions through the input of local experts, allowing for effective and context-specific biosecurity monitoring.
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    Dairy farmer extension services model: a successful research trial in Kenya's dairy sector
    (Blog Post, 2024-11-04) Kimani, Judy; Rao, E.J.O.; Slater, Annabel
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    Report on food safety intervention and supervision at pig slaughterhouses in Dien Bien Province
    (Report, 2024-12-30) Nguyen Van Cuong; Nguyen Thi Thu Hang; Dang Xuan Sinh; Unger, Fred
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    Insights discussion workshop: Social behavior change communication strategy for CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity (SAPLING)
    (Presentation, 2024-04-19) Nguyen Tuan Nghia; Tran Hoai Nam; Phan Tran Quoc Trung; Marshall, Karen; Nguyen, Chi