Genetics of adaptation in domestic farm animals: A review

A Perspective on the Impact of Reproductive Technologies on Food Production in Africa

“…Production systems vary from smallholders with small herd or flock sizes to pastoralists that need to migrate on a seasonal basis and require different species and breeds to cope within these systems (Mirkena et al 2010). Most of these local African breeds however are associated with lower reproduction and growth compared to exotic breeds.…”

“…Despite these well documented advantages of a relative simple technique African livestock farmers still face a number of limitations for successful implementation of AI. Several factors are discussed in literature ranging from a lack of infrastructure and animal recording systems (Cunningham, 1999;Kahi & Rege, 2008;Rege et al 2011;Mirkena et al 2010) to cost of the technology, clear breeding objectives and insufficient capacity to adapt to continuously changing production systems and markets.…”

Genetic Improvement of Livestock for Milk Production

“…Such approach would also enable in situ conservation of farm animal genetic resources, the only viable and practical conservation method in less developed countries compared to ex situ or cryopreservation approaches. This would support the importance of identifying the most adapted genotype capable of coping with the environmental challenges posed by any particular production systems (Mirkena et al, 2010). Karugia et al (2000) analyzed the impact of crossbreeding zebu with temperate cattle breeds for dairy improvement in Kenya using sector-and farm-level approaches.…”

“…To match genotype with the environment, breeders can follow two alternative strategies: adapt the environment to the needs of the animals as is the case in industrial animal production systems or keep animals that are adapted to the respective environment as is the case in low input smallholder and pastoral systems. Because of this, smallholders and pastoralists need different and diverse animal genotypes, species mix and types to enable animal husbandry in their specific physical environment locations and production systems (Mirkena et al, 2010).…”

“…According to Mirkena et al (2010), imported improved temperate breeds produce more than indigenous tropical breeds if supplied with high quality feed; however, they lose weight and fail to survive when fed poor quality grass or straw, whereas adapted indigenous animals still grow, give some milk and reproduce. Adapted tropical animals recycle nutrients more efficiently than do improved temperate breeds and can also reduce their basic metabolism during periods of weight loss (Bayer and Feldmann, 2003).…”