Factors that affect the success of dairy cattle breeding in the East African Dairy Development Project area in Uganda

Abstract

Dairy cattle breeding is an important technology in the enhancement and promotion of the dairy enterprise in Uganda. The introduction of germplasm through AI is crucial to enhance the production potential of the local breeds. A study was conducted in six districts of Uganda that constitute part of the East African Dairy Development project area, using a questionnaire survey involving 450 randomly selected households to profile the dairy breeds kept, profile the dairy breeding services in use, and investigate the factors that affect the success of dairy breeding focusing on AI. The data were analyzed at both univariate (simple means) and bivariate (by chi-square) levels. The results showed that the indigenous breeds of cattle were still dominant with natural service as the main breeding method; smallholders were significantly (p<0.05) more likely to use AI and adoption of the service was highly (p<0.05) dependent on availability of extension services(p<0.05), record keeping practice (p<0.05), availability of milk markets (p<0.05) and preference (p<0.05) .On the other hand AI adoption was independent of formal education, age of farmer, labor availability, and feed/water availability (p>0.05). Use or non use of AI did not significantly (p>0.05) influence the sex of the calf born. While preference for AI was marked, very few farmers actually used it. This implies that focus should be put on intensive (smallholder) dairy production, extension services stressing record keeping, milk markets and increased AI availability/accessibility to cover the gap between preference for and actual use of the service.