ILRI Ethiopia goat and chicken projects: Potential synergies with LIVES

ILRI Ethiopia goat and chicken projects: Potential synergies with LIVES

Tadelle Dessie and Okeyo Mwai

LIVES Research Planning Workshop

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 26-28 March 2013

Outline

Community based goat breed improvement Identify and provide access to improved breeding

stocks that respond to improved feeding and management

Indigenous chicken breed improvement Breaking Vicious cycle of high chicken mortality

and low productivity

Opportunity exists to drive substantial productivity gains through implementing breeding programs that are functional and

sustainable – Identification and delivery of genetics

Dissemination of moderately improved, vaccinated chicks

Design and implementation of participatory and functional CBBP

Egg production+100%Body weight + 100%Mortality -70%

Increased growth rate Increased milk production

$XXX $XXX

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OARI SARI ARARI TARIEIAR

MoARD

IBC EWCA

Harnessing genetic diversity for improving goat productivity in Ethiopia and Cameron

Project goals and purpose Goals:

improve productivity and income of smallholder goat producers

providing access to improved animals that respond to improved feeding and management, and

Facilitating targeting of specific market opportunities

Purpose: Develop sustainable community-based goat

breeding schemes that suit the communities’ conditions and farmers’ needs

Project sites and partner projects

Wag-Abergelle and Tankua-Abergelle CRP 3.7 Breed: Abergelle

North Gonder LIVES Breed: Central highland

West Shoa LIVES Breed: Central Highland

Konso SARI Breed: Weyto-Guji

Bati LIVES??? Breed: Central Highland

Common economically important traits of Goats

• Production– Rate of growth – Milk production– Meat quality– Reproduction

• Adaptability– Temperature– Poor feeds– Disease/parasite tolerance

Selection / improvement• Within-breed selection

Increased Productivity

• Increased amount & value of animal products sold /unit value of inputs

• Meat & milk and skin?

Additional value to smallholders

• $XX per animal

• $XX per kid

(incremental value over ruminants in a traditional system)

Targeting and Analysis

Breeding program per breed established and is operational

Functional CBBP

Target sites identified and breeds & systems characterized

Define breeding objectives - Ranking experiments

Market analysis to locate and quantify key areas of demand for goat meat and milk documented and used in designing improvement programs

Breeding structures developed

Enabling environment created

• Develop appropriate genotype

• Develop/refine delivery options

• Evaluation of the breeding program

• Impact assessment

Key

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Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Ongoing

Scalability of a genetic solution - This model can be implemented simultaneously in multiple geographies

Path to sustainability

Sustainable and long term benefit to smallholders

Community-based breeding• Participatory – decentralized

breeding plans and programs

• Improvement programs carried out by communities of smallholder farmers often at subsistence level

• Community based breeding considers proper consideration

of farmers breeding objectives, infrastructure, participation and ownership

Delivery (Dissemination) of genetic

superiority • Often a challenge when setting up a new program especially

in developing countries• Delivering improved seed stock to local farmers needs a

critical thinking – Involving farmers and other partners– Breeders association/cooperatives

• Communal use of selected bucks through agreed norms – Develop /adapt appropriate technologies & their

innovative applications– Developing simple and effective identification and

recording system• Needs innovative use of available infrastructure and IT

technology

New technologies harnessed Testing Open Data Kit (ODK) for field data

collection Questionnaire, Phenotypic measurements, GPS waypoints,

pictures, performance records …….

Addis Server

Nairobi Server

ODK installed on Galaxy SII

Field enumeration using ODK

• Participation required from multiple partners and input providers in order to achieve long-term sustainability

• Data capture/results synthesis and feedback deserves critical attention to ensure sustainability

• Need for improved market access• Evaluate smart application of repro & genomic

techs ( estrus synchronization, AI, MAS) and as potential accelerators

Conclusions/ critical issues/ Concluding Recommendations

Improving village chicken production to elevate livelihoods of poor people

Poultry production in Ethiopia• Village system responsible for majority of poultry

production (more than 90% meat and egg)

Poultry offers poor people pathway out of poverty (by and for the poor!!!!!! –real opportunity)

Vicious cycle of high poultry mortality and low productivity requires systemic change

Highmortality

Limited careof flock

Reducedproductivity

High mortality drives a vicious cycle

• High mortality and low productivity reduces the incentive for farmers to invest significant effort in caring for birds

• Without basic care and vaccination, mortality remains high, impacting productivity.

• Basic practices such housing, watering, egg removal are not applied, further impacting productivity

Justification for change

• Low feasibility of vaccination in backyard systems (low demand, plus access challenges) means a health or genetic intervention alone would be unlikely to deliver sustainable benefit

• Establishing a breeding program creates the infrastructure and scale (especially for vaccinating chicks) as well as the financial incentive for farmers to take better care of their poultry

• Opportunity to break the vicious cycle, improving both productivity and survivability through a mix of moderate breed improvement, and vaccination

• Requires establishment of a delivery system that should become self-sustaining in the long-term

What can we offer?

Genetically impoved indignous birds in their 6th generation (products of within breed selection programs)

• To improve production of village chickens through selective breeding using

participatory approach

Trait preference:

• PRA (participatory rural appraisal) conducted and farmers identify traits of preference

• Egg production • Age at first egg • Growth

Overall objective

Breeding program to improve local chicken breed (Horro)

Mass selection based on own performance: – Growth: based on live weight at 16 wks in both sexes– Age at first egg in females; and– Cumulative Egg number at 45 weeks in females

Genetic improvement in Cumulative egg number at 45 weeks of age through 5 generations of selection

% increase from base population Selection effect from:

123.5 Generation 5

114.7 Generation 4

73.5 Generation 3

79.4 Generation 2

41.1 Generation 1

Base (34) Base population

0 1 2 3 4 5

Generation

Genetic improvement in Age at First egg (AFE) through 5 generations of selection

Age at First eggSelection effect from:

148 Generation 5

151 Generation 4

150 Generation 3

147 Generation 2

182 Generation 1

203 Base population

0 1 2 3 4 5

Generation

The simplest and lowest cost intervention is to disseminate improved indigenous chickens, with some improved

management

Model breeders

Breeding Units

Farmers

Community/Farmers

Eggs

Key elements

Establish a supply of chickens with improved growth, egg production feed conversion and disease-resistance traits Potentially within-breed

selection Multiplier flocks established

and scaled-up via mini-hatcheries

When target scale is reached, hatcheries begin sale of day-old improved chicks to farmers

Chicks vaccinated by poultry workers in the mini-hatcheries

Mini Hatcheries

Day-old chicks

Community/ Market

EggsLive chickens

VaccinesMedicines

Genetically improved hens and cocks

(Improved Horro)

• Disease resistance– Marek’s disease– Parasite tolerance

• Productivity– Age at first eggs– Length of laying series– Clutches per year– Clutch size– Hatchability– Daily weight gain– Body weight (8 week, 12-month)– Broodiness– Egg weight

• Adaptability– Plumage color / form– Heat tolerance

Deploying a hardier, more productive chicken will raise both the income and nutrition of smallholders

Selection / improvement• Within-breed selection

Increased Productivity

• Increased egg production

• Increased weight gain

• Increased hatchability and chick survival

Common economically important traits

Additional value to smallholders

• $xxxx per hen/year

• $xxx per male/year

(incremental value over birds in a traditional system)

Selection / development

Dissemination / multiplication

Supply to smallholders

• Research project identifying and testing different sources of indigenous chickens.

• Could involve within-breed selection or cross-breeding

• Might take 2 to 3 years (we have it).

• Establishment of multiplier flock.

• Starts with initial flock of female birds (and suitable number of cocks) selected or developed in Phase 1

• Rapid multiplication over period of 24-30 months to achieve scale

• Ongoing supply of chicks from the multiplier flock

• Some chicks retained as replacements to sustain multiplier flock

• Male and female chicks vaccinated and sold to farmersK

ey a

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es • Create initial flock:

– 100 hens

– Appropriate # of cocks

• Grow multiplier flock (hens)

– Start: 100

– 12 months: 1,970

– 18 months: 38,800

– 24 months: 765,000

– 30 months: 15 million

• Supply vaccinated chicks to farmers, while sustaining flock

– 10 male, 10 female per year

– Benefit: $???? per smallholder

– millions smallholders

– More million smallholders

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 32 years Ongoing

Scale can be achieved quickly through multiplier flocks in village-based mini-hatcheries

Poultry’s high rate of reproduction enables rapidscale; Distribution could begin after 18 months

6 12Phase 2 Months 18 24 30

Size of multiplierflock

100* 1,970 38,800 765,000 Millions100

Number of smallholdersbenefited

7,300 145,000 millions More millions

No chick distribution Limited distribution (5-10%)

Full dissemination

This model can be implemented simultaneously in multiple geographies.

• Continue animal health investment to determine if lifelong disease resistance can be conferred by either a single vaccination to the chick, or through breeding (Newcastle, Marek’s disease)

• Opportunity to breed for disease resistance, or for synergy between breed and vaccine

Additional Recommendations -chicken

LIVES’ Project -opportunity

• Enable the projects to engage key actors in identifying priority researchable issue as well as translate research outputs to outcomes and impact at scale

• Create platform for near real-time learning, including use of lessons from elsewhere to achieve common goals

• Help to develop/strengthen capacity of actors (formal (student supervisions etc.) & informal)