Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Suitability assessment of different cattle breeds kept on different feeding regimes for dairy farming in east Africa

¹University of Kassel / University of Goettingen, Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany
²University of Edinburgh, Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), United Kingdom

Abstract

The rising demand for livestock products in East Africa will increase pressure on land and natural resources. Identifying which cattle breeds are best suited for prevailing feeding regimes could help mitigate the pressure on natural resources. Using the LIVestock SIMulator (LIVSIM), we assessed the lifetime suitability of Zebu, FriesianxZebu, and Holstein-Friesian cattle for typical feeding regimes used in smallholder dairying regionally.
The feeding regimes (FR) included grazing of natural pastures ad libitum (FR1), grazing natural pastures ad libitum plus dairy meal supplementation (FR²), and total mixed rations (TMR) ad libitum (FR³). Under FR², calves, gestating and lactating animals, and other animals were supplemented with 0.5 kg, 1.5 kg, and 0.5 kg of dairy meal daily, respectively throughout the simulation. Furthermore, the profitability of each FR was assessed using market prices per kg of natural pasture, commercial dairy meal, TMR, milk at farmgate and beef (assuming a 50% dressing percentage). Each simulation run lasted 15 years.
For sensitivity analyses, we employed a “one factor at a time” approach by varying LIVSIM parameters (i.e., calf birth weight (kg), milk fat content (g/100 g), and peak milk yield per lactation (kg/day)) and input variables (i.e., neutral detergent fiber (g/kg DM) and metabolisable energy (MJ/kg DM)) by ± 10 % (% variation). Then, using FR1, the LIVSIM was run 30 times to assess the effect of the changes on final milk yield.
The final carcass weight (kg) and milk yield (kg/lactation) were highest in Holstein-Friesian cattle and lowest in Zebus across all FR. However, under FR1 Zebu cattle had a lower mean calving interval (1.2 years) and more calves (3) than the other breeds. The most expensive feeding regime per lifetime across all three genotypes in the present study was FR³ while FR1 was the cheapest. Irrespective of the breed, FR³ resulted in a negative profit margin (-56$ to -137$) while FR1 was most profitable (70$ to 74$). These findings suggest that Zebus performed better under grazing only compared to the other breeds over its lifetime while improved breeds did better under grazing plus supplementation.

Keywords: Bio-economic modelling, cattle breeds, feeding strategies, smallholder dairying

Contact Address: Christian Bateki Adjogo, University of Kassel / University of Goettingen, Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Steinstr. 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany, e-mail: christian.batekiuni-kassel.de