Showing posts with label Uganda. Show all posts
Crossbreeding Has Improved My Cattle Farm
Posted by Unknown in Africa, Breeding and Pregnancy, Cattle and Livestock, Cross Breeding, Success Stories, Uganda on Tuesday, 14 May 2013
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| A farm hand tends some of the cattle on Titus Buatre 's farm. Photo by Felix Warom Okello. |
When I
started with four goats, one of them a Boer goat for cross-breeding
purposes, I did not even imagine that this farming activity would expand
to enable me meet most of my needs.
I am in
position to pay school fees for my children—three at university and
three still in secondary school, afford a good diet at home, and even
look after other dependents, among others.
Meat and milk
I am Titus
Buatre, 55 years old, an animal farmer, from Andewa Village, Riki Parish
in Oluko Sub-county, six kilometres east of Arua Town. By the end of
last year, I had 120 goats and 50 heads of cattle, from where I get meat
and milk.
I sell the milk
in 10-litre jerrycans, each at Shs35,000. So, in a day, I earn
Shs70,000. Though most of my herd is made up of dairy cows, I
occasionally sell off some cattle.
Depending on
the size, the price ranges from Shs500,000 to Shs800,000. Last year, I
sold four cows. For the goats, the lowest price is from Shs70,000 to
Shs80,000. However, I also sell to NGOs that have programmes that
distribute the goats to farmers.
In this case, I will sell each goat at Shs130,000.
To acquire my
first cattle, I took a salary loan that was repayable in two years. On
top of that I added some money from crop farming to buy seven heads of
cattle.
From that
number, there are now 50 heads of cattle, from which I am able to get 15
to 20 litres of milk daily. I am able to buy medicines to treat them. I
have four types-Ankole, Zebu, Boran and Friesian crossbreeds.
Economic value
Among these,
there is a 250-kilogramme bull, which I use for cross breeding. I
attribute my successes in growing my herd to that bull.
The process of cross-breeding has enabled the animals to be of a good quality, which is marketable, and multiply in numbers.
I am using
cross breeding in order to get economic value because the local animals
are smaller in size and poorer in quality. Thus, they cannot attract
good money and produce a sizeable amount of milk.
In the past,
producers have thought of crossbreeding as simply replacing bulls every
two to three years with whatever breeds were popular at the time. This
has led to problems with uniformity of the resulting product.
Work ethic
Good quality
cattle need to be selected in order for crossbred cattle to outperform
straight-bred cattle and produce the type of product that is in demand
by the consumer.
However, it
should be noted that mere crossbreeding will not overcome poor genetics.
It has been patience and hard work, which has paid off for me. One
could possibly say this work ethic comes from my having a military
background at one time.
Yes, I was in
the military since the days of Idi Amin up until 1985. Since then, I
have continued driving as my occupation though I was no longer in the
army. After this, I got other driving jobs before my current one as a
driver at the district Naads office in Arua.
Trainings
I attend to the
animals as my main economic activity especially after work. I feel
happy to see my cows and goats return from grazing.
My farm covers six acres and comprises land that I inherited from my father though most of it was bought from my own earnings.
I have also
benefitted from several trainings in agriculture given by Naads and I
now use it to increase production such as the use of a tractor.
I use a tractor
to till the land on which I grow improved cassava. The neighbouring
communities buy the new variety cassava stems from me.
Retiring
I also employ
other people. There are two youths who look after the cattle and goats.
The one who rears cattle is paid Shs45,000 monthly and the one
responsible for the goats is paid Shs30,000 monthly. The two are only
assisted by my children when they return for holiday from school.
The rearing of
cattle is central to my farming business and as such I attend to them
closely. From the earnings, I am able to live a meaningful life. I look
forward to retiring from driving to become a full-fledged animal farmer.
features@ug.nationmedia.com
Uganda: New Cassava Varieties Give Farmers Hope
Posted by Unknown in Cassava, New Variety, Uganda on Sunday, 12 May 2013
BY CHRISTOPHER BENDANA
Vangi
Ekirapa, a farmer in Tororo, has for long been struggling to increase
yields in her cassava garden. But with the introduction of NASE 14, a
hybrid cassava variety, Ekirapa has a reason to smile because she is
able to harvest about 12kg of cassava from each stem. NASE 14 was
developed at the National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRT),
Namulonge.
Cassava
production in Uganda is largely affected by Cassava Mosaic and the
Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD). Cassava mosaic affects mainly the
leaves, which turn yellow consequently affecting the photosynthesis of
the plant. This leads to poor yields. CBSD affects the roots turning
them brown.
Experts breed varieties:
Currently,
geneticists and plant breeders are breeding new cassava varieties. The
new variety is a cross between a breeder's two desired varieties each
with traits a breeder is looking for. The traits include drought and
water resistance, pests and diseases resistance and high yielding
traits.
For pollination
to take place the female part of the cassava is covered to stop
fertilization by its male counterpart of the same variety. The female is
monitored before it opens up for pollination. The breeder then
introduces a desired male cassava variety, which he pollinates manually
in a process called controlled pollination.
Controlled
pollination has been going on for many years at the National Crop
Resources Research Institute (NaCRRT), Namulonge. So far, 19 new
varieties from NASE have been breed.
Why is breeding vital?
According to
William Esuma, a research assistant at NaCRRT, cassava breeding is aimed
at solving the problem of low yields, pests and diseases by introducing
improved varieties, especially those from the International Centre for
Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
"We aim at
increasing cassava yields, varieties that are resistant to pests and
diseases and are high in nutrient composition, especially proteins and
vitamin A," Esuma explains.
According to
the World Health Organisation, lack of vitamin A, especially in children
is the major cause of blindness across the globe.
"We also want
to get cassava varieties that mature early and have a long life span.
This will increase market opportunities for farmers," he adds.
How it is done:
The breeding
process involves selection of a desired cassava variety that has one or
more of the desired traits like resistance to drought, pests and
diseases and high yields. It is then pollinated with another that has
other desired traits.
Anthony Pariyo, a breeder at NaCRRT, says the local landraces, which they have been improving include Kakwele and Bamunanika.
They are
crossed with varieties like TME14 from IITA to create the desired breeds
that are high yielding and resistant to pests and diseases.
Cassava
breeders say the local breeds are famous for their root quality, while
the TME 14 is well-known for its high yields, disease and pests
resistance.
The breeding
process involves four stages, which include: evaluation of the seed
produced between landraces and an imported variety. Cloning, where the
stem of the new variety is cut into 10 pieces, planted and evaluated for
uniformity in the plants.
Then there are preliminary field trials and on farm evaluations in different locations in the country.
During the
trials, breeders look for strong and weak points caused by the
difference in environment and the role of heterozygous in the breeding
of cassava. It is common for one cassava clone to produce 10 different
offsprings/varieties.
Pariyo says the institute has so far released 19 varieties, which are tolerant to Cassava Mosaic, but susceptible to CBSD.
"Our focus now
is on CBS D. We are carrying out field trails and the results are
promising. In the next three years, we are likely to get a resistant
variety," he notes.
Commenting on
concerns that the landraces face extinction, Pariyo says all landraces
have been kept in the germplasm. A germplasm is a seed bank where seeds
are kept for future use.
"A breeder's biggest asset is having a diverse germplasm," he says.
Farmers tipped:
Experts say
there are a number of interventions that farmers can put in practice.
First, planting clean seedlings would increase yields by 13% and
improving soil fertility would push it by 17%.
Others are
control of pests and diseases, which improves yields by 16%, control of
soil erosion by 11% and weeding by 9%. They also say intrinsic yield
potential where the role of the breeder is paramount accounts for 19%.
Pariyo says
with good management practices, farmers can harvest between 30-40 tons
per hectare against the current national average of 14 tons as reported
by the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
He says about 60% of farmers are now planting improved cassava varieties.
Pariyo recommends planting seedlings one metre apart for optimum performance.
Cassava takes between 10-12 months to mature.
According to
ASARECA, an agricultural research association in Eastern and Central
Africa, about 80% of Ugandans depend on cassava for their livelihood.
Cassava is the second staple food after maize in Africa.
