Written by Mwihaki Mundia
Livestock farming is an important source of income in rural households in African countries. Goats, which were one of the first animals to be domesticated in the continent, are especially important in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where they are kept by 75% of the rural population and provide up to 72% of the household income through the sale of meat, milk and live animals. More than 4 million indigenous goats are kept by farmers in the DRC. These animals mainly fall under three local breeds locally known as ‘chèvre moyenne du Congo’ or the small goat of Congo; ‘chèvre du Kasai’ or Kasai goat and the ‘chèvre de Bandundu’ or dwarf goat of Congo; which are spread across all three agro-ecological zones of the country. As in eastern Africa, goats in the DRC are raised in marginal areas where crop production is low. Congolese Patrick Baenyi, a former Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) fellow at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub aims to improve the livelihoods of rural households in his country by conserving and improving indigenous goats through a better understanding of their genetic diversity and population composition.
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A report to the Small Ruminant Production Enhancement Project (SRPEP) by the International Livestock Research Institute in support of The Gambia’s livestock master plan
Karl M. Rich, Sirak Bahta, Abdrahmane Wane, Francis Wanyoike and Isabelle Baltenweck Study context The Gambia is the smallest country in West Africa, spanning just 11,300 square kilometres, with a high population density (176 people per square kilometre). It shares a single 749-kilometre overland border with Senegal. About 57% of its population is reported to live in urban areas. The total population in The Gambia is expected to gradually rise in the next three decades to approximately 4.3 million people, requiring anticipative policies concerning both infrastructure development and food supply improvement (Nyoni et al. 2019). The Gambia’s economy relies heavily on the tourism and agriculture sectors. The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6% in 2019 against a 6.5% growth in 2018, predominantly with an increase of 10% of services supported by wholesale and retail trade while the agriculture sector contracted by 10% (World Bank 2020). The agriculture sector remains too dependent on weather conditions, predominantly traditional and is characterized by low input extensive system of husbandry. Moreover, the Gambian agricultural sector struggles to overcome its key long-term development challenges related to the country’s undiversified economy, small internal market, limited access to resources, lack of skills necessary to build effective institutions, high population growth, lack of private-sector job creation and high rate of outmigration. More specifically, the agricultural sector suffers from a structural inability to produce more and better, respond to increasing demand for livestock products and sustain a better life from livestock. Agricultural productivity in The Gambia remains quite low and, in turn, has significant adverse implications for the economy. Enhancing multi-stakeholder partnerships to strengthen rural households’ resilience strategies through animal health interventions October 1, 2021 12-13.30 CET We are pleased to invite you to the seminar “Coping with climate change: the key role of livestock ownership”, organized by the Animal Production and Health Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the African Union (AU).
The seminar will highlight the role of small ruminants in strengthening rural households’ resilience to climate shocks and discuss the Peste des Petits Ruminants Global Eradication Programme (PPR GEP) as an animal health initiative contributing to climate adaptation. The seminar is part of All4Climate – Italy 2021, a lineup of climate events launched by the Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition in collaboration with the WorldBank Group’s Connect4Climate, which aims to foster proactive dialogue on the challenges of the climate crisis and deliver on the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This initiative coincides with PreCOP26, the official ministerial meeting hosted by Italy from 30 September to 2 October 2021 ahead of this year’s UN Climate Summit. Agenda
We are sorry to inform you that Alejandro Salvador Cáceres, IGA’s Country Representative in Venezuela, has passed away. Alejandro struggled for several years with colon cancer, which he fought tirelessly. He moved to Spain to receive better medical treatment. In September, we received the news of his death. His passing fills us all with sadness. Alejandro supported IGA’s work as our Venezuela country representative despite his illness. Fortunately, we have his last presentation recorded. We wish to thank him and his family for his years of service. The goat culture of South America has lost a great professional.
Congratulations once again to Sándor Kukovics and the entire team! The book he edited, Goat Science, remains very popular. Chapters within the book were downloaded more than 30,000 times impacting researchers worldwide. View the Performance Metrics for this book from IntechOpen. Written by S.Y. Landau, F.D. Provenza
Abstract Much circumstantial evidence has accumulated for ape culture, based on observations of the transfer of adult expertise to novices, typically juveniles. Controlled experiments have ruled out environmental or genetic explanations for these social learning propensities. This acumen might not be unique to primates. Here, we identify feeding behaviours susceptible to social transmission, refute possible non-social (genetic, environmental) explanations, and assess if the patterns of social learning are conducive to traditions or even cultures in domesticated goats. We claim that not only has domestication not eroded social intelligence, but that managerial constraints and in particular nutritional constraints imposed after domestication have encouraged the development of goat traditions and cultures. Following domestication, the contribution of browse rich in plant secondary compounds (PSCs) to goat nutrition has increased due to humans providing browse as fodder and restricting goats to habitats dominated by browse. Social learning has been essential for goats to acquire safe and nutritionally wise foraging behaviours in PSC-rich environments. Genetics can contribute to alleviating the deleterious effects of PSCs, but matrilineal traditions are essential for learning to use PSC-rich plants for nutritional and medicinal benefits, including learning feeding sequences that alleviate the deleterious effects of PSCs. In utero conditioning, perinatal microbiome colonization, and milk flavors contribute to passive maternal learning of feeding behaviours. Active learning from the mother is of major importance before weaning, whereas individual learning of food avoidance and preference is important after weaning. We contend that matrilineal learning, both in passive and active forms, is the basis of traditions in goat feeding behaviours. Residual, yet flexible, group-bonding of goats based on matrilineal idiosyncrasies helps to explain how these behaviours persist in different goat cultures. Finally, in stable groups, goats develop affinity and affiliative relationships. They rely on licking, social grooming and body contact to decrease the frequency of agonistic interactions, including social mediation of conflicts. Goats also learn from humans and mother-dependent docility can pre-dispose offspring to learn from humans. In summary, goats have a high level of social intelligence necessary to function within complex and dynamic social and biophysical environments, a condition deemed essential for the existence of cultures. To our knowledge this is the first compilation of evidence showing traditions and cultures in domestic animals. by Yoko Tsukahara (IGA Board member), Terry A. Gipson (IGA member), Steven P. Hart (IGA member), Lionel Dawson, Zaisen Wang, Ryszard Puchala, Tilahun Sahlu (IGA Board member), and Arthur L. Goetsch (IGA member)
Simple Summary Internal parasitism has been an important constraint to small ruminant production and anthelmintic resistance has become a worldwide issue. This study evaluated a 3-year genetic selection program through activities on-farm and a centralized performance test and also provided estimates of genetic parameters of growth and response to artificial infection with Haemonchus contortus by goats and sheep in the southcentral USA. Considerable species as well as breed differences were found in average daily gain and response to parasite infection. Average daily gain was greater for Boer than for Kiko and Spanish goats and slightly greater for Dorper than for St. Croix sheep. Infection level (number of eggs found in feces) of Spanish and St. Croix were relatively low each year, whereas that of Kiko and Dorper was lower after selection. An indicator of anemia (packed cell volume) did not always reflect infection level, which is probably reflective of differences among animals in resilience and susceptibility to haemonchosis. Moderate to high heritabilities were found for growth performance and response to parasite infection for growing meat goat and hair sheep males under a standardized environment that suggests considerable potential for genetic improvement through selection. Author(s): Deborah S. Finlaison, Peter D. Kirkland
Special thanks to Sandra Baxendell (IGA member, Australia) for bringing this report to our attention. Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) is an important disease in goats and can have a profound impact on dairy goat production. It usually presents as a slowly progressing, chronic debilitating disease of adult animals, but in some breeds severe, acute encephalitis may be encountered in kids at a very young age. CAEV infections can have a significant impact on animal welfare due to the chronic nature of the diseases that may develop (arthritis, pneumonia, mastitis), and economically results in decreased animal lifespan and production, premature culling and trade restrictions. CAE was first recognised in Australia in the 1980s, and while the current prevalence is unknown, it is present in dairy herds in all states. It is considered that the proportion of infected herds may now be much lower than 20 years ago, but with a trend towards larger, more intensively managed herds, the individual animal prevalence could rise quickly. Accreditation programs run in some states, and along with eradication activities, are voluntary in nature and not nationally co-ordinated. This report evaluates different diagnostic tests and sample types from naturally and experimentally infected animals to identify more cost-effective testing strategies that can be offered to the dairy goat industry in Australia. CAEV is an eradicable disease, and this research aims to support CAEV eradication at the individual herd and potentially national herd level. Visit the AgriFutures website to purchase a copy IGA is sad to announce the recent death of Dr. Canagasaby Devendra. He died peacefully on June 17, 2021 after a short illness in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his wife by his side. He leaves behind his wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons. Known to everyone by his last name, Devendra or Dev, he played an essential role in IGA’s development. He was one of the founders of IGA, an IGA Vice-President, and a member of the Board of Directors. In addition to his well-respected scientific research on all aspects of goat production, he was an outspoken advocate for environmentally sustainable livestock development that benefitted low-income families worldwide. In January 1982, during the 3rd International Conference on Goats, Devendra was a member of the International Goat Association planning meeting. This meeting was a select group of internationally recognized leaders in the goat world who developed the foundations of IGA and included Christian Gall, Pierre Morand-Fehr, Jean Boyazoglu, and George Haenlein. As a member of the first Board of Directors, Devendra helped establish IGA as an international entity and contributed to its development and success. He continued writing, teaching, mentoring, and publishing throughout his life and has over 19 books and approximately 496 mostly peer-reviewed publications and chapters in books. Recent additions are Goats: biology, production and development in Asia (2007), and Small farms in Asia: revitalizing agricultural growth, food security, and rural prosperity (2010). We are the heirs to Dev’s pioneering work, scientific rigor, and profound compassion that brought attention and respect to the goat sector. Recently, we received an email from his son, Akash Devendra, who said, “His work and the camaraderie of his colleagues around the world gave him so much satisfaction in life. My mum and I will have had the good fortune to meet many of you over the years and extend our very best wishes and warmest regards.” We hope you will share your memories (on the IGA Blog) (in the comments below) of his contributions to your professional and personal life as we mourn his passing. Recognition of IGA’s Most Active CRs and RDs
Every year the International Goat Association officially recognizes the most active Regional Directors (RD) and Country Representatives (CR). RDs and CRs are an essential part of IGA. We are sincerely grateful for all that they do: promoting IGA and our International Conference on Goats, organizing in-country and regional conferences, soliciting new members, preparing country reports for IGA’s Newsletter, etc. The Regional Director & Country Representative Committee recently selected the individuals who have done an outstanding job representing IGA in their region or country during the past year. We wish to congratulate them on their involvement and successes. 2020 was a stressful year for everyone, but these Country Representatives and Regional Directors went above and beyond. They accomplished so much and set a new standard for excellence. The 2020 IGA Achievement Award recipients are Clara Viviana Rúa Bustamante (RD for South America) and for our Country Representative:
We also wish to give an honorable mention and special thanks to Mamta Dhawan from India for her contributions to IGA. Thank you for all that you do. |
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