ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 2016 1
Be e dai y ca le b eeds and be e managemen
can imp o e he li elihoods o he u al
poo in Senegal
Ka en Ma shall, S anly Tebug, Ja mo Juga, Miika Tapio, and Ayao Missohou
IO.
LRI RESEARCH BRIEF N
Da e yea
ILRI RESEARCH BRIEF 65
Ma ch 2016
Summa y
Resea ch on dai y ca le b eeds in Senegal shows ha
combining bes li es ock gene ics wi h imp o ed animal
managemen p ac ices can esul in signi ican ly inc eased
household bene i . Fo non- anshuman dai y ca le
keepe s in wo s udy si es, keeping indigenous Zebu by
Bos Tau us c ossb eed animals, unde be e managemen ,
esul ed in he highes p o i o he scena ios conside ed.
This is because he b eed- ype is bo h well-adap ed o local
en i onmen al condi ions and p oduc i e ( he con ibu ion
o i s indigenous Zebu and Bos Tau us genes, espec i ely).
Imp o ed managemen also allowed i s gene ic po en ial o
be exp essed. The esul s, om one o only a ew s udies
o his ype in de eloping coun ies (Ma shall e al. 2015),
will allow di e en s akeholde s o make e idence-based
decisions on which b eed o c ossb eed o dai y ca le o
p omo e o keep.
In oduc ion
In Senegal, dai y p oduc ion—mainly om ca le kep
in low-inpu sys ems—is unable o mee domes ic
demand and la ge amoun s o milk and milk p oduc s a e
impo ed (FAOSTAT 2011). Imp o ing he p oduc i i y and
p o i abili y o dai y ca le should ha e posi i e e ec s on
he li elihoods o dai y ca le keepe s and o he s in ol ed in
dai y alue chains. Inc easing he low le els o pe capi a milk
consump ion may also con ibu e o nu i ional secu i y.
The low milk yield o dai y ca le in Senegal is gene ally
a ibu ed o he low gene ic po en ial o he indigenous
Zebu b eeds. I is also due o ha sh en i onmen al
condi ions and gene ally poo le els o animal managemen .
To inc ease he p oduc i i y o dai y ca le, he Senegalese
go e nmen has p omo ed exo ic ca le b eeds h ough
a public a i icial insemina ion (AI) p og am a no cos
o ca le keepe s. In addi ion, AI o exo ic b eeds is
a ailable h ough p i a e se ice p o ide s. This has led o
an inc ease in he up ake o indigenous by exo ic b eed
c osses, as well as he use o pu e exo ic b eeds.
Despi e his, he e is e y li le pe o mance in o ma ion
o Senegalese ca le keepe s o make in o med decisions
on which dai y b eed o c ossb eed o use. To add ess his,
he Finnish Minis y o Fo eign A ai s ia he FoodA ica
p og am, and he CGIAR Resea ch P og am on Li es ock
and Fish, unded a p ojec o iden i y and p omo e use o
he mos app op ia e dai y ca le b eeds o c ossb eeds in
selec ed p oduc ion sys ems in Senegal. Ini ial esul s o his
p ojec a e p esen ed he e.
ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 20162
S udy a ea and da a collec ion
The p ojec wo ked in wo si es in he Thiès and Diou bel
egions o Senegal (see Figu e 1). The si es can be desc ibed
as semi-a id, wi h a sho we season om abou July o
Oc obe and annual a e age ain all o 300 o 500 mm.
The main li es ock sys em is ag o-pas o al, and ca le a e
gene ally kep o bo h milk and mea .
Figu e 1. Loca ion o he s udy si es in he Thiès and Diou bel
egions (do s ep esen app oxima e loca ions o pa icipa ing
households)
Da a on ca le pe o mance, as well as household-le el
economic da a on keeping hem, was collec ed om 220
dai y ca le-keeping households, wi h collec i ely mo e
han 3200 ca le, o e a wo yea pe iod. These households
we e loca ed in bo h u al and pe i-u ban a eas. The
moni o ing was done h ough 14 ounds o a m isi s
be ween May 2013 and Ap il 2015.
Ca le b eed-g oups
Each animal was assigned o a b eed-g oup (see Table 1 and
Figu e 2) based on ei he genomic in o ma ion (628 emale
animals) o a me ecall. These b eed-g oups ep esen ed
he main b eeds and c ossb eeds o ca le kep by he
p ojec households (wi h many p ojec households keeping
a mix o b eed- ypes).
Table 1. B eed-g oup o ca le1
B eed-g oup Desc ip ion
Indigenous Zebu Zebu Gob a; Zebu Mau e
Indigenous Zebu
by Guze a
Indigenous Zebu c oss wi h Guze a ;
ypically 25% o 50% Guze a
Indigeous Zebu
by Bos Tau us
Indigenous Zebu c oss wi h Bos Tau us;
mainly Mon belia de and Hols ein-F iesian;
ypically 25% o 50% Bos Tau us
High Bos Tau us Indigenous Zebu c oss wi h Bos Tau us,
mainly Mon belia de and Hols ein-F iesian;
ypically 75% o 100% Bos Tau us
1 Animals which did no belong o hese b eed g oups we e classi ied as ‘o he ’
and no used o pa ame e es ima es.
Household managemen le els
All households we e classi ied as ‘poo e ’ o ‘be e ’ in
ela ion o he le el o animal managemen hey applied.
Fo his pu pose milk yield was used as a p oxy es -day
milk yields (exp essed in s anda d de ia ion uni s om
he b eed-g oup mean) we e a e aged ac oss all animals
in a household, and he op 50% o households classi ied
as ‘be e managemen ’ and he bo om 50% as ‘poo e
managemen ’. No e ha his means ha poo e / be e
managemen o one b eed-g oup is no necessa ily he
same le el o managemen as poo e / be e o ano he
b eed-g oup.
Pa ame e es ima es
Animal le el pa ame e s—such as ep oduc i e pa ame e s,
mo ali y a es, sale a es e c.—we e calcula ed o each
b eed-g oup by managemen le el combina ions o di e en
age-classes o animals. These age-classes we e: cal , less han
12 mon hs o age; young, 12 o less han 36 mon hs o age;
and ma u e, mo e han 36 mon hs old.
Economic pa ame e s—including all cos s and bene i s
—we e calcula ed ei he o (a) each b eed-g oup by
household managemen le el combina ions, when he
pa ame e was a animal le el (such as animal sale p ice o
cos o eed), o (b) o household keeping a majo i y o
ha b eed-g oup, when he pa ame e was a household
le el (such as milk sale p ice o cos o animal housing).
Figu e 2. Examples o ma u e ca le om he di e en b eed-
g oups
High Bos Tau us
Indigenous Zebu by Bos Tau us
Indigenous Zebu by Guze a Indigenous Zebu
Pa ame e s we e calcula ed as means when he da a was
ela i ely no mally dis ibu ed, and modes in o he cases.
The da a used was o he ds ou side o he anshuman
pe iod, and hus esul s p esen ed he e do no apply o
anshuman he ds.
Table 2 lis s selec ed key pa ame e s and hei alues;
Figu e 3 shows lac a ion milk-o ake. No e ha pa ame e s
we e no es ima ed o he High Bos Tau us— poo e
managemen combina ion—as he e we e oo ew
households /animals in his ca ego y.
ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 2016 3
Table 2. Selec ed key pa ame e s o he di e en b eed-g oup by managemen le el combina ions: “-“ o poo e manage-
men , “+” o be e managemen
Pa ame e (uni ) Indigenous Zebu Indigenous Zebu by
Guze a
Zebu by Bos Tau us High Bos
Tau us
- + - + - + +
Lac a ion milk-o ake (li es)1,2 307 899 408 907 931 1863 2251
Annual milk-o ake (li es)2175 568 223 640 508 1,315 1,422
Age a i s cal ing (yea s) 4.25 3.75 3.67 3.67 3.50 3.50 3.33
Cal ing in e al (yea s) 1.79 1.50 1.79 1.50 1.79 1.50 1.50
Age a culling (yea s) 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00
Annual mo ali y a e males ( a e)30.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04
Annual mo ali y a e emales ( a e)30.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.07
Milk sale p ice (XOF pe li e)4500 500 500 500 500 500 500
Cal sale p ice (XOF pe animal) 160,500 160,500 160,500 160,500 212,000 212,000 627,000
Young male sale p ice (XOF pe animal) 176,000 176,000 205,500 205,500 536,000 536,000 933,000
Ma u e male sale p ice (XOF pe animal) 261,500 261,500 385,500 385,500 434,000 434,000 800,000
Young emale sale p ice (XOF pe animal) 251,000 251,000 262,500 262,500 551,500 551,500 1,100,000
Cull o age emale sale p ice (XOF pe animal) 216,500 216,500 251,000 251,000 625,000 625,000 625,000
Annual ma u e emale heal h cos
(XOF pe animal) 210 425 345 500 775 800 1,790
Annual ma u e emale eed cos 5
(XOF pe animal) 72,500 193,000 105,500 215,000 198,500 394,500 736,000
Annual labou cos (XOF pe he d)6350,000 350,000 350,000 350,000 350,000 350,000 350,000
Annual animal housing cos (XOF pe he d)7 2000 2000 2000 2000 61,000 112,500 112,500
A i icial insemina ion (AI) cos (XOF pe AI) 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000 40,000
1 Fo 365 day lac a ion, a e aged o e pa i ies. ; 2 Does no include milk suckled by cal es; 3Annual mo ali y a es did no di e ac oss cal , young o adul ; 4 Milk
consumed in he home was also alued a his p ice; 5 Assumes no cos associa ed wi h g azing o pas u e; 6 Household labou was alued a he same cos as hi ed
labou ; 7 Taking in o accoun ini ial building cos s, main enance cos s, he pe cen age o s uc u e space o dai y animals, and assuming a 15 yea li e-span.
Figu e 3. Lac a ion milk o - ake pe cow, in li es, o a 365 day lac a ion
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
High Bos
Tau us
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Li es o milk
B eed g oup and le el o animal managemen
ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 20164
Table 3. Fold inc ease in p o i pe cow pe annum
o indigenous Zebu by Bos Tau us unde be e
managemen , compa ed o he o he scena ios.
B eed-g oup Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Indigenous Zebu 7.96 3.38
Indigenous Zebu by
Guze a 7.33 2.57
Indigenous Zebu by Bos
Tau us 2.03 NA
High Bos Tau us NA 1.18
The di ision o e enue and cos s o hei a ious sub-
componen s a e shown in Figu es 6 and 7. Re enue om
milk, inclusi e o milk o ake and (p edica ed) milk suckled
by he cal es, accoun ed o 61–77% o he o al e enue
(dependen on he scena io). The main cos was animal
eed and milk suckled by he cal es, which join ly accoun ed
o 80–92% o he o al cos s. Be e managemen
households we e seen o in es a leas wice he amoun
in eed in compa ison o poo e managemen households.
Feed cos s ma kedly inc eased when keeping indigenous
Zebu by Bos Tau us o high Bos Tau us, in compa ison o
keeping indigenous Zebu o indigenous Zebu by Guze a .
The cos o animal housing was highe o b eed- ypes
in ol ing Bos Tau us as hey need shade.
Wi hin a b eed-g oup, mo ing om poo e o be e
managemen esul ed in a 2.85–2.03 old inc ease in
p o i pe cow pe yea , depending on he b eed-g oup.
As discussed abo e, his can mainly be a ibu ed o he
p o ision o be e eed.
This s udy could no p ecisely pa i ion he e ec s o
be e gene ics om he e ec s o be e managemen , as
managemen le els we e no consis en ac oss he b eed-
g oups ( he esul o using ield da a based on cu en
p ac ices, a he han a designed expe imen ). Howe e , i
can be obse ed ha he eed cos is app oxima ely he
same o indigenous Zebu and indigenous Zebu by Guze a
unde be e managemen , compa ed o indigenous Zebu
by Bos Tau us unde poo e managemen , and ha he
la e s ill esul ed in he highes household p o i o hese
h ee scena ios.
The bene i o cos a io o he di e en scena ios is
gi en in Table 4. The highes a io, o 1.75:1, was o he
indigenous Zebu by Bos Tau us c ossb ed animals unde
be e managemen .
Table 4. Bene i o cos a ios o he di e en b eed-
g oup by managemen le el combina ions.
B eed-g oup Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Indigenous Zebu 1.22:1 1.32:1
Indigenous Zebu by
Guze a 1.23:1 1.44:1
Indigenous Zebu by Bos
Tau us 1.58:1 1.75:1
High Bos Tau us NA 1.47:1
Cos : bene i model
To accoun o he speci ics o he p oduc ion sys em, a
cus omized cos : bene i model was used. Re enue and
cos s (speci ied in Figu e 4) we e calcula ed pe cow pe
yea , whe e a cow is conside ed a b eeding emale a ached
o ollowe s (he p ogeny). Economies o scale (on labou ,
animal housing, and wa e ) we e aken in o accoun by
se ing a he d size as he numbe o b eeding cows in he
he d, o eigh . Annual household p o i (pe cow pe yea )
is gi en as o al e enue less o al cos s.
Figu e 4. O e iew o e enue and cos s included in he
cos :bene i analysis
Re enue
•Milk: including ha sold,
consumed in he house,
and suckled by cal es
•Male animal sale: cal es,
young, ma u e
•Female animal sale:
young, and cull o age
cows
Cos s
•Feed
•Milk suckled by cal es
•Heal h-ca e
•Animal-housing
•Labou
•Female ep oduc ion
•Wa e
•Ma ke ing and anspo
The model assumed ha all animals we e bo n in he he d,
and ha he he d comp ised animals o a single b eed-
g oup. Male animals we e sold as ei he cal es (10% o
all male animals sold), young (40%), o ma u e (50%), and
mo ali y o male animals could occu ac oss all age-classes.
Female animals no equi ed as eplacemen b eede s we e
sold a he end o he young pe iod (a 35 mon hs o age),
whils emale animals kep as b eede s we e sold a he
end o hei p oduc i e li e as cull- o -age cows. Female
mo ali ies occu ed du ing he cal and young pe iod;
emale animals e ained as b eede s we e assumed o
su i e un il culling age.
Two ep oduc i e scena ios we e conside ed: (1) b eeding
bulls used o ee as ei he hey we e bo n in he he d
o accessed ia he public AI p og am; (2) b eeding bulls
accessed ia paid AI.
Household p o i om keeping b eeds and
c ossb eeds unde di e en managemen
le els
The household p o i o keeping di e en b eeds
o c ossb eeds o ca le is gi en in Figu e 5 o he
ep oduc i e scena io o b eeding bulls used o ee.
The highes household p o i was o indigenous Zebu by
Bos Tau us c ossb ed animals unde be e managemen
(479,525 XOF pe cow pe yea ). The lowes household
p o i was o indigenous Zebu unde poo e managemen
(60,235 CFA pe cow pe yea )—a nea ly eigh - old
di e ence. See Table 3 o o he compa isons.
ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 2016 5
Figu e 5. P o i , in XOF, pe cow pe annum, o b eeding bulls used o ee (bo n in he he d o ully subsidized AI).
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
High Bos
Tau us
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Be e
managemen
P o i (CFA pe cow pe annum)
B eed g oup and le el o animal managemen
0
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
1,250,000
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
High Bos
Tau us
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Re enue (CFA pe cow pe annum)
B eed g oup and le el o animal managemen
Animals
Milk suckled by cal es
Milk o ake
Figu e 7. Cos componen s, in XOF, pe cow pe annum, o b eeding bulls used o ee (bo n in he d o ully subsidized AI).
0
250,000
500,000
750,000
1,000,000
1,250,000
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by
Guze a
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
Indigenous
Zebu by Bos
Tau us
High Bos
Tau us
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Poo e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Be e
managemen
Cos s (CFA pe cow pe annum)
B eed g oup and le el o animal managemen
Ma ke ing and anspo
Wa e ing
Heal h-ca e
Housing
Labou
Feed
Milk suckled by cal es
Figu e 6. Re enue componen s, in XOF, pe cow pe annum, o b eeding bulls used o ee (bo n in he d o ully subsidized A

ILRI Resea ch B ie —Ma ch 20166
I a i icial insemina ion cos s a e applied o he use o Bos
Tau us males, household p o i is sligh ly educed (by an
a e age o 9% o he alues shown in Figu e 5), bu Zebu
by Bos Tau us c ossb ed animals unde be e managemen
emain he mos p o i able (a XOF 445,585 pe cow pe
yea ).
Recommenda ions
1. Public and p i a e AI p og am should p o ide
c ossb eed indigenous Zebu by Bos Tau us semen o
ca le keepe s who desi e his geno ype, o imp o e
accessibili y and o a oid epe i i e backc ossing o
ei he he indigenous Zebu o Bos Tau us b eeds.
2. Ca le keepe s in es ing in indigenous Zebu by
Bos Tau us c ossb eed ca le should be ained
on app op ia e animal managemen p ac ices—
pa icula ly in ela ion o eed, animal housing, and
p epa ing animals o a i icial insemina ion—so hey
can maximize household p o i s om his geno ype.
3. The high cos s o keeping indigenous Zebu by
Bos Tau us c ossb ed animals—including he
ini ial in es men in animal housing and con inual
in es men in eed—may p e en ca le keepe s om
lowe weal h g oups adop ing his echnology. This
should be add essed, o example by access o c edi .
Re e ences
FAOSTAT, www. ao.o g, accessed Ma ch 2016.
Ma shall, K. 2014. Op imizing he use o b eed ypes
in de eloping coun y li es ock p oduc ion sys ems: a
neglec ed esea ch a ea. Jou nal o Animal B eeding and
Gene ics 131(5):329-340.
Acknowledgemen s
This p ojec was unded by he Finnish Minis y o Fo eign
A ai s unde he FoodA ica p og am, and he CGIAR
Resea ch P og am on Li es ock and Fish. The main pa ne
ins i u es we e he In e na ional Li es ock Resea ch
Ins i u e, he In e s a e School o Ve e ina y Science and
Medicine o he Uni e si y o Daka , he Uni e si y o
Helsinki and he Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e, Finland. The
au ho s g a e ully acknowledge con ibu ions om he
collabo a ing li es ock keepe s.
Ka en Ma shall and S anly Tebug wo k o he
In e na ional Li es ock Resea ch Ins i u e. Ja mo Juga
wo ks o Helsinki Uni e si y, Miika Tapio o he Na u al
Resou ces Ins i u e Finland, Ayao Missohou o he
In e s a e School o Ve e ina y Science and Medicine,
Uni e si y o Daka .
Pho o c edi :
Page 1: ILRI/Ka en Ma shall and S anly Tebug
Con ac
Ka en Ma shall
ILRI, Kenya
k.ma shall@cgia .o g
This publica ion is copy igh ed by he In e na ional Li es ock Resea ch Ins i u e (ILRI). I is licensed o use unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional Licence. Ma ch 2016