Chronicle Editor
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
IMPROVING livestock genetics is crucial to providing farmers with high-quality breeds and is key to increasing the national herd for sustainable economic growth.
Livestock genetics is the science of improving the genetic traits of animals through selective breeding and advanced reproductive technologies.
It can involve but is not limited to cattle, goats and sheep, as in most African communities these hold immense importance, with cattle serving various purposes such as paying bride prices, providing meat and milk and serving as draught power.
Last week, Zimbabwean cattle rancher, Mr Collen Tafireyi made headlines when he shattered cattle auction records at the Hurwitz Farming Production Auction held at the Bull Ring Auction House in Davel, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa by buying a prized Boran Stud bull for a whopping R8 million (US$444 000).
Besides sending shockwaves through the agriculture industries in South Africa, Zimbabwe and beyond, Mr Tafireyi’s incredible feat demonstrates the country’s seriousness in re-building the national herd after years of under-performing.
He is a Boran breeder at Sinyo Boran Stud in Wedza, Mashonaland East Province.
In an interview, Esigodini-based cattle breeder, Mr Obert Chinhamo said livestock genetics leads to improved livestock production and helps develop superior breeds with higher market value.
“Through involvement in the selection, breeding and management of livestock genetics, farmers can establish profitable enterprises such as breeding farms, artificial insemination services and consultancy firms.
“Engaging in livestock genetics provides a platform for farmers to acquire valuable skills and knowledge and through specialised training programmes, workshops and mentorship, they can develop expertise in areas such as animal husbandry, genetics, reproductive technologies and data analysis,” he said.
He said livestock genetics play a significant role in ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. At the same time, by selectively breeding animals for improved traits, farmers can reduce the reliance on chemical inputs, increase feed efficiency, and minimise the environmental impact of livestock production.
Livestock specialist, farmer and columnist, Mr Mhlupheki Dube said genetics improvement was important in animal husbandry practice.
“If you look at the communal farmers in Zimbabwe, these happen to hold about 90 percent of the national herd which is at about 5,4 million. One of the critical challenges these farmers face is inbreeding depression. Because of continuous mating of similar genetics or genotypes the offspring become of poor quality in several aspects,” he said.
“These could be its frame size or other production traits such as loss of quality. So when you want to reverse that and improve the type of animals you are producing, you need to infuse better genetics into your herd.”
He said improving livestock genetics could be done through natural mating using a bull or through artificial insemination using semen collected from high-quality bulls such as the Boran.
Mr Dube said breed improvement through the infusion of good genetics into a livestock farmer’s herd was an important management practice.
“This allows you to get offspring that have better genetics through hybrid vigour, you get animals with a bigger frame, those that produce more milk and meat depending on what traits your bull can transfer.
“Farmers need to understand that when you are buying a bull for breed improvement you are not buying the meat but the genetics and bloodline, that is why such bulls tend to have higher prices,” he added.
He said there was a difference between selling a bull for meat as opposed to selling it for its genetics which tends to be costly.
Statistics show that in Zimbabwe only a few commercial livestock farmers have ventured into genetics improvement cattle breeding and it has somehow remained a high-walled venture with slow but perfunctory steps being taken to remove the sense of it being complicated and costly.
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