Challenges and Opportunities in Dairying - A Farmer’s View

In Ethiopia, more attention is being given to crossbreeding to answer the questions of food security in the near future as the selection in local cattle is very slow to bring progress. In contrast, improving the genetic potential of local cattle is not given equivalent emphasis though it is essential for effective selection in straight breeding and crossbreeding. Quick-win genetics-based dairy cattle improvement technologies are important to transform the progress of dairy cattle in Ethiopia. But dairy cattle genetic improvement programs are usually hampered by dozens of factors. The aim of our review is to provide overview, underlying hurdles and future prospects of dairy cattle genetic gain efforts in Ethiopia. We will also appraise the genetic and npn-genetic parameters of indigenous and crossbred dairy cattle from various reports, and discuss what adversely affects those who want to start a dairy business.

Presenter: Wondirad  Abraham is a beekeeper and coauthor of a book in beekeeping. As a dairy man he currently is president of the Ethiopian Commercial Dairy Farmers Association. His experience includes production, evaluation and initiation of agricultural extension material and dissemination of research output to end users.