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By Andualem Sisay - Capital
28 March 2007
After four years of research, scientists from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and International Livestock Research Institute (IRLI), have identified a cattle-type resistant to a fatal form of bovine disease.
“We were comparing four indigenous breeds on their tripano-tolerant ability. We are concluding the research and the result is telling us that one of the breeds – Sheko – is by far better than others in tolerating disease,” says Dr. Tadelle Dessie, an animal scientist with the Biotechnology team at IRLI.
“ILRI is looking at the role that livestock can play to alleviate poverty,” says Bruce Scott, Director of Partnerships and Communications, who met with Capital at the annual ILRI staff reviewing and planning gathering in Addis.
According to Dr. Tadelle, tripano-tolerance is transmittable from generation to generation. The four breeds have been in the same environment for thousands of years and have developed the trait of tripano-tolerance.
The Sheko cattle breed is mainly found in Magi zone, Oromia, in western Ethiopia. Horo, Abrigar and Guragae highland are the three breeds which have the least tripano-tolerance ability compared with Sheko.
“Currently, we are preparing a project proposal with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop a multiplication center, so that this technology reaches the widest range of farmers in the country,” Dr. Tadelle said.
Dr. Tadelle declined to say how much the multiplication centre would cost, but did say it would be a lot of money.
In addition to identifying indigenous cattle species, ILRI and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are also conducting research to improve productivity and improve market access for farmers. This project, called Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS), is funded by Canadian-SIDA and is running in ten pilot cites in Ethiopia. It has been under implementation for the past two years.
The intention of the project is to shift the focus from just looking at food security and subsistence to finding ways to earn income through access to local, regional and international markets. Knowledge management, capacity building, commodity development and research are the core areas of IPMS’s intervention.
“Even in such a short time, we have been able to get lessons on how the agriculture extension program has to be implemented,” says Dr. Azage Tegegne, animal scientist at ILRI who is leading the IPMS project. “We are following-up the performances of the information centres we have at Wereda levels and we are planning to diversify to the regional level.”
Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNP are the four regions chosen for the project’s pilot cites. Miaso in Oromia, Metema in Amhara and Alamata in Tigray are the Weredas where IPMS has achieved good results in fattening and providing cattle to the market. Adaa, Dale, Fogera and Alamata have improved the quality of their milk after receiving training and support Dr. Azage said.
“We are distilling some of our best experiences and recommending our results to policy makes so that all farmers will benefit from such experiences and findings,” he says.
Before changing its name in 1995 and began functioning globally, ILRI was previously known as International Livestock Center for Africa (ILCA). Now the research institute has some 120 classified scientists and 150 staff. ILRI has been working in Ethiopia since 1974.