BORAN: Indigenous African cattle with potential

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BORAN

Indigenous African cattle with potential

By Mekonnen Haile-Mariam, Birgitta Malmfors and Jan Philipsson

Boran cattle - milk, meat and draught power

One of the most productive indigenous cattle breeds of East Africa, the Bo­ran, is suitable for use in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In 1992 FAO identified the Boran to be one of the five tropical cattle breeds that should be given priority for further development and conservation (Philips­son, 1992).

Boran cattle (called Borana in Ethiopia) originate from Southern and South-Eastern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. They are kept for milk by the Borana pastoralists, who totally depend on milk for their daily survival. While liv­ing under relatively harsh environmental conditions Boran cows produce adequate milk for their calves and some extra for human consumption. Un­der pastoral conditions the milk yield per cow is estimated to range between 680 and 1 000 kg over a lactation period of 7 to 13 months (Coppock, 1994). Boran cattle in Ethiopia and Kenya are also considered an important dam breed for crossbreeding with temperate cattle for dairy production. For example, in 1972 a big ranch, Abernossa, was established in Ethiopia where Boran cows were used for crossbreeding with Friesian cattle to produce F1 heifers for milk production. Over the years, hundreds of heifers were distributed from this ranch to co-operatives, individual farmers, institutional farms, etc. for use as dairy animals. The basis for this undertaking was the fact that Boran are the most abundant cattle and the view that they are the best milch animals in the country. Similarly, in Kenya Boran cattle were one of the dam breeds that were used in the establishment of a thriving dairy industry in the country.

Boran cattle have as well proven to be excellent beef animals, espe­cially under commercial ranching conditions in Kenya and other East Africa countries, including Tanza­nia, Uganda and Zambia. Results from a number of breed evaluations for beef production in the region and elsewhere indicated that Borans and their crosses are comparable or even better than other breeds (Trail et al, 1984). Because of this poten­tial Boran is one of the few African breeds that has been introduced to other parts of the world, including Australia and USA.

In Ethiopia, Boran cattle are also a good source of beef for local and international markets. For example, over 90 % of the livestock exported for slaughter from Ethiopia come from lowland areas, where Boran cattle form the majority (Coppock, 1994). In addition, it is believed that about 20 % of the cattle required for draught power by peasant farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia are obtained from lowland areas.

Pastoral production system

The area where Boran cattle originate is dominated by a semi-arid climate. The annual mean temperatures vary from 19 to 24 ˚C and the annual rainfall varies between 400 and 1 000 mm. Rainfall is bimodal with 60 % occur­ring in April and May. The Borana region is dominated by savannah containing mixtures of perennial herbaceous and woody vegetation. Several native species of grasses and woody plants provide excellent forage during the rainy season but deteriorate in the dry season.

Cattle production in all Borana breeding areas is char­acterised by pastoral or agro-pastoral systems, and the major limiting resource is surface water. Deep wells dug several centuries ago enabled the Borana people to utilise a vast area of good grassland. As a strategy for an effi­cient utilisation of their rangeland, the Borana pastoralists divide their cattle herds into two groups, one composed of heavily pregnant and lactating cows and their young calves and another consisting of dry cows, heifers, steers and bulls. Milking cows and their calves are kept close to the wells to ensure that they do not need to walk long distances to drink water and that their milk reaches the house­hold quickly. Dry cows, heifers and male animals are able to graze over a much larger area away from the wells and are brought for water­ing once in 3 to 4 days. This strat­egy enabled Borana pastoralists to minimise the mobility of cattle and humans, while at the same time al­lowing them to exploit a large area of grazing land.

By adopting a relatively sophisti­cated rangeland management and a coherent, well-structured, social organisation, the Borana pastoral­ists achieved a high level of produc­tion efficiency, while maintaining an optimum balance between people, livestock, grass and water. However, mainly due to external pressure and unco- ordinated, or sometimes inap­propriate interventions, the stability of the Borana pastoral society and the source of their livelihood, the Boran cattle, are facing serious chal­lenges. Current predictions indicate that one year in five can be consid­ered as a dry year during which the annual rainfall is less than 75 % of the average. Two consecutive dry years usually mean deaths of up to 50 % of the animals, due to feed and water scarcity (Coppock, 1994). In addition, the increase in human population has necessitated an increase in the number of animals to meet the needs for the basic diet, milk. This in turn is resulting in deterioration of rangelands due to severe overgrazing. Also, recent regulations that prohibit burning rangeland have resulted in bush encroachment, which in turn has decreased the available grazing area. These problems are aggravated by in­security and ethnic rivalry, which limit movement of people and livestock.

Good body conformation

The Ethiopian Boran is a rather large and long-legged animal, with good body conformation. They are normally white or grey, but also brown or pied colours occur. Horns are short and thick at the base. The hump is well developed in males, of pyramidal shape and over-hanging to the rear or to one side. The dewlap is well developed. In males, there is a pendulous preputial sheath, while the females have a well-developed udder.

The improved Boran in Kenya is characterised by well-developed hindquar­ters with carcasses that suit the export market. Weights of mature cows are reported to range between 400 and 550 kg, while adult bulls weigh between 550 and 750 kg. The weights for Ethiopian Boran are 300 to 400 kg for cows and 550 to 675 kg for bulls under ranch conditions. Under pastoral conditions the corresponding weights are 225 and 400 kg.

Adaptation to harsh environments

The genes that Boran cattle carry are mainly the result of a long-term natu­ral selection under harsh environmental conditions. However, in the evo­lution and development of Boran cattle, the role of their owners, the Borana people, can not be overestimated. To live and reproduce in a changing environment, Boran cattle have developed adaptive traits of crucial impor­tance for their survival. Some of these characters are ability to withstand periodic shortage of water and feed, ability to walk long distances in search of water and feed and ability to di­gest low quality feeds. In addition, Boran animals have developed some degree of tolerance to heat stress, some ticks and tick-borne diseases and other tropical diseases. Boran cows have also a long reproductive herd life, a good maternal ability and a good herd instinct.

Genetic antagonism between direct and maternal effects - a possible adaptation mecha­nism

Analysis of field data of Boran cattle, whereby the genetic effect on growth of calves was partitioned into that of the calf’s own genotype (direct) and that of the dam’s genotype (mater­nal), demonstrated that the two are slightly more antagonistic than ob­served in temperate cattle (Haile-Mariam, 1994). In other words, ani­mals with positive genes for their own growth are likely to have relatively poor capacity to support the growth of their calves when they themselves become mothers. As a result of this in-built feedback mechanism, Boran cattle have adapted to stressful tropical environments by maintaining small body size.

Good genes to withstand feed scarcity

In a study where pure Boran were compared against 1/2 Boran - 1/2 Friesian (F1) and 3/4 Friesian - 1/4 Boran crosses, an important geno­type by environment interaction was demonstrated for weaning weight. When born during the main wet sea­son (i.e calves weaned during the following dry season), 3/4 Friesian - 1/4 Boran crosses weighed less than the F1 calves, while they showed the highest growth rate when born during the other two seasons (Haile-Mariam, 1994). This change in rank­ing between the F1 and 3/4 Friesian crosses, depending on their season of birth, indicates that crossbreeds acquiring less than half of their genes from Boran cattle, require feed supplementation in periods of scarcity in order to maintain their superiority. In production systems where supplementary feeding is not economical, Boran genes are very important for the utilisation of the available sources. The other impor­tant result was that the Boran calves maintained a uniform growth rate regardless of their birth season and thus showed less variability when feed was scarce.

Low maintenance require­ment

Animals with Boran genes have a relatively low maintenance require­ment. This was substantiated in a recent study carried out at the US Meat Animal Research Centre in Ne­braska. Under limited feeding condi­tions, Boran sired steers had a higher level of lipoprotein lipase activity in the subcutaneous fat depot than ani­mals sired by other breeds (Sprinkle et al, 1998). This is an indication that animals with Boran genes have low maintenance requirements, which enables them to survive the periodic feed shortages that frequently occur during drought in their homelands. The most outstanding characteristic of Boran cattle is that, while having low maintenance requirements, they are also able to produce efficiently when feeding conditions improve. Evidence from field data from the Borana Plateau has also demonstrat­ed that young Boran animals can make dramatic recoveries after drought years when pasture conditions improve (Coppock, 1994).

Potential for improvement

Good genes for reproduction

Good meat quality

Studies at the US Meat Animal Research Centre have also shown that heif­ers with 50 % of their genes from the Boran breed, reached puberty earlier and had higher fertility, calving and weaning rate than Brahman sired heif­ers (Freetly and Cundiff, 1997). This is a sign of a useful ‘gene pool’ in the Boran, particularly when one considers that the Brahman is a tropically adapted breed that has been subjected to considerable improvement efforts in the US and other countries. The favourable influence of Boran genes was also shown by a faster growth rate of Boran sired heifers during the breeding season than those heifers sired by Angus, Hereford, Brahman and Tuli bulls (an African breed introduced to the US). In addition, although the carcass and body weight of animals sired by Brahman was slightly higher, animals with 50 % of their genes from Boran were superior in marbling score, an important measure of meat quality. Thus, by using Boran cattle as a source of genes, livestock breeders in tropi­cal and subtropical areas could in­crease tolerance to heat and ticks in their breeding populations without sacrificing important traits like meat quality and reproduction.

Positive genes for growth rate

The genetic variation in growth traits of Boran cattle is large. For instance, the difference between animals with ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ genes for weight at weaning and one-year of age in Ethiopia was reported to be more than 50 kg when the aver­age weights were 169 and 191 kg at weaning and one-year age, respec­tively (Haile-Mariam, 1994). This in­dicates that it is possible to increase growth if appropriate selection pro­cedures are followed. In addition, the potential for genetic changes through selection can be confirmed by comparing the weights of Boran cattle in Kenya, where selection has been carried out, with those in Ethi­opia, where no efficient selection has taken place.

References

Coppock, D.L. 1994. The Borana Plateau of Southern Ethio­pia: Synthesis of pastoral research, development and change, 1980-91. International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Freetly, H.C. and L.V. Cundiff. 1997. Postweaning growth and reproduction characteristics of heifers sired by bulls of seven breeds and raised on different levels of nutrition. J.Anim. Sci. 75:2841-2851.

Haile-Mariam, M. 1994. Genetic Analysis of Boran, Frie­sian and Crossbred cattle in Ethiopia. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Rep. No. 113. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

Philipsson, J. 1992. Practical issues for the conservation and improvement of priority breeds: A global review of the ge­netic resources of cattle. Expert consultation on the manage­ment of global animal genetic resources. 3 - 4 April, 1992. FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 104, Rome. pp. 129-155.

Sprinkle, J.E., Ferrell, C.L., Holloway, J.W., Warrington, B.G., Green, L.W., Wu, G. and Stuth, J.W. Adipose tissue parti­tioning of limit-fed beef cattle and beef with ad libitum ac­cess to feed differing in adaptation to heat. J. Anim. Set. 76:665-673.

Trail, J.C.M., Gregory, K.E., Durkin, J and Sandford, J. 1984. Crossbreeding cattle in beef production programmes in Ke­nya. II. Comparison of purebred Boran and Boran crossed with the Red Poll and Santa Gertrudis breeds. Trop. Anim. Hlth. Prod., 16:191-200.

Dr Mekonnen Haile-Mariam is a guest speaker at the De­partment of Animal Breeding and Genetics, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden. In 1994 he completed a PhD study dealing with Boran cattle of Ethiopia.

Dr Birgitta Malmfors is Director of Studies at the department above and is the leader of a Sida/SAREC financed research and training project on Animal Breeding in Ethiopia.

Dr Jan Philipsson is head of the Cattle, Sheep and Horse section of the same department and was the main supervi­sor during the PhD studies of Dr Mekonnen. He has been involved in development of animal breeding programmes in tropical countries as an FAO consultant.

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