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Abstract
The indigenous smallholder Lagune breed and the production systems in which it is embedded in Southern Benin have received very little research or policy attention. Consequently, very little information exists on the diversity of these production systems or on their capacity to adapt to ongoing socio-economic and environmental changes. This study aimed to explore and characterize the diversity of Lagune cattle production systems along with farmers’ local knowledge and resilience strategies. A questionnaire was administered to 417 Lagune cattle farmers across two agro-ecological zones: Ouémé Valley (OVZ) and Pobe (PZ). It included, inter alia, questions related to households’ socio-economic conditions, their cattle herd characteristics, and management practices. Categorical principal component analysis and the two-step clustering method were used to classify the production systems which were then compared using the chi-square and ANOVA procedures. Four distinct farm types were identified. This study revealed the important role of agroecology in the diversity of farmers’ breeding practices. Controlled mating was more common in tethering systems whereas uncontrolled mating, widespread in free-roaming systems, has favored Lagune breed admixture with zebus. Opportunities for conserving the genetic diversity within the Lagune breed might be greater in PZ where breed admixture was almost inexistent.
Highlights
In sub-Saharan Africa, the keeping of indigenous cattle resources plays important socio-economic and cultural roles [1,2], and constitutes one of the major sources of income and means of poverty reduction [3,4]
The study was carried out in the Guinea-Congolian (GCZ) vegetation zone of Southern Benin, which was subdivided into four phytogeographical districts including the Pobe (PZ) and Ouémé Valley zones (OVZ) (Figure 1) where most of the Lagune cattle farms were found [15]
The ethnic group Goun predominated in the two zones, but with a higher proportion (92.2%) in OVZ, whereas other ethnic groups such as the Tori, Adjarra, and Nago were only met in Pobe zone (PZ)
Summary
In sub-Saharan Africa, the keeping of indigenous cattle resources plays important socio-economic and cultural roles [1,2], and constitutes one of the major sources of income and means of poverty reduction [3,4]. With the increasing climate variability and human population growth, which affect fodder availability, livestock survival, and farmers’ access to market [11,12,13], and induce some social and agro-ecological upheavals, zebu cattle herders have increased their mobility from the semi-arid regions towards the humid regions in search of pasture and water. This encroachment of indicine cattle in the natural habitat of taurine breeds have brought significant changes in the breed composition and management of the resident herds [14]. These changes have put the genetic diversity of this small-bodied but trypanotolerant breed [17] under threat, compromising its sustainable use
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