African countries preserve, improve local livestock breeds

Ankole Longhorn cattle are a local breed found mainly in southwestern Uganda. Developed from crosses between longhorn humpless cattle — which came from Egypt to Ethiopia — and humped Zebu from Asia, they are heat tolerant, resistant to diseases and parasites and adaptable to different climatic conditions. The bulls weigh 339 to 500 kilos and cows weigh between 200 and 410 kilos.

The banner symbolizes the agreement between 12 countries to contribute to the East African Regional Gene Bank for Animal Genetic Resources. The countries are Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and the Republic of Comoros. The Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) is in Entebbe, Uganda.

Loke Samuel from Karamoja herds East Africa short horn Zebu cattle. They calve in shorter intervals than other indigenous breeds. Their mature weight is 300 to 450 kilos for a bull and 200 to 350 kilos for a cow with small horns, pronounced hump and small dewlap. They adapt to hot climates.

Kasolwe goats are another indigenous breed often found in eastern Uganda. They have a shiny brown coat with a black mane and lobes on their neck. The adult female weighs between 35 to 60 kilos while adult males weigh between 45 and 70 kilos.

The pure black Mubende goat is indigenous mainly to central, east and western Uganda. The Mubende has shiny, straight hair that is normally black or a mixture of black with white spots. Its meat is of high quality, as is its skin, which is used for leather in the tanning industry.

Spotted Mubende goats only weigh between 22 and 35 kilos. Like other local breeds, these goats survive during times of drought, and can go several days without drinking water.

At a lab at the Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank, technicians operate the semen packing machine The semen is collected from the animals, examined and the condition is evaluated. The sperm is packed in straw and labeled by breed, name, location and other particulars for identification

Ovaries containing eggs from a cow are stored in a container before being examined under the microscope in one of the gene bank's labs.

An embryo transfer lab technician checks the bovine ovaries under the microscope to look at the oocytes (non fertilized eggs). It is part of the process of preserving genes for particular livestock at the Animal Genetic Resources Center and Data Bank

After semen of different indigenous animals has been packed in straw, it is transferred to a liquid nitrogen machine to be frozen to a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius . Here, it remains alive but quiet forever unless removed from the gas for activation.