I am a female adult, born and brought up among the Ankole Long Horn Cattle (ALHC) keeping Bahima community of Uganda. I am a member of the Ankole Cow Conservation Association (ACCA), which is campaigning for ways to ensure that this great indigenous breed does not become extinct. I own 50 pure Ankole Long Horn Cattle which I graze on family land in Kijumba, Ngoma Sub-County in Nakaseke district of the central part of the Cattle corridor of Uganda.

With the use of the LIFE method, I supported some Ankole Long Horn cattle herders of Nyabushozi County, Kiruhura District to document the Ankole Long Horn breed.

What I hold in high esteem;

• Indigenous breeds and animal welfare
• Environment, rangeland protection and biodiversity
• Poverty alleviation and pastoralism as a system of production
• Economic empowerment, especially of women
• Education and indigenous knowledge

By; Elizabeth Katushabe for Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) Uganda (January to June 2015)

INTRODUCTION

PENHA (Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa), supported by LPP (League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development), with funding from the Erbacher Foundation, undertook the following project:

“Conservation of indigenous Ankole Long Horn Cattle for insurance, sustainable livelihood, poverty reduction, culture and food security in Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts in Uganda” The overall goal of the project was: To promote and protect the Ankole Long Horn cattle by empowering the breeders and keepers of the breed to protect it themselves. The project duration was from January to June 2015.

During the implementation of the project, PENHA Uganda carried out the following activities; there was development of promotional materials, i.e.3000 flyers and 1000 badges. These were for making all stakeholders aware of the values of Ankole cattle. Since February 2015, 500 flyers and 150 badges have been disseminated to several stakeholders and mainly herders.

There were pre-visits, which aimed at collaborating with government institutions and departments such as the National Animal Genetic Resource Centre farm located in Njeru from where we accessed research data on qualities of Ankole Long Horn cattle. We visited sub-counties of Ngoma and Wabinyonyi in the districts of Nakaseke and Nakasongola, respectively. Here, we met sub-county leaders and district officers such as the National Agriculture Advisory Services co-ordinators, the sub-county chiefs and the elected local leaders. The local people referred us to herders who still own relatively big herds of pure Ankole Long Horn cattle whom we visited and found out why they still rear the indigenous breed.

We held a consultative meeting in Ngoma, Nakaseke district aimed at educating and raising awareness of stakeholders about the importance and value of the Ankole indigenous breed for the livelihood of the herders and for biodiversity. Herders were also informed about the importance of bio-cultural community protocols. The meeting brought together leaders from sub-counties, key individuals and opinion leaders in the communities.

Skits, local radio stations, UBC Buruli FM and Kitara FM were used to explain and promote the values and importance of the indigenous breeds (Ankole cattle and others) – for e.g., in conservation of biodiversity, resilience in harsh environment and climate change, sustainable livelihood and food security. These were broadcast for 30 days on each radio station (23 March – 22 April and 15 April-15 May 2015 on UBC Bululi FM and Kitara FM respectively).

ACTIVITIES

Pre-visit to government institutions and private initiatives

National Animal Genetic Resource Centre – NAGRIC and Data Bank

The Animal Genetic Resource Centre is a government institution established to conserve valuable animal genetics. It has a data bank in Entebbe and several government ranches and stock farms. Nshaara ranch is specifically used for selecting and conserving the Ankole Long Horn breed.

Njeru stock farm in Nyenga, Kayunga district: The farm was established in 1969 as a dairy unit for multiplication of livestock. There are both indigenous (Ankole) and exotic cows, a piggery, 130 acres of maize kept in silo bank (130 tons of animal feed). There are exotic breeds of cattle such as Friesian, Siwarls and Ayrshire. Artificial insemination is used to obtain the best genes and it takes 7 years to determine the best genes. Ankole Long Horns on the farm use bulls for mating. Nshara Farm in the south western part of Uganda was established purely for conservation of Ankole Long Horns.

They said the Jersey cow’s milk is similar to Ankole Long Horn’s milk with high fat content but the Jersey is also a high milk producer.

Their market is the expatriate community, which lives and works mainly in the eastern town of Jinja and also in the capital city, Kampala. This community prefers Jersey pasteurised milk, ice cream, yoghurt and butter.

They said that they started with zero grazing on a small piece of land but now they have rented some land to expand grazing space. They said that they try to conserve the grazing grass by carrying out rotational farming, and they reduce ticks by making tick barriers – 4–5 metre wide ruts, i.e. bare soil and burnt grass in paddocks seasonally. They agreed that they have to use accaricides (e.g. Delta methrene spray) to kill ticks and antibiotics to treat diseases; but hastened to say that they use withdraw method during treatment. They have a long-term plan of establishing a model training centre for demonstrations and developing vocational skills for farmers.

George said that he owns cross-bred animals which produce 500 litres every day. However, the income from the milk does not support these cattle, which means he does not get enough money to provide all the inputs to take care of them. (N.B. Bahima would not reveal how many heads of cattle owned by them. Traditionally, it was taboo among Bahima to mention numbers.)

He said that under normal circumstances; when one owns cows, he is a boss. However, with the Friesians, owners are slaves. Workers abuse the owner, they mistreat or mishandle their livestock and at times the cows die due to the workers’ carelessness. However, the owners ignore the workers because they need the services of the workers, especially to milk. At times, workers go on a strike because they know that the owner needs them. They ask him to buy them illegal herbs (marijuana) for chewing because they know he needs them to stay on the farm looking after the cows. George said that even after all the 24-hour care, the cows still die. He gave an example of a prominent rich man who had died on a Sunday and by Thursday, half his herd was dead and the calves, if not cared for would suckle a lot of milk and die in one month. He said that cows of farmers who do not live on the farm suffer more. He emphasised that if one does not live at home and is a woman, then one should not invest in Friesian crosses because even when she is living there, she cannot give an injection to the cow. He gave an example of another friend who has been keeping hides of dead Friesian crosses so that he can count the dead. This caused an illness that took him to Bangalore for treatment.

Beatrice – Kashozi: Beatrice owned Ankole cows but is currently crossing them with a Frisian bull. She said that she is doing this to increase her income. However, she added that the crosses are giving her much stress. She informed me that she is on treatment for high blood pressure and therefore she spends much of the milk sale income on hospital bills.

Kiiza Isanga (Chairman Local Council III) – Kigweeri: He said that this project is in line with the president’s proposal of conserving the indigenous breed. He noted that a committee has already been appointed to mobilise the richer herders and sensitise them to save portions of their land for the Ankole breed. Small carrying capacity of land should not be an excuse because many herders have a lot of space and can manage to graze both breeds. He said that Ankole Long Horn cattle can survive in all situations, but exotics such as Boran need a lot of grass. ALHC can walk long distances to access grass and water and their milk is tasty. He advised that herders can paddock off some acres for grazing 40 Ankole cattle. He supports the idea of a farm for selecting the best bulls for breeding.

Yokaana Kyomukuuku – Kijumba, Ngoma: He also tried rearing exotics but has been disappointed so far because Friesians need a lot of input. Those of us who sell milk do not necessarily get profit because most income is spent on drugs. He said Ankole cattle are still very important; for example, last year, when he had to pay bride price (dowry) for his son’s wife, the in-laws insisted that they wanted Ankole cows.

Beshweri Kashaija (Chairman of the committee of rich people supposed to implement the president’s proposal to conserve the Ankole) – Karyaburo: He was happy that PENHA was involved in an important project of sensitising the community about protecting the Ankole breed. He mentioned that this was in line with what the president had talked to them about. He said that we should educate people such that they should not only consider the beauty of the cow but also its other values such as resistance to harsh conditions. He mentioned that the Bahima standard Ankole cow “Bihogo” was not very beautiful but it produced a lot of milk and therefore people should be encouraged to breed it for this purpose. He informed us that His Excellency, the President was providing bulls (not very beautiful ones) to the rich people. These were good for milk production; their offspring could produce 5 to 7 litres of milk. The president has told people not to destroy cows for being ugly.

Beshweri said that even though he had crossed some of his Ankole cattle, he still treasured the Ankole cattle breed because he had 300 herds of Ankole breed. He sold them, bought a vehicle and constructed a house. He said a fattened cow could fetch 3 million Uganda shillings (Euros 1000).

He said that sometime back, during an epidemic of East Coast fever; he lost 30 heads of Friesian crosses that had been producing 20 litres of milk each. However, he said that during their meeting with the president, he had promised them that he would suggest a way of destroying the ticks.

Erick Kamafaari – Kijumba: He said that he sold Ankole cows to buy extra land but that he was now making a few changes by paddocking some land near his house so that he could keep Ankole cows to produce milk for home consumption and stop drinking milk from Friesian cows. He said that his neighbour does not drink milk from Friesian cows.

He explained that he appreciates the value of the Ankole cows and that some can produce 7 liters and that they can walk for 4 miles without experiencing migration stress. He said that 300 acres can feed 80 Friesians compared to 160 Ankole cows because Friesian cows eat a lot.

He is aware that Ankole cow’s milk is healthy because during the 1979 war, he had lived on blood and raw milk for one year and he did not fall ill. The money he got from selling milk of Friesian cows took him to the hospital (he is diabetic and is on treatment).

He still keeps Ankole cows because he loves beautiful cows. He said that during an East Coast fever epidemic, he lost Friesian crosses (6 bulls and 4 heifers) but the Ankole cows survived.

We visited the different local leaders to introduce the project in the district. These included the Chief of Wabinyonyi sub-county, Begumye Robert. He appreciated the great concept which he said was the best way for a sustainable future for our herders. We then met Senyimba Charles Daniel, the Local Council 3 chairman. His thanked us for talking about reality and that many people who are trying out the exotics are losing a lot since they cannot survive during the dry season. He said that herders should be encouraged to rear beef cattle instead of focusing on milk-producing cows which cannot survive in the harsh climate.

He said that he is also the Chairman for Nakasongola District Wildlife Association. He added that wealthy pastoralists clear bushes, in the name of cleaning farms for their exotic breeds which hurts him because they destroy potential wildlife attraction.

He said that the leaders have tried to talk to herders about bush clearing but in vain. He said that he supports indigenous breeds because “when you marry a new wife, you do not chase away the old one”. He added that people can rear indigenous cattle breeds on one paddock and use the other paddock for exotic breeds.

He promised that leaders would support the awareness project. He informed us that under a government programme called “Luwero Rwenzori”, five exotic heifers were distributed but only one has survived in the previous year because not many people can manage the exotics.

Landless pastoral communities near Kaishagara Forest Reserve: We met a group of landless pastoralists who had camped near a government valley tank. There were five families who had moved over 50 km from where they normally graze their livestock.

One of them Rwamangwa Steven, said that he had moved to this area because he does not own land. His family lives (squats) on some other people’s land and they have to pay rent annually, during the dry season. Water dries up and there is not enough grass; so, the owner does not allow them to keep all their herds on his land. Therefore, they move further to look for greener pastures.

There are several challenges when herders burn the grass and the livestock will have nothing to graze upon. This was traditionally okay because the herders would consider the rainy period and burn the grass to plan for the new growth, which would be more nutritious. However with climate change, no season is predictable anymore. The livestock therefore at times eats the cultivators’ crops, which leads to conflicts. During our visit, we learnt that some cultivators had used pangas to cut seven cows because they suspected that they were the ones that had destroyed their gardens. So, conflicts are unavoidable.

Consultative Meeting, 8 April 2015, Ngoma Sub-county, Nakaseke District

Considering that it was during the peak of the dry season, when herders are very busy searching for water for their livestock, the meeting was well-attended by 89 enthusiastic participants (80 males and 9 females). An overview of the meeting was given and participants were asked why they were destroying their Ankole indigenous breed. They were asked to mention the values of the breed and why we need to protect it. Finally, participants were asked to suggest what should be done in order to protect the Ankole breed. Participants provided inspiring ways for protecting the breed. I suggested that if the animal genetic resource centre agreed to support us, I would offer my farm for pilot breeding.

Way forward

• Some herders proposed to form an association of Ankole cattle keepers and others suggested the strengthening of the existing one initiated by the president. Four herders were selected to lead the plan for the future.
• Involving National Animal Genetic Resource Centre to help us select high milk producing Ankole cows.
• Acquiring land for breeding pure Ankole bulls focusing on milk production – As a start, I proposed to offer my land to be used as a pilot project if NAGRIC supported us in selecting Ankole bulls for breeding high milk-producing breeds.

ELIZABETH KATUSHABE
Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) Uganda
P.O.Box 34077, Kampala, Uganda

I am a female adult, born and brought up among the Bahima community of Uganda keeping Ankole Long Horn Cattle (ALHC). I am a member of the Ankole Cow Conservation Association (ACCA), which is campaigning for ways to ensure that this great indigenous breed does not become extinct. I own 50 pure Ankole Long Horn Cattle, which I graze on family land in Kijumba, Ngoma Sub-County in Nakaseke district of the central part of the Cattle corridor of Uganda.

What I hold in high esteem;
• Indigenous breeds and animal welfare
• Environment, rangeland protection and biodiversity
• Poverty alleviation and pastoralism as a system of production
• Economic empowerment, especially of women Education and indigenous knowledge