Research proposal

THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION AMONG CATTLE KEEPERS IN MUKONO DISTRICT A CASE OF KYAMPISI SUB-COUNTY.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

DECLARATION. i

Approval ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. iii

LIST OF FIGURES. vii

ABSTRACT. viii

CHAPTER ONE. 1

INTRODUCTION.. 1

1.0 Introduction. 1

1.1 Background of the study. 1

1.2 Statement of the problem.. 3

1.4 General objective. 3

1.5 Specific objectives. 4

1.6 Research questions. 4

1.7. Significance of the study. 4

1.8 Scope of the study. 5

1.8.1. Participant scope. 5

1.8.2. Content scope. 5

1.8.3. Time scope. 5

1.9. Conceptual flame work. 5

CHAPTER TWO.. 6

LITERATURE REVIEW.. 6

2.1. Introduction. 6

2.2. Artificial insemination world wide. 6

2.3. Artificial insemination in Uganda. 10

2.4. Methods of breeding cattle. 12

2.4.1. Natural mating. 12

2.4.2. Artificial insemination. 13

2.5. Benefits of AI 15

CHAPTER THREE. 16

METHODOLOGY.. 16

3.0. Introduction. 16

3.1. Research design. 17

3.2. Description of the study area. 17

3.3. Study population. 17

3.4. Sampling procedure. 17

3.5. Method of data collection. 17

3.5.1. Interview survey. 17

3.5.2. Questionnaire survey. 18

3.5.3 Observation. 18

3.6 Quality control 18

3.6.1 Validity. 19

3.6.2 Reliability. 20

3.7. Data analysis. 21

3.7.1. Quantitative data. 21

3.7.2. Quantitative data. 21

3.8. Ethical considerations 21

CHAPTER FOUR.. 22

ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS. 22

4.0 Introduction. 22

4.1. Demographic findings of the study. 22

CHAPTER FIVE. 35

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY FINDINGS. 35

5.0 Introduction. 35

5.1 Discussion of the study. 35

5.1.1 Method of breeding cattle used by the farmers. 35

5.1.2 People using natural breeding methods and those using artificial insemination. 36

5.2 Conclusion. 37

5.3 Recommendations 38

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Findings on the geographical location of the respondents. 22

Table 2: Age of the respondent 23

Table 3: Findings on the marital status of the respondents. 23

Table 4: Findings on the educational level of respondents. 23

Table 5: Findings on the type of cattle being kept 24

Table 6: Determining the coefficients of variables. 25

Table 7: Correlation analysis between the breed of cattle and the educational level of the respondent 25

Table 8: Determining the regression analysis of the educational level of the respondent and the method of breeding cattle. 26

Table 9: The findings of the significance value indicating the educational level of the respondent and the choice of the breeding method. 27

Table 10: Correlation analysis methods of breeding cattle and educational level of respondents. 27

Table 11: Findings on the farm size. 27

Table 12: Findings on if the farm is fenced. 31

Table 13: Findings on the way the farmer keep their animals. 31

Table 14: Methods of breeding cattle farmers prefer 31

Table 15: Finding on the reasons for the preferences of the breeding method. 32

Table 16: Findings if the farmers have ever accessed AI in their farm.. 32

Table 17: Findings on the way they communicate to the artificial inseminator 32

Table 18: How many times do you service your cows before conceiving. 33

Table 19: Findings on problems Farmers encounter when mating/serving  their cow.. 34

Table 20: The following are the ways which can be used to solve the challenge. 34

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Graphical analysis of cross tabulation analysis of gender of the respondents against the method of breeding  29

Figure 2 : Cross tabulation analysis on the education level of the respondents and method of breeding cattle  30

Figure 3: Findings on the educational level of respondents against the type of breeds being kept 33

ABSTRACT

The topic of study was; the application of artificial insemination among cattle keepers in Mukono district a case of Kyampisi Sub-County. The study was guided by the following objectives; to examine the method of breeding cattle used by the farmers in Kyampisi sub-county, to compare the percentage of people using natural breeding methods and those using artificial insemination and to establish why the percentage of one method is higher than the other one.

The study results also indicated that majority of the farmers in Kyampisi sub county use natural mating type of system to encourage the mating among the cows. The study results indicates that majority of the respondents indicated that they choose a specific breeding method because of affordability. This results therefore indicates that natural mating method is chosen by the farmers because of affordability. Majority of the farmers in the study had farm acres of 1.5 acres of land. This also indicates that these farm sizes are small. And it was also further reported that farmers have on average 4.75 herds of cattle in their farm and it was also further revealed that farmers pay on average of 79200 shs. This also reveals that farmers have few herds of cattle and that artificial insemination is expensive. The study result also indicates that the farmers are not conversant with the benefits of artificial insemination and it has also been revealed that the Artificial insemination is not within the reach of the farmers.  The study made the following recommendations; the government should sensitize farmers on the benefits of using artificial insemination, the government should subsidize the farm inputs and the government should also ensure that veterinary services are within the reach of the farmers.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This chapter presents background of the study, the problem statement, purpose, objectives of the study, research questions, study scope, and significance of the study.

1.1 Background of the study

As we understand more about the physiological process in food producing animals, we become capable of manipulating these animals to increase their productivity. As new technologies develop in agriculture, new industries also develop. The Artificial Insemination industry is a result of application of science to agriculture.

The primary reason for Artificial Insemination and hence this industry is to speed up the rate of genetic improvement. This is accomplished by greatly increasing the selection differential, where one highly selected sire is mated with thousands of females.

Although the commercial use of Artificial Insemination is recent (1937), the sequence of events leading to today’s industry traces back to the 17^th century. It was in 1677 when a spermatozoa was seen through the newly discovered microscope and when in Italy in 1780, it was discovered that a dog could be impregnated with cellular portion of semen (Leeuwen hock, 1977 and spallanzenii, 1780).

It was observed that spermatozoa could be inactivated by cooling and reactivated later (spallanzenii, 1780). By 1933 in Russia a method of collecting semen had been developed and they had started inseminating horses, cattle, sheep and swine (Wanow, 1933).

Research with cattle Artificial Insemination has been in progress in the United States and by 1939 seven Artificial Insemination (AI) cooperatives had been developed (Perry 1939).

Approximately 60% of dairy cows in the US are artificially inseminated. This is below the use of AI in European dairy areas such as Denmark, Holland and England where over 90% of cattle are artificially inseminated (Perry 1939).

Although the method of collecting semen and inseminating have been available for many years, it is unlikely that the commercial industry would have developed as rapidly without certain significant researched discoveries. Among these include;

The development of semen extenders which would protect sperm cells against temperature shock and thereby allow cold storage, the realization that the bull semen could be extended to breed large numbers of cows from each ejaculation and the discovery of the methods for frozen storage of bull spermatozoa (Philip and Lardy (1939).

It is generally considered that cattle producers use AI in their herds because

it offers service to genetically superior sires, it allows the maintenance of a herd closed to new animals and thus provides disease protection,  a dangerous bull needs not to be kept on the farm and organized breeding management and record services are provided (Polge 1949).

Artificial insemination was introduced in Uganda in 1954 at Entebbe livestock demonstration farm where experiments were for the first time conducted on indigenous cattle (Rollinson, 1954).

The bank of deep frozen semen had been established at Entebbe with 514 doses of Nganda semen and 55 doses of exotic semen of jersey and Guernsey breed (Marpels, 1959).

The country has got 79 government and private insemination satellitecentres country wide. Presently 2.5% of cattle farmers in Uganda have embraced Artificial insemination to boost their beef and dairy products output, (the National Animal Genetic, Resources Centre and Data Bank, 2016).

Recent findings have seen the equipments of the semen laboratory with new machinery and this has increased the population potential from 2,500 doses to 15,000 doses of affordable quality semen per week. The artificial breeding centre, Entebbe also imports semen including sexed semen from countries like U.S.A, Canada, Europe, UK, South Africa and New Zealand with the aim of responding to different farmer needs, (Kiffudde, 2016).

Government is in final stages of establishing regional semen centres in order to bring the services nearer to the farmers across all regions of the country (Mugerwa, 2016).

Ordinary semen costs averagely 50,000/= per straw, sexed semen currently costs between shs 180,000/= and shs. 300,000/=.

Artificial insemination has proven to be most affordable method to improve the genetics potential of any herd worldwide and maximizes the good genetics of   male parents. Uganda farmers need to take this opportunity and embrace the benefits of this technology (Kiffudde 2016).

Artificial insemination is the process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female. Artificial insemination is commonly used instead of natural mating in many species of animals because of many benefits it can reap.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Artificial insemination is a good modern method of improving the quality of local animal to boost their production in terms of milk and meat.

The government of Uganda under the ministry of Agriculture, animal industry and fisheries has implemented Artificial insemination services in many districts, Mukono inclusive. Mukono district has an Artificial insemination office and inseminators.

The use of artificial insemination would be a cheap method for the farmers to improve their local breeds of cattle to get good quantities of milk and meat so as to better the family income. But the majority of farmers are not using Artificial insemination. They prefer to use Natural methods of breeding cattle.

The use of artificial insemination would be a very cheap method for farmers to improve their local breeds of cattle in order to get good quantities of milk and quality meat so as to better family income.

The farmers have very poor local breeds of cattle producing low yield of milk and beef.

The research is intended to find out why the people of Kyampisi sub-county do not use Artificial insemination. It will also compare the percentage of using artificial insemination and those using natural breeding method. Then finally the research will find out why one method has got a higher percentage than the other one.

1.4 General objective

To examine the challenges of application of Artificial Insemination in Kyampisi Sub County.

1.5 Specific objectives

1. To examine the method of breeding cattle used by the farmers in Kyampisi sub-county.
2. To compare the percentage of people using natural breeding methods and those using artificial insemination
3. To establish why the percentage of one method is higher than the other one.

1.6 Research questions.

1. What methods of breeding do cattle keepers use?
2. Which method of breeding cattle is used by the highest percentage of cattle keepers?
3. Why is that method in two above used by the highest percentage of cattle keepers?

1.7. Significance of the study.

Many cattle keepers, inseminators and extension workers are hoped to find this work of great importance because it will high light the recommendations to be taken in order to encourage cattle keepers to use Artificial insemination.

Artificial insemination enable the use of the best sires and dissemination of valuable genetic material seen in small farms (Hanter, 1982) farmer will be encouraged to use AI in order to improve their local breeds and get better yields from them.

The study will provide high lights to the inseminator in relation to maintaining the quality of semen during transit and when in storage.

According to a veterinary officer, one of the reasons why cows fail to conceive through AI is because the semen may be dead, but then the problem may not be the inseminators themselves but semen handling (Mugerwa 2016). The semen is got from Kampala and transported to the villages and in the process; it certainly gets affected in many ways.

The study will provide recommendation to the government, more specifically the ministry of agriculture animal industry and fisheries to set up more insemination satellites centres so as to bring the services nearer to the people.

The country has got 79 government and private insemination satellites centres all over the country.

Presently 2.5% of the cattle keepers in Uganda have embraced AI to boost their beef and dairy product output, (The National Animal Genetic, Resource Centre and Data Bank, 2016).

The study will therefore provide recommendation to the extension workers to disseminate the AI technology to the farmers so as to increase the percentage of farmers using AI.

In European countries, Den mark, Holland and England over 90% of their cattle are artificially inseminated (Perry, 1939).

1.8 Scope of the study

Geographical scope

The study will be carried out in Kyampisi Sub County in the five parishes which include Ntonto, Ddundu, Kabembe, Bulijo and Kyabakadde.

1.8.1. Participant scope

These will include inseminators, cattle keepers and extension workers.

1.8.2. Content scope

Emphasis will be focused on the method of breeding used by cattle keepers, the breeds used for Artificial Insemination, the importance people attach to Artificial Insemination and the challenge faced by cattle keepers of Kyampisi Sub County.

1.8.3. Time scope.

The time scope of 6 months has been considered because this is the time the researcher will take to analyze documents and collect data from the area.

1.9. Conceptual flame work

The research study was guided by the following conceptual flame work

Independent variables                                                          Dependent variables

        Intervening variables

Source:  Self-developed, 2019

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction

The chapter reviews the literature related to this study, the major theme of the study is focused in this exercise to understand better Artificial insemination worldwide, Artificial insemination in Uganda, the methods of breeding and the benefits of Artificial insemination.

2.2. Artificial insemination world wide

The adoption of Artificial insemination worldwide started in the early 20^th Century most especially in the developed world where modern animal husbandry practices and animal health care are practiced. These countries are mainly in Europe and America. In the developing world the adoption of AI is still very low due poor animal husbandry practices and animal health care.

The percentage rate of adoption of AI in these countries is below 5percent.

Artificial insemination is a globally accepted method of breeding cattle and is also effective for other species. An estimated worldwide total of 150 million cows is artificially inseminated. (Banadonna and Succi, 1980) In 1936 to 1938, an AI cooperative was established in New Jersey, modeled after the Denish system.

The improvement of livestock production which has been so remarkable in many industrialized countries, particularly in the last two decade, is due to the integrated effect of rapid development in several fields of industry. Increased food production, improved animal health, better husbandry, and the breeding of animals with the necessary genetic potential for improved performance are the most important of these developments.

In developing countries, however, the parallel improvements in livestock production have generally been inadequate, and one of the principal limiting factors has been lack of genetically improved animals (Bond, 1972).

There are different ways of increasing the number of genetically improved animals. Selection within the existing local population may be practiced, but this method often has to be ruled out because of the low genetic bases with which one has to start. The importation of superior breeding stock is too costly to be adopted on that scale.

Problems of adaptability also arise when high yielding cattle are transferred from temperate to tropical/ sub-tropical environments.

Crossing local female with superior imported sires is another method adopted at different periods by many developing countries.

With the advent of artificial insemination, the principle of cross breeding was given a new instrument for implementation on a large scale at a comparatively low cost (hall, 1959).

In spite of the efforts made to introduce large scale AI breeding services in several developing countries, growth in the use of AI has generally not been very strong, although there have been notable exceptions.

However, some estimates of global application of AI give an idea of its use in developing countries, Banadonna, 1972.

Based on the survey of the situation in 1961 and 1962, it was estimated that approximately 59 million cattle in the world were being artificially inseminated at that time.

Of the world total, some 56 million were in Europe, North America, Occania and Japan, leaving only about 3million artificially inseminated cattle in the rest of the world. In the recent world survey information received from 52 countries and these reported that more than 88 million cattle had been submitted to AI in 1970, (Macdowel, 1972). Of these Europe, the United States, Canada, News land, Australia and Japan accounted for 73 Million and the rest of the world for about 15 Million.

Roughly 10% of the world’s population of cattle was being subjected to artificial insemination by the end of 1960s. However, there is great variation in the incidence of inseminated animals both between and within Geographic regions. On the basis of the total population of cattle, it may be estimated that about 30 percent are artificially inseminated in Europe, North America, Australia, Newland and Japan, while the corresponding figure for the rest of the world is around 4 percent (Banadonna, 1972).

Notable exceptions are Cuba where about 1.5 million cows representing 50percent of the country’s dairy cows are served and Kenya were about 500,000 inseminations are recorded annually.

Artificial insemination is a comparative sophisticated method of animal husbandry. Its impact on cattle development is closely linked to the simultaneous introduction of reasonable standard of animal nutrition, disease control and husbandry, and infrastructure.

Unfortunately this has not always been recognized, and in some cases, AI has been purely adopted as a technical method of getting cows in calf. The aim of cattle improvement increased and more economical cattle production has usually forced in such cases. It is therefore necessary to emphasize that any AI scheme aimed at large scale improvement of national herd must be supported by programmes for the improvement of the closely allied sectors of animal husbandry and animal health. It should be recognized in this connection that AI techniques and organization used in industrialized countries do not necessary apply to developing countries. There are several constraining factors specific to these countries which call for specific solutions. (Dassanryake 1961) these specific solutions include;

Incentives to farmers;

In developing countries the large scale application of AI has played a key role in livestock improvement, particularly in respect of dairy cattle.

This was largely due to the promise of economic advantage that the technique had to offer.

It would thus be reasonable to assume that basic precondition for successful introduction or extension of AI services in developing countries would be the provision of economic incentives to farmers to breed improved animals, (Gang war, Branton and, Evans, 1961).

There are also certain basic technical qualities required of an AI service. Once an AI service is introduced, it should be available at all times, and not to be allowed to collapse because of inadequate resources or because of conflicts among representatives of the component disciplines of genetics, veterinary science, animal husbandry and economics, whose close cooperation is essential for the program. (Nishikawa, 1964).

Staffing an A.I service:

The execution of an A.I breeding service requires specialized staff at various levels. The importance of well-trained inseminators is sometimes over locked. The success of an A.I scheme is depended on its reliability and on its technical results which are to a large extent governed by the link that the service has with the farmers, namely, the inseminators. Inseminators must therefore be well trained and must undertake their job as a full time responsibility (Rakha et-al 1970).

Organization of field services;

In addition to reliability and good results, the successful extension of our A.I. breeding service is dependent on its ready availability of farmers. The pattern developed in industrialized countries where a central office receives orders by the telephone for inseminators and inseminators move from one farm to another by car, is usually not applicable in developing countries. Different systems have been allowed to resolve local difficulties, (Settergren, 1969).

In Kenya A.I. crushes are sometimes used for the provision of routine field veterinary services. This system offers the advantage that some of the services essential for the development of livestock production can be made available at the same location. It should be tested further, and applied in countries with relatively low cattle densities and reasonably good road communication. (Cannon, 1972).

Heat detection;

Heat detection has been reported to be one of the major management problems in developing countries in connection with A.I, (Dassanayake et al, 1961)

Zebu cattle show less intensive symptoms of heat and remain in oestrus for a shorter period than temperate and tropical cattle, (Branton, et al, 1961).

Recording;

An efficient information system is a necessary component of an A.I. breeding service. First, the actual conception rates per bull, per inseminator and per area would need to be recorded. Complete information on the number and performance of inseminated animals in various areas is also essential, (Idboeli et-al 1970).

Supply of semen;

The long term preservation of semen by deep freezing allows considerable flexibility in arrangements for the supply of semen in the initial phase of an A.I. programme. The semen can often be imported and domestic semen production postponed to later phase. Another important implication of the use of frozen semen is that the semen production unit can be geographically independent of the actual A.I. field work (Holland –al 1961)

Costs;

The cost of an AI breeding services varies widely among countries, and mainly depends on cattle density and the number of cows served. In the initial stages, with a small number of animals being inseminated, the cost per cow is high.

In industrialized countries, A.I. costs per cow vary between the equivalent of 40 and 75 litres of milk, depending on cattle density, the intensity of selection of sires, the cost of progeny testing and other evaluation activities.

The major expenses of an A.I. breeding services are represented by the wages of personnel, which in many instances amount to over 80 percent of the total valuable costs, (Stone el al, 1959).

2.3. Artificial insemination in Uganda

AI was introduced in Uganda in 1954 at Entebbe Livestock demonstration farm where experiments were conducted for the first time on indigenous cattle. The bank of deep frozen semen was established at Entebbe in 1959 with 514 dozes Nganda semen and 58 dozes of exotic semen of jersey and Guernsey breed, (Marples, 1959).

The animal breeding centre formally artificial breeding centre (ABC) at Entebbe has bulls from which semen is collected, diluted and frozen. The private sector through the commissioner of veterinary services also imports breeding materials (Semen, embryos etc.) from USA and uses ABC facilities for storage, (Mukiibi, 2001).

Since 1991 more sub- centres are have been opened by ABC and by private organizations. ABC supports them by training, supplying semen, AI equipment and liquid Nitrogen for storage of semen. The country has now got 79 government and private artificial insemination satellite centres country wide (Batungi, 2016).

Presently 2.5 percent of cattle farmers in Uganda have embraced artificial insemination to improve their beef and dairy product output, (Batungi, 2016).

Artificial insemination is an important technique that offers several advantages over natural mating in developing countries for breeding dairy cows. A major benefit of the technique is that it offer excellent possibilities to improve livestock genetically especially for small scale farmers so that their productivity is enhanced (Rodriguez-Martinazi, 2012).

In urban and peri-urban farming environment in Uganda, dairy farmers are faced with hardship of feeding their cattle and cannot afford the luxury of keeping a bull simply to breed one or two cows they keep for milk production for these farmers it will be advantageous to use a well-functioning AI service to avoid the cost feeding and management for a bull. Import of exotic milking cattle breed and Artificial insemination services in Uganda started in 1960s, (Nakimbugwe et al 2004).

AI services were formally being offered by the government institutions but of recent the private sector has taken on the service in the country. At first AI service in Uganda was a public sector service, now AI technicians have a variety of employment other than the government for example cooperatives AI organizations, NGOs and self-employed. There are two institutions that give courses for AI technicians in Uganda. Namely; The veterinary faculty at Makerere University and National Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC) in Entebbe, (Lwanga 2011).

There a few different semen vendors (SVUs) in Uganda that provides semen dozes to the AI technicians; The government agencies, but also the NGOs and private actors. There is only one SVU that produces dozes locally in Uganda, that is why imported semen (from for example USA and Europe) constitute a large part of the market, (Shinyekwa, 2011).

The use of AI in Uganda slightly improving especially in the central region, but still very low in other areas like in the North. The use of AI in Uganda has increased from approximately 5percent in 2004 to 7percent in 2008 but it is still rather low relatively to other countries. There is also big variation with in the country with the highest adoption in the central part and only 2percent use in Northern part of the country, (Mbowa, 2011).

In one study by (Kaaya, 2005) the adoption of AI was 36percent in 3 districts in central Uganda reasons for not adopting being fragile and too big fetusfor cows to deliver, (Mbowa, 2011).

 2.4. Methods of breeding cattle

2.4.1. Natural mating

Care should be taken in the choice of a bull to ensure that he has no obvious defects in these testicles, penis, legs or other general features.

He should be free from diseases. Tests can easily be conducted to test the viability of his semen. He should be an appropriate breed for our heifer cow, and not of same family line (father, mother, son, etc.). one should consult a livestock officer before choosing a breeding bull if you do not know whether the bull could function or whether he is fit to serve your heifer/ cow.

When a bull is stimulated by a cow or a heifer in heat, his penis stiffens. He mounts the cow or heifer, introducing his penis into her vulva and ejaculate sperms. If the sperm meets the ovum and conditions are right, it enters the uterus where it attaches to the uterine wall and grows in a fetus, the pre-mature calf (Hafez, 1993).

If fertilization does not take place, or conditions are not favourable in the uterus, such as infection, the egg passes on out of the cow, appearing as bloody discharge, the day after end of heat cycle. Then another 18 to 21 days must pass before another cycle can begin and a subsequent breeding.

When improper heat detection occurs, a heifer/ cow bred too early or too late will not conceive. Care should be taken to bring two animals together at the right time. (Kinsey 1993).

The major advantages of choosing to use natural mating in a cattle herd is the reduction of labour and ease of just placing a bull in with the nominated group of cows or heifers. A sire can only physically mate with a small number of cows per year, generating a small number of calves per year, (Zane, 2018).

In any livestock breeding enterprise there is a basic requirement for natural mating. There are numerous ways to improve the reproductive efficiency of a herd through natural mating.

Uganda.

Breeders that choose to use an assisted reproductive technique to improve their genetics and fertility almost always use some degree of natural mating in their herd, (Archbald, 1993).

Bull does all the work, so not spending hours heat detecting each day.

No facilities needed, cow can get bred out in pastures, (Zane, 2018)

Although natural mating poses the highest risk for venereal transmission of diseases, the other risk factors will increase the threat of contaminating a population of bulls.

Managerial and hygienic procedures in the housing and bedding of bulls are important factors that must not be overlooked because of the possibility of the colonization of the penis by certain bacterial, (Samper, 2009). With natural mating one cannot match each bull to each cow and sometimes multiple bulls need to be used to breed heifers versus cows.

If replacement heifers are being retained a new or different bull is needed to breed the replacement heifer too.

Bulls must be fed and cared for even when they are not out breeding cows.

High quality bulls cost a lot of money versus the cost to purchase semen from A.I sire, (Samper, 2009)

2.4.2. Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination is done by taking semen from the chosen bull and putting it into a cow when she is on heat. Bulls that are chosen for Artificial insemination have already sired highly productive daughters. Artificial insemination will only be effective if the farmer or his stock man can recognize when the cow is on heat and ready to be served.

Insemination at a wrong time will be a waste of time and money. It is not uncommon in the tropics for cows to be inseminated three or four times before they get pregnant, not because the signs of heat are not recognized properly. The heat period can be very short. More than half the heat periods in a herd will be less than 12 hours long.  About half the heat periods are likely to happen at night, increasing the difficulty of detection. (MacDonald at el, 1985).

Observation is the key to heat detection. Watch the cow quietly at least three times a day for about twenty minutes each time. The best times to watch the cows are:

Early in the morning before milking, early in the afternoon and as late at night as possible. It is useless to watch the cows at milking or feeding time or when they are being moved, as real signs of heat are unlikely to be at those times.

Early warning signs: signs that a cow is about to come on heat are:

Licking or sniffing and chin resting

Either of the cows may be coming on heat, not just the one that licks, sniffs or rest its chin.

The cow is on heat when:

She stands willingly to be mounted by another cow and does not try to escape.

She mounts another cow from the front and watches her to see if she also stands to be mounted.

This is called “standing heat” stage.

Addition signs of heat are:

There is temporary drop in milk yield.

Restlessness, bellowing, swollen and reddened vulva lips and a clear thin, mucous discharge hanging from the vulva or sticking on the wall.

Using records. If records of the cow’s heat period are kept, it will be easy to know when to watch her for signs. (Ensminger, 1993)

The cow should not be served six weeks after calving. After that, each heat period comes every 20-22 days until the animal is pregnant again (Macdonald, at el 1985).

It has been repeatedly proven that Artificial Insemination produces an equal number of male and female offspring. The common complaint about Artificial Insemination, that it only produces bull calves is false. Normally Artificial Insemination should be preferred, if available for the first 2-3 breeding or heat cycle after calving.

If the cow still has not conceived (continue cycling) natural mating (a bull is usually recommended). It is better to try a surer means to get a cow into a calf as soon as possible, for the economics of keeping empty cows is very poor, and it’s better not to take the chance again that Artificial Insemination may fail. (Arch bald, 1993)

The risk of failure is likely greater than that of natural mating in other words, but value of Artificial Insemination sired offspring is far greater, so it is worth the first few times around.

However, it should be noted that the quality of the calves do not only depend upon genetics, but also on the environment in which they are raised (Kinsey, 1993).

2.5. Benefits of AI

Artificial Insemination in farm animals offers several advantages for genetic improvement, disease control and economical aspects (Hunter, 1982). These include;

Enables the wide spread use of outstanding sires and dissemination of valuable genetic material even in small farms.

Facilitates progeny testing under a range of environmental and managerial conditions, thereby further improving the rate and efficiency of genetic selection.

Leads to improved performance and potential of the national herd and permits coordination of a breading policy on national basis.

Accelerates the introduction of new genetic material through the export of semen and reduces international transport costs.

Enables the use of deep frozen semen after the donor is dead thus aiding preservation of selected lines.

Permits use of semen from incapacitated or origospermic males.

Reduces the risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases.

It’s usually essential after synchronization of oestrus in large groups of animals.

Provides a necessary research tools for investing many aspects of male and female reproductive physiology.

It eliminates problems of mating large bulls to small heifers. (Etgen at el 1978)

When breeding season is over you do not have a bull or a lot of bulls to feed and keep from tearing down every fence on the property.

Allows the ability to produce consistency within the calves by using a single sire or similar genetic line of bulls.

Calves can be borne closer together through synchronization.

Even the smallest herd can get cows bred within budget rather than purchasing a bull to breed 2, 3 or even 15 cows (Humiton, 2007)

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0. Introduction

This chapter describes the methods used in the study of an investigation of the application of Artificial Insemination among cattle keepers in Mukono District, Kyampisi Sub-County. It describes the research design, the study area, study population, sample size and sampling procedure, control and data analysis methods.

3.1. Research design

The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design because of the nature of the variables that were at hand; to produce data required for quantitative and qualitative analysis and to allow simultaneous description of views, perceptions and opinions at any single point in time (White, 2000). The study also used qualitative and quantitative methodologies for data analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used in the study topic. Quantitative research consisted of those studies in which the data concerned could be analyzed in terms of numbers while qualitative described events, persons and so forth scientifically without the use of numerical data. Quantitative research is based more directly on its original plans and its results are more readily analysed and interpreted. Focus was put on collecting information about the application of artificial information among cattle keepers in Mukono district, Kyampisi Sub County. This research design is proposed because it is a design of investigation that can generate data from many variables and among different categories of people and enables quantification, in addition to being easy to manage and administer.

3.2. Description of the study area

Kyampisi Sub County is located in Mukono District on the Eastern side of Kampala. It has five parishes which include Ntonto, Ddundu, Kalembe, Bulijo and Kyabakadde. It is situated in Nakifuma Mukono district, its geographical coordinates are 0^o40’ 0” North and 32^o 56’ 0” East.

3.3. Study population

Study population is defined as the entire group of people that a researcher wishes to investigate (Sekaran, 2003). The human population include; male the female cattle keepers, inseminators, and extension workers. These categories of people was used in the study because they are believed to be knowledgeable about the research variable under investigation.

3.4. Sampling procedure

The inseminators and extension workers in each parish was purposely selected for the study. Purposive sampling was ideal because the samples were already known to the researcher. Cattle farmers from the 5 parishes were selected by random sampling. This method of sampling was used because it allows equal chances of samples to be selected without prior knowledge of their existence hence high level of study reliability. (Amin 2005).

3.4.1 Determination of the sample size

It is impossible to study the whole targeted population of the study and therefore the researcher took a sample of the population this is also further supported by Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) who notes that a research should choose a sample out of the whole targeted population. A sample is a subset of the population that comprises members selected from the population. Using Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) table for sample size determination approach, a sample size of 66 respondents were selected from the total population of 80 registered dairy farming farmers who have cattle in Mukono.

3.5. Method of data collection.

The researcher collected primary data using the following instruments;

3.5.1. Interview survey

Quantitative data was collected from in-depth interviews. They were conducted with key informants (the inseminators and extension workers) since they are the key managers of Artificial Insemination.

In- depth interviews are good at generating a lot of information from respondents, especially when probing is administered.

The researcher was construct an interview guide.

The interview require giving more information verbally in a face –to face collegial relationship. The results was compared with respondents from the other beneficiaries. (Bell, 1997).

It is an effective method of conducting a survey and a use of an interview has got the following advantages: if the interview is granted there is no problem with non-response, the interview provide opportunity for an in-depth probing and elaborating and classification of item if necessary, completion of the survey can be externalized, there tend to be more success with obtaining responses to open ended items and interviews has used with individual from whom data cannot otherwise be obtained (Wiersma at el, 2005).

3.5.2. Questionnaire survey

For quantitative data, semi- structured questionnaires was used to obtain information from the respondents. They were distributed to all the respondents selected from the study in the category. 20 cattle farmers were randomly sampled and given questionnaires from each parish.

Questionnaires are preferred for they give respondents confidence to give their own opinion and express their minds in the absence of the respondents. They thus give objective responses. Questionnaires are a good way of collecting certain type of information quickly and relatively cheaply as long as you are sufficiently disciplined to abandon questions that are superfluous to the main task. (Bell 2002)

The effect of a good questionnaire study is directed towards constructing good items and avoids both the inclusion of useless items and omission of necessary items (Wiersma at el, 2005)

3.5.3 Observation

This was used to physically observe what the farmers actually do and some parameters like the number of and exotic cattle one is having, the system used while raring animals and the size of the farm. The researcher were able to observe none verbal reactions from respondents with the aid of the observation checklist which guaranteed accuracy.

3.6 Quality control

The researcher carried out both reliability and validity and they included;

3.6.1 Validity

Validity is defined as the extent to which results can be accurately interpreted and generalized to other populations (Oso & Onen, 2008). While Borg & Gall, 1989 as cited in Onyinkwa, (2013) validity is defined as the degree to which results obtained by the research instrument correctly represented to the phenomenon understudy and Mugenda & Mugenda, (1999) as the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences which are based on the research results.

Amin, (2005) recommended minimum CVI of 0.7 to be used. Validity was tested using content validity index which involved judges scoring the relevancy of the questions in the instruments in relation to the study variables.

The formula for Content Validity Index was;

CVI =

Where CVI = content validity

n= number of items indicated relevant.

N = total no. of items in the instrument

In this study, validity was achieved by establishing content validity. The researcher achieved content validity by using the experts to assess the validity of the research instrument. The experts especially research supervisors and consultants from University were given data collection tools to assess whether the items in the instruments were valid in relation to research topic, objectives, and questions. From the instruments they declared some items valid and others invalid. Those declared invalid were dropped, others adjusted, while the valid ones were maintained.  Then content validity index (CVI) was computed by dividing the number of items declared valid by total number of items/questions in the data collection instrument.

From table 3.2, CVI was 0.77(77%), and this was very good.  According to Waner (2005), as cited in Barifaijo, Basheka and Oonyu (2010), if the CVI is greater than 0.7, then the instrument is said to have a high content validity. The researcher analyzed the data collected and where need arose, the instruments were re-adjusted and re-designed to improve reliability and validity.

3.6.2 Reliability

According to Mugenda and Mugenda, (2003) reliability is the measure of the extent to which research instruments are able to provide the same results upon being tested repeatedly. Crobach’s coefficient alpha (a) as recommended by Amin, (2005, P.302) will be used to test the reliability of the research instrument. The instrument is deemed reliable if reliable of 0.7 and above is obtained and therefore, it was adopted for use in the data collection.

Formula for reliability is

=      ()

Where  = alpha reliability co efficiency.

K=Number of items included in the questionnaire

= sum of variance of individual items

= variance of all items in the instrument.

The coefficient ranges between a=0.00 for no reliability, a =1.00 for perfect reliability. The closer alpha gets to 1.0 the better. If the study findings result to Cronbanch’s Alpha of 0.7 and above, this signified that research instrument is good enough for the study. According to Amin (2005), all the measurements in the instrument that show adequate levels of internal consistency of cronbach’s alpha of 0.77 and above are accepted as reliable.

Overall reliability= 4.621/6 =0.77 (77%)

The table 3.3 shows reliability of instruments on different variable, with an average Alpha of 0.77(77%), and this was good enough for the study according to Mugenda &Mugenda (1999) and Amin, (2003).

3.7. Data analysis

Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) and Mbaaga (2000) both defined data analysis as a process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the data gathered to create information out of it. Data analysis was therefore, done with quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative (Questionnaires) and qualitative(interviews) was analyzed separately and then combined during discussion of the findings.

3.7.1    Quantitative Data Analysis

Data processing was done by entering the data into a statistics package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 in line with the research questions. Data analysis was done by also using this statistics package for social sciences (SPSS) to formulate frequency tables where the percentages, frequency, mean, variance and standard deviation were obtained.

Under quantitative analysis, process included editing, classification, coding and presentation. Data was summarized in frequency tables, percentage; data was analysed with the use of statistical package for social scientist (SPSS). Quantitative data was collected through structured questionnaires and it was cantered into a computer, tabulated and analyzed.

Spearman’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis is recommended by Amin (2005, P.378) was used during data analysis in order to test the strength, degree and direction of the variables. The formula was used for this study because it was compatible with SPSS program in addition to being appreciated in analyzing data under which the data was arranged. Completed questionnaire will be checked, coded and entered into the computer for analysis. Cross tabulations, frequency table, and descriptions were used to describe the findings.

3.10.2 Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis.it involved gathering and analyzing data based on the content, where by the raw data collected from the field was read through to enable the researcher to get familiar with the data. At this process the study used noted cards to organize the available data to accelerate further analysis. Data was then evaluated and analyzed to determine its accuracy, credibility, usefulness and consistency.

3.8. Ethical considerations

The individual rights of the participants was considered. The researcher sought for the consent of all respondents, assuring them confidentiality of their responses.

When human beings are being used as study participants in research investigations, care must be taken in insuring that the rights of these respondents are protected. The researcher will respect human dignity by not revealing the identity of the respondents in the study. The letter of introduction got from the district vetenary office Mukono district seeking permission to conduct the study after being directed by the supervisor to do so. It was presented to the respondents in the study area for permission to conduct the study. Once permission was granted the researcher distributed questionnaires to the respondents and the next stage after this was used in analyzing data collected from the respondents.

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

This section presents the results of the questionnaire in line with the study objectives;

4.0.1 Response Rate

Source: primary data

The findings from the table above indicate that the percentage of the returned questionnaires was 96.9%. This findings therefore according to Amin, (2005) indicate that the response rate was good and therefore the study could be conducted since the response rate was above 70%, while the response rate for interview respondents is 100%.

4.1. Demographic findings of the study

Table 1: Findings on the geographical location of the respondents

The study results shows that majority 35.9% of the respondents were from Kabembe, this was also further followed by 31.3% and only 12.5% were from Bulijo this study results therefore shows that there was a fair representation from all the geographical locations of the respondents.

Table 2: Age of the respondent

On analyzing the age category of respondents it was revealed that 70.3% of the respondents were in the age category of Above 40 years. This also further indicated that it is this age that normally farms as the young age shun the farming activities since it is viewed as an ancient practice. This results therefore indicates that very few farmers are young.

Table 3: Findings on the marital status of the respondents

According to the study results it was revealed that majority of the respondents were married at 84.4% while only 1.6% were single. This also shows that most of the farmers of Mukono district are married men and mature. It was also further indicated that the marital status of the respondents had a strong influence on the ability of the respondents towards adopting the breeding method of the cows.

Table 4: Findings on the educational level of respondents

The study results indicates that 62.5% of the respondents were primary school level while29.7% were at secondary school level. This study results also shows that most of the farmers are of primary school level.

Table 5: Findings on the type of cattle being kept

The findings in the study results shows that majority 70.3% of the farmers keep cross breeds and it was also further revealed that only 1.6% of the farmers kept Exotic breeds. This study results also further shows that most of the farmers kept cross breeds of cattle in Mukono.

Table 6: Determining the coefficients of variables

According to the results of P-Value (0.686>0.05) indicates that there is insignificant relation between educational level of the respondent and the choice of the breed of cattle. This findings therefore show that the choice of the farmers to have a local, exotic or cross breed does not depend on the level of education of the farmer.

Table 7: Correlation analysis between the breed of cattle and the educational level of the respondent

According to the correlation analysis above the Pearson correlation was -0.052 indicating there is a negative weak relationship between educational level of the respondents and the breeds of cattle they keep. Since the correlation analysis results was weak it also therefore shows that educational level of the respondents does not influence the type of breeding method they choose.

Table 8: Findings on the size of herds cattle on the farm

From the study results it has also been reported that majority of the farmers have on average 4.75 herds of cattle in their farm and it was also further revealed that farmers pay on average of 79200 shs. This results also shows that artificial insemination is expensive and therefore most farmers cannot afford.

This was also indicated by one of the respondents who indicated that;

“ I pay a lot of money when using artificial insemination”.

While another farmers indicated that;

“Artificial insemination is very expensive and it is something for the rich who use artificial insemination”.

Table 9: Determining the regression analysis of the educational level of the respondent and the method of breeding cattle.

According to the analysis of the r-squared value indicates that 12.8% of the decision to choose which method of breeding cattle is dependent on the   educational level of the respondent. This study results therefore shows that though the educational level of the respondent determines the choice of the respondent there are other factors that determine the choice of the respondent.

Table 10: The findings of the significance value indicating the educational level of the respondent and the choice of the breeding method

According to the findings in the study it was reported that the P-value (0.004<0.05) Indicating that there is a significance relationship between the educational level of the respondent and the choice of breeding method.

This view was also further supported by the response from one of the respondents during the study who indicated that;

“Artificial insemination is something for the educated and rich people we local illiterate use Natural mating”

Table 11: Correlation analysis methods of breeding cattle and educational level of respondents

According to the findings in the study there is a negative a significant correlation between the method of breeding cattle and educational level of respondents. The Pearson correlation is -0.358^** indicating that there is a negative correlation between methods of breeding cattle and education level of respondents.

Table 12: Findings on the farm size

On finding out on the farm size of the respondents it has been revealed that majority 51.6% of the respondents have farm sizes on more than an acre of the farm. It has also been therefore revealed that 45.3% have less than an acres of land.

Table 13: Findings on the cross tabulation analysis of gender of the respondents against the method of breeding

This table results indicates that majority 39.4% of the males prefer artificial insemination and only 17.2% of women prefer aritificial insemination and 82.8% of the males prefer natural mating while 62% of the males prefer natural mating.

Figure 1: Graphical analysis of cross tabulation analysis of gender of the respondents against the method of breeding

The table results also shows that more men prefer artificial insemination that women while majority of women prefer natural mating.

This findings also indicates that most of the female farmers are not yet informed on the benefits of using artificial insemination over natural mating and therefore there is need to explain to them.

Figure 2 : Cross tabulation analysis on the education level of the respondents and method of breeding cattle

According to the findings from the figure the results shows that farmers who primary school level qualifications tend to use more natural mating then artificial insemination and it was also evident that farmers who have secondary school level qualification they tend to adopted artificial insemination and then tertiary school level adopted natural mating level and artificial insemination.

Table 14: Findings on if the farm is fenced

The study results also shows that majority, 81.3% of the farmers stated that their farm is not fenced, while only 15.6% of the respondents have fenced farms.

During observation,

“It was noted that most of the farms in Mukono district were not fenced”

Table 15: Findings on the way the farmer keep their animals

According to the study results it has been indicated that majority, 57.8% of the respondents use tethering as the way of keeping their farm animals. This study results also further indicated that through Herding. This study results also further shows that tethering is the most common way of herding cattle.

During the study it was observed that;

“It was observed that most of the farmers used tethering method technique as they observed it was least costly”.

And also during the interview one of the farmers indicated that;

“I cannot use any other method apart from tethering technique because it is easy and cheap”.

Table 16: Methods of breeding cattle farmers prefer

The study results shows that the farmers prefer natural mating as the breeding method this is indicated by the fact that majority 68.8% of the respondents indicated so and only  28.1% stated that they preferred Artificial insemination. This study results also further indicated that the farmers did not prefer artificial insemination.

This view was also further stated by one of the respondents during the interviews that;

“Artificial insemination is expensive and for me I prefer Natural mating since it is easily affordable and not complicated”.

Table 17: Finding on the reasons for the preferences of the breeding method

The results also indicated that the reason people choose natural mating is because it is a cheap method, this is indicated by the fact that 92.2% of the respondents stated that it is cheap and only 3.1% stated that it is expensive.

Table 18: Findings if the farmers have ever accessed AI in their farm

According to the findings in the study it has been reported that majority 50% of the respondents have never accessed AI in their farm.

Table 19: Findings on the way they communicate to the artificial inseminator

Though majority of the respondents did not respond it was further acknowledged that 39% of the respondents asserted that they use the phone for communication.

Table 20: How many times do you service your cows before conceiving

The study results has revealed that the respondents service their cows only once this was indicated by the 26.6% positive response and only 3.1% stated three times , there was a good response there were also 62.5% no response by the respondents.

Figure 3: Findings on the educational level of respondents against the type of breeds being kept

From the study results it has been observed that majority of the respondents in tertiary institution adopted both the local and the cross breeds at the same magnitude however the primary school level farmers adopted mostly cross breeds and the secondary school level farmers also adopted more of the cross breeds.

Table 21: Findings on problems Farmers encounter when mating/serving  their cow

The study results indicates that majority of the respondents indicate that the distance is the main challenge they face when they are looking for a place to service their cow while only 1.6% indicated theft as the reason.

Table 22: The following are the ways which can be used to solve the challenge

The study results indicates that majority of the respondents indicates that 95.3% of the respondents recommended Artificial Insemination as the only way to solve the challenge this was further responded by the fact that only 4.7% responded by the fact that they need own bull.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY FINDINGS

5.0 Introduction

This section includes; discussion, conclusion and recommendations of the study findings.

5.1 Discussion of the study

This section presented the discussion of the study in line to the objectives of the study.

5.1.1 Method of breeding cattle used by the farmers

The study results also indicated that majority of the respondents indicated that they use natural breeding for their cattle and only very few indicated that they use artificial insemination, this is also in line with Hafez, (1993) who indicates that Care should be taken in the choice of a bull to ensure that he has no obvious defects in these testicles, penis, legs or other general features. Hafez, further notes that during natural breeding the bull should be free from diseases. Tests can easily be conducted to test the viability of his semen. He should be an appropriate breed for our heifer cow, and not of same family line one should consult a livestock officer before choosing a breeding bull if you do not know whether the bull could function or whether he is fit to serve your heifer/ cow.

The results also indicated that very few members practicing artificial insemination this was also highlighted by MacDonald at el, 1985) who indicated that; Insemination at a wrong time will be a waste of time and money. It is not uncommon in the tropics for cows to be inseminated three or four times before they get pregnant, not because the signs of heat are not recognized properly. The heat period can be very short. More than half the heat periods in a herd will be less than 12 hours long.  About half the heat periods are likely to happen at night, increasing the difficulty of detection.  Observation is the key to heat detection. Watch the cow quietly at least three times a day for about twenty minutes each time. The best times to watch the cows are: Early in the morning before milking, early in the afternoon and as late at night as possible. It is useless to watch the cows at milking or feeding time or when they are being moved, as real signs of heat are unlikely to be at those times.

This view was also further shared by Rodriguez-Martinazi, 2012) who indicated that Artificial insemination is an important technique that offers several advantages over natural mating in developing countries for breeding dairy cows. A major benefit of the technique is that it offer excellent possibilities to improve livestock genetically especially for small scale farmers so that their productivity is enhanced and also Nakimbugwe et al 2004) indicated that In urban and peri-urban farming environment in Uganda, dairy farmers are faced with hardship of feeding their cattle and cannot afford the luxury of keeping a bull simply to breed one or two cows they keep for milk production for these farmers it will be advantageous to use a well-functioning AI service to avoid the cost feeding and management for a bull. Import of exotic milking cattle breed and Artificial insemination services in Uganda started in 1960s.

5.1.2 People using natural breeding methods and those using artificial insemination

The findings in the study indicated that the farmers in Mukono keep cross breeds of cattle it was also noted that very few farmers keep other species of animals. It was also further noted that very few farmers keep exotic breeds of cattle. This was also indicated by the fact that cross breeds can withstand the environmental conditions of Mukono

The study findings indicated that the P-Value (0.686>0.05) indicates that there is insignificant relationship between educational level of the respondent and the choice of the breed of cattle. This findings therefore shows that the choice of the farmers to have a local, exotic or cross breed does not depend on the level of education of the farmer. This findings further shows that there are many factors that determines the choice of the farmer on the breeding mechanism they want to use.

The study results also indicates that adoption of artificial insemination it was evident that most of the farmers were still using natural breeding method however they acknowledged that there is rising number of farmers adoption artificial insemination, this was also in line with Marples, (1959) who acknowledges that adoption of artificial insemination is a expensive more than natural mating, he further indicates that AI was introduced in Uganda in 1954 at Entebbe Livestock demonstration farm where experiments were conducted for the first time on indigenous cattle. The bank of deep frozen semen was established at Entebbe in 1959 with 514 dozes Nganda semen and 58 dozes of exotic semen of jersey and Guernsey breed. In Uganda the animal breeding centre formally artificial breeding centre (ABC) at Entebbe has bulls from which semen is collected, diluted and frozen. The private sector through the commissioner of veterinary services also imports breeding materials (Semen, embryos) from USA and uses ABC facilities for storage, (Mukiibi, 2001).

5.2 Conclusion

The study results also indicated that majority of the farmers in Kyampisi sub county use natural mating type of system to encourage the mating among the cows. The study results indicates that majority of the respondents indicated that they choose a specific breeding method because of affordability. This results therefore indicates that natural mating method is chosen by the farmers because of affordability.

Majority of the farmers in the study had farm acres of 1.5 acres of land. This also indicates that these farm sizes are small. And it was also further reported that farmers have on average 4.75 herds of cattle in their farm and it was also further revealed that farmers pay on average of 79200 shs. This also reveals that farmers have few herds of cattle and that artificial insemination is expensive.

The study result also indicates that the farmers are not conversant with the benefits of artificial insemination and it has also been revealed that the Artificial insemination is not within the reach of the farmers.

5.3 Recommendations

The study made the following recommendations;

1. The government should sensitize farmers on the benefits of using artificial insemination.
2. The government should subsidize the farm inputs.

• The government should also ensure that veterinary services are within the reach of the the farmers.

Appendix 1. References

Almquist .J. O (1959).Insemination techniques. Reproduction in domestic animals.

Almquist.J.O (1959).Insemination techniques. Reproduction in domestic animals.

AnsiOkstate (2013): Breeds of livestock Ayrshire cattle

Archbald L. F. (1993). In current veterinary therapy.

Bhattacharya.P. (1962) Development of artificial insemination in India. In the semen of animals and artificial insemination

Baxlery, Henry (2012): Breed calf rearing comparisons.

Briggs H.M and D.M: Modern breeders of livestock. Fourth Edition Macmillan publishing company 1980.

Brouce KJ. Uhrincat. M. Sock, M 2008 “Genetic behavior in cattle”

Burke. Tom Kurkschff.Rance long (2004) “The birth of the breed” Angus legends

C.H. Eckles (1923): Diary cattle and milk production

David Bateman 2005: Red poll cattle.

E.S.E Hafez (1993) reproduction in farm animals 6^th edition.

Ensminger M.E (1993). Dairy cattle science.

Erwin Kinsey (1992): Diary farming. Manual integrated small holder. Heiferproject international.

Jezieski. TA. Posdluzny. M (1984): “Quantitative analysis of social Behavior of different cross breeds of dairy cattle kept in loose housing and its relationship to productivity” Applied animal behavior science.

Joseph Mukiibi (2001): Agriculture in Uganda volume I General information by NAARO/ CTA.

Judith Bell (2000): Doing you research project.

Ray Herren (2000): The science of animal agriculture. Second Edition.

Row son, L.E.A (1959) collection, dilution and storage of semen in reproduction in domestic animals.

Weston, Nicole (2007) New Angus.Third Pounders at MC Donald’s.

William J.A. Payne (1990): Livestock management in the tropics 2^nd Edition.

William M. Etgen and Paul M. Reaves (1975): Diary cattle feeding and management. Sixth Edition.

William Wersma. Stephen G. Jur (2006): Research methods in Education.

Appendix 2: Questionnaire or cattle farmers

Dear respondent,

I am Mukasa David Mwesigwa a student of Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi, carrying out a research study on the topic, The Application of Artificial insemination among cattle keepers in Mukono District a case of Kyampisi Sub- County.

This is for the fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree.

Therefore you rest assured that the information given will be used for only academic purposes and will be treated with total confidentiality.

1. Name……………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Address/ location of the respondent………………………………………..(Parish)
3. Gender of respondent
4. Male b) Female
5. Age of respondent
6. Below 20 years b) 20-30 years
7. c) 31- 40years d) Above 40 years
8. Marital status of the respondent
9. Married b) Single
10. c) Widow/ er d) Separated/ divorced
11. Education level of the respondent
12. Primary b) Secondary
13. c) Tertiary d) University
14. e) Others (specify)……………………………………………..
15. What breeds of cattle do you keep?…………………………………………………………….
16. How many herds of cattle do you have on your farm?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. Out of the herds of cattle you have on your farm, how many herds of cattle are;
10. Indigenous cattle ………………………………………… (in numbers)
11. Exotic breeds ……………………………………………….(in numbers)
12. Cross breeds ………………………………………………..(in numbers)
13. When did you adopt exotic breeds?
14. Less than one year
15. 2-5 years
16. 6 and more years

………………………………………………………………………………………………

11. From where did you get your cattle?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

12. What is the size of your farm? (in acres)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

13. Is your farm fenced?
14. Yes b) No

14. How do you keep your animals?
15. Zero grazing
16. Tethering
17. Herding
18. Others …………………………………………………………………………………………
19. Which method of breeding cattle do you prefer?
20. Artificial insemination
21. Natural mating
22. Give reasons for your preference

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

17. Have you ever accessed AI in your farm?
18. Yes
19. No
20. If yes who does the AI?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If no, why? …………………………………………………………………………..

18. How much do you pay for AI?………………………………………………………

19. How do you communicate to the inseminator when the cow is detected on heat?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

20. How many times do you service your cow before conceiving?
21. One
22. Two
23. Three
24. Four times

21. Which problem do you encounter when mating/ serving your cow

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

22.Suggest ways you think can be employed to solve such problems.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

23. Another comment? …………………………………………………………………..

Thank you for your co-operation

Appendix 3: Interview for the key informants

Dear respondent,

I am Mukasa David Mwesigwa a student of Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi, carrying out a research study on the topic, the application of Artificial Insemination among cattle keepers in Kyampisi Sub- CountyMukono District

This is for the fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree.

Therefore you rest assured that the information given will be used for only academic purposes and will be treated with total confidentiality.

1. Name of the respondent
2. Tittle of the respondent
3. Institution
4. Gender of the respondent
5. Age of the respondent
6. Gender of respondent
7. Marital status of the respondent
8. Education level of the respondent
9. On average what is the size of the farm in this Sub- County? (in acres)
10. What are the types of breed of cattle kept in tis Sub County?
11. What is the average number of cattle kept by the farmers in the Sub-County?
12. How do the farmers keep their animals in Kyampisi Sub-County?
13. What method of breeding is commonly used by the farmers in KyampisiSub- County?
14. Why do they prefer to use that method in No. 13 above?
15. How much is charged for the AI dose?
16. How many times on average doyou service a cow before it conceives?
17. What are the challenges of using AI in KyampisiSub- County?
18. Suggest ways of overcoming the challenges mentioned in No. 17.
19. Any other comment?

Thanks for your co-operation.

Appendix 4: Observation checklist for farmers

Area of study/ sub county Kyampisi.

Parish……………………………………………….

Check for the presence of: