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THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION AMONG CATTLE KEEPERS IN MUKONO DISTRICT A CASE OF KYAMPISI SUB-COUNTY.
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 17th 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
- 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
- To establish why the percentage of one method is higher than the other one.
1.6 Research questions.
- What methods of breeding do cattle keepers use?
- Which method of breeding cattle is used by the highest percentage of cattle keepers?
- 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
