On-Farm Assessment of Reproductive and Productive Performances of Mpwapwa Cattle Breed and it’s Crossbred in Low-Input Smallholders

Abstract

Productive and reproductive performance are key factors for successive and sustained livestock production. A cross sectional study was conducted at Mpwapwa district with the objective of assessing the productive and reproductive performances of Mpwapwa breed cattle and its crossbred maintained under low in-put smallholder farmers. A semi-structured questionnaire and face-to-face interview techniques were used to collect data on productive and reproductive performance. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 21.  For productive performance, the average lactation length (LL) was 332 ± 16.7 days and the average milk yield per day (AMYD) was 3.08±1.11 liters. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in LL and AMYD was observed between herds supplemented with concentrate and those without supplements. Overall mean of calving interval (CI), age at first mating (AFM), age at first calving (AFC) and number of services per conception (NSC) were 17.5±6.6 months, 32.3±8.21months, 44.04±6.49 months and 1.23±0.14, respectively. Significance difference (p < 0.05) was observed in AFM between those who use only natural breeding method to those who use both breeding methods. The observed productive and reproductive performances of Mpwapwa breed and its crossbred is low compared to the target goal when it was established. Therefore, there is a prudent need for improvement of management practices to optimize the reproductive and productive performances of the Mpwapwa cattle maintained by smallholder farmers under low-input production system