TITLE:
Validating the Classification of Smallholder Dairy Farming Systems Based on Herd Genetic Structure and Access to Breeding Services
AUTHORS:
Solomon Gizaw, Megersa Abera, Melku Muluye, Mohammed Aliy, Kefyalew Alemayehu, Azage Tegegne
KEYWORDS:
Smallholder, Dairy Farming Systems, Crossbreeding, Herd Genetic Structure, Breeding Services
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.8 No.7,
July
4,
2017
ABSTRACT: Smallholder dairy farming in Africa is classified into rural, peri-urban and urban systems. The major classification criterion is demographic. Dairy systems are extensively characterized, but not based on rigorous statistical analyses. We validated this classification based on herd genetic structure and identify determinants of within-system variations, taking Ethiopia as a case study. Discriminant function analysis correctly classified 38% - 50.6% of the 360 sampled farms into the three systems. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that rural and peri-urban farmers were 1.26 (P