The participation of the DAIRYCHAIN-OAU team members at the Regional Conference on Dairy Education and Training in Africa which was held in Kenya from 21st to 22nd September, 2015, provided an excellent platform for the team to be part of the 11th African Dairy Conference & Exhibition that took place from 23rd to 25th September, 2015 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, where the idea to explore hydroponics in Nigeria was conceived.
On returning to Nigeria, some initial trials with locally available seeds (maize, barley, wheat and rice) were conducted in order to establish the viability or otherwise of hydroponics venture. The trials gave interesting results;

1. The wheat compared well with the barley in terms of the number of days (7) required to form a good mat, while the rice requires a minimum of 9 days to form a good mat.
2. While the wheat and barley were observed to be susceptible to mould outside a screened environment, the rice (paddy rice) was observed to show resilience to mould infestation under similar conditions.

These preliminary outcomes led to the invitation of the DairyChain-OAU team to make a presentation on hydroponics at the 1st Congress of the African Society of Agronomy, Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences (ASACSES) which was held from 2nd to 5th November, 2015 at the International Conference Centre, ECOWAS Parliament, Abuja, Nigeria.

The DairyChain-OAU team was represented at the ASACSES conference by Drs. Adeolu Odedire and Bukola Oyebanji. Dr. Odedire presented “Hydroponics and the Future of Livestock Feeding”. This presentation opened up a new vista in the Nigerian agricultural technology as many of the participants could not hide their excitement about the possibilities of embracing hydroponics as a latest technique in forage production.

The University of Education, Winneba, (UEW), Ghana,   in June 2015 embarked on Artificial Insemination of local cattle under the EDULINK II project. The objective was to improve milk yield of local cattle. Holstein-Friesen semen was used to inseminate local cows at UEW and EDULINK II project districts in the university’s catchment areas.

The first batch of artificially inseminated cows calved at dual-purpose cattle unit of UEW at Mampong-Ashanti Campus. The two cows, N’dama and West African Shorthorn (WASH), inseminated with the Friesian semen produced calves of 20 kg each at birth. The normal birth weight of these taurine breeds ranges from 14.4 to 17.8 kg, therefore this is an indication of improvement in birth weight using superior bull through artificial insemination.   

Calves produced from artificial insemination
More calves are expected around June 2016 from UEW and EDULINK II project areas. General performance of these crossbred (on-farm and on-station) are being closely monitored for subsequent recommendation. Research is being carried out by a PhD student and undergraduate students on the productive, health and reproductive performance of the cows and calves.

The conference which was facilitated by the DAIRYCHAIN programme was held on 21st-22nd September, 2015 at Merica Hotel, Nakuru, Kenya. Participants drawn from The Netherlands, USA, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and Ghana attended. The conference which was themed “Transforming Dairy Education and Training for Health and Wealth in Africa” was categorized into four sub-themes namely; Status of Dairy Education and Training in Africa, Dairy Education and Training, Dairy Curriculum Development for Tertiary Training Institutions and Case Studies of Competence- Based Curricula in Dairy.

Status of Dairy Education and Training in Africa

In this sub-theme, papers on the current status of dairy education were presented. Papers on experiences with this system of dairy education in terms of the competence of dairy experts produced by training institutions from an industry perspective were also presented. These provided an objective evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current approach to dairy training and education in Africa, and identification of skills and infrastructural gaps of the current system.

Dairy education and training

Papers on the status of dairy training and education in countries with developed dairy sectors were presented in this sub-theme. The presentation exposed the participants to the unique features of the dairy education and training in terms of curriculum development, policy environment and industry structure which have propelled the dairy sector in the developed world to current levels of successes being experienced. Opportunity to review the successes of these systems was provided.

Dairy curriculum development for tertiary training institutions

Under this sub-theme, a new transformative approach to training and education that focused on acquiring concrete skills as opposed to abstract learning was presented. This aimed at identifying policy constraints that hinder or otherwise support, review or overhaul the training needs and approaches. Experiences across Africa and outside Africa were shared as a way of identifying the key policy issues for governments.

Case studies of competence-based curricula in dairy

Presentations on specific curricula developed for certificate, diploma and bachelor’s degree in dairy and animal science were presented. These presentations provided a snapshot into the process of labour needs assessment to ensure that learners exhibit a mastery of the intended and required competencies.

The 2015 regional conference on transforming the dairy sector in Africa through education and training provided a platform for dairy farmers, extension staff and other practitioners, educators and trainers in the dairy sub-sector together with all other stakeholders along the dairy value chain in Africa and beyond to actively participate, and share findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards effectively transforming the dairy sector into a competitive economic sector. The conference therefore provided dairy farmers, the industry, institutions of higher learning, local and international development agencies with an opportunity to review the current status of the dairy education and training in Africa, assess the progress made so far in the dairy sub-sector through training and education and lessons to be learnt from similar curricula from Europe. This will help to develop strategies to overhaul the training needs of Africa’s institutions  to facilitate economic growth in the dairy sub-sector.

A two-day artificial insemination workshop was hosted by the DAIRYCHAIN OAU team on the 12th and 13th of September, 2015. The event represented a major effort towards the resuscitation of the Dairy Unit of the Teaching and Research Farm, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, which has been moribund for over three decades.

Highlights of the workshop events included; evaluation of bovine semen, brief lecture on oestrous synchronization and artificial insemination of dairy cows followed by the practical demonstration of AI. A total of 60 participants, including staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Department of Animal Sciences, OAU, Ile-Ife attended the Workshop.

The workshop started with a laboratory session in the Animal Reproductive Laboratory of the Department of Animal Sciences, where evaluation of the quality
of the bovine (Holstein) semen was done. The semen was examined for motility under the microscope. The demonstration of the procedure was led by Dr. S.I. Ola and Dr. (Mrs.). B.O. Oyebanji. This was followed by a brief lecture on AI by Jonathan Jatau, who explained the importance of the established procedures including oestrus synchronization. He described the different methods of semen collection including electro-ejaculation, massaging, use of a dummy cow, etc, stressing the merits and demerits of each. He also covered semen evaluation for morphology, motility, volume, colour in order to determine its suitability for insemination. The process of semen storage was also described in details. The facilitators described all the steps involved in the A I procedure, emphasizing all those steps that contribute to successful insemination of cows. Steps and procedures that could hinder the success of AI were also explained. participants were exposed to the AI kit and a detailed explanation of the use of all the devices inside given. This was followed by a demonstration of the actual process of semen collection, evaluation, and insemination of cows. a total of 11 cows were successfully inseminated. The same process of AI was repeated the second day in
order to ensure high success rate of conception of the cows.