Development of the dairy industry in most African countries is crucially dependent on production by smallholders, each owning a small number of cows. Experience throughout the world has shown that the choice of breed for these small-scale enterprises is a key determinant of both biological efficiency and profitability. Small-scale dairy development in Ethiopia is comparatively recent: the number of specialist dairy enterprises is small and these are largely concentrated around the major cities. In a few rural areas like the Arsi Region, where integrated agricultural development projects have been implemented through individuals, producer cooperatives and peasant associations, there is great potential for dairy development.
The most intensive small-scale dairy development in Ethiopia was initiated by the Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU) in 1967 and since 1976 has been operating under the Arsi Rural Development Unit (ARDU). A major livestock activity of both CADU and ARDU has been the production of crossbred dairy heifers for distribution to farmers in order to establish dairy production enterprises. Services provided by ARDU to various farmers' groups include preparation and distribution of semen, disease control, forage crop introduction and milk recording, while a dairy research programme has been carried out at Asela station in the same region. Crossbreeding data on dairy production collected from Asela research station and from smallholder farms by ARDU provide the information for decisions on breed types to be used.
Three recent papers in World Animal Review have reported on aspects of production data collected from 1969 to 1974. The present ILCA/ARDU study is a detailed analysis of data collected by ARDU from 1968 to 1981 with the objective of evaluating the comparative efficiencies of various breed groups of indigenous and crossbred cattle and their suitability for dairy production under smallholder conditions. The major part of the report deals with the general performance of indigenous and crossbred cattle at Asela station. Particular emphasis is laid on the evaluation of dairy productivity indices to allow efficient comparisons of breed groups. A short section towards the end of the report analyses productivity data from smallholder dairy farms during the consolidation phase of CADU's activities (1969/1975), while the final section examines the applicability of the results from Asela station to practical farming conditions. The effects of upgrading indigenous cattle to Bos taurus, the implications of larger body size of crossbreds in relation to feed requirements and availability, and the multi-purpose aspects of the dairy industry in Ethiopia are discussed.
