Will selective breeding of Ankole cattle transform the dairy sector?

The development of a highmilk-yielding pure Ankole dairy cattle population represents a strategic breakthrough that could fundamentally transform Uganda’s dairy sector by raising national milk output without eroding the genetic identity, resilience and adaptability of the country’s most iconic indigenous breed.

At the centre of this effort is Nshaara conservation ranch, where the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) is using systematic genetic selection, pedigree management, performance recording and improved nutrition to develop a high-milk-yielding pure Ankole dairy population without replacing the breed with exotic dairy genetics.

Approximately three years ago, government initiated a deliberate programme to identify superior pure Ankole cattle with greater milkproduction potential at Nshaara conservation ranch in Kiruhura district.

The programme involved screening animals within the available population and incorporating selected superior Ankole genetics from other recognised sources, including the Kisozi Ankole longhorn conservation and improvement herd.

The intention was not to crossbreed or replace the indigenous Ankole with exotic dairy genetics, but to exploit the natural genetic variation that already exists within the breed and progressively concentrate desirable dairy traits through selection.

The programme began by establishing clear selection criteria for the nucleus population. Milk yield was prioritised as the principal productive trait, followed by lactation length, udder conformation and calving interval.

This allowed the ranch to identify cows that combined relatively high milk output with sustained lactation and reproductive efficiency. Replacement heifers were subsequently evaluated using information on their dams’ milk production, growth and fertility together with physical assessment of body structure, udder characteristics and temperament.

As superior female lines became identifiable, the programme increasingly focused on the selection of breeding bulls from high-performing maternal families. Because genetic improvement of milk production can be transmitted through sires to their daughters, candidate bulls are selected partly on the milk-production performance of their dams.

This is complemented by assessment of growth rate, body size and stature, age at maturity, reproductive soundness, testicular development, libido, temperament and other functional characteristics.

Bulls originating from highly productive cows are consequently prioritised to advance the milk-production trait within subsequent generations. According to Dr Innocent Tuwangye, the manager of Nshaara conservation ranch, the approach is centred on improving the Ankole from within its own genetic population.

“We are not trying to turn the Ankole into an exotic dairy cow. We are identifying superior dairy traits that already exist within the pure Ankole population and systematically selecting and multiplying those genetics. The objective is to develop an Ankole animal that produces more milk while retaining the adaptability, resilience and genetic identity for which the breed is known,” he said.

The production records are complemented by information on reproductive events and animal health. These data are maintained in physical farm records and in NAGRC&DB’s Integrated Livestock Management Information System (ILMIS), allowing the breeding team to progressively build individual performance histories and link production outcomes to particular animals and maternal lines.

Historical performance, including peak yields across successive lactations, is then used to inform subsequent selection decisions. By 2023, the programme had generated sufficient production records to begin demonstrating measurable performance at herd level. Average recorded milk productivity stood at 5.2 litres per active cow-day, with annual recorded production of approximately 56,040 litres.

The active milking population increased from 24 cows in January to 35 cows by December of that year. Selection, performance recording and herd management continued into 2024. Average productivity subsequently increased to seven litres per cow per day, while annual recorded milk production rose to approximately 106,358 litres.

The milking population also expanded from 36 cows at the beginning of the year to 47 cows by December. By Decembe,r 2025, average productivity had risen further to 8.6 litres per cow per day, while annual recorded production reached approximately 168,285 litres.

The milking population expanded from 47 cows in January to 60 cows by December. Taken together, the records indicate an approximately 65.4 percent increase in average productivity between 2023 and 2025, alongside a progressive expansion of the selected milking population.

At individual-animal level, the improvement has been equally encouraging. Whereas an Ankole cow under traditional production conditions produces an average of 2 litres during morning milking, selected cows in the programme are now regularly recording approximately 5 to 10 litres from a single morning milking session, with a few exceptional animals producing up to 12 litres between the second and seventh lactations.

The emerging results also demonstrated that genetic potential alone was insufficient to sustain higher production. The entity, therefore, strengthened nutritional management by supplementing conventional grazing with hay and silage produced at Nshaara.

The highest individual yields were observed under this improved feeding regime, providing an important practical link between genetic improvement and adequate nutrition.

“Our records are increasingly showing us that breeding and feeding must move together,” Dr. Peter Beine, the NAGRC&DB executive director, explained.

“Selection identifies the animal with superior genetic potential, but nutrition determines how effectively that potential is expressed. We are therefore using the production data not only to select our breeding animals but also to refine feeding and management protocols for the emerging Ankole dairy population.”

The programme is now entering an important phase in which the emphasis shifts from identifying a few exceptional animals to consolidating superior performance across families and successive generations.

An individual cow attaining a peak morning yield of 14 litres demonstrates the productive potential present within the Ankole population, but the longer-term breeding objective is to make superior performance increasingly repeatable, heritable and predictable.

This will require continued pedigree recording, identification of elite cows, selection of replacement heifers from proven maternal lines, use of bulls originating from superior dams and systematic evaluation of the resulting progeny.

“Our real measure of success will not simply be one exceptional cow,” Beine said.

“The breeding objective is to establish a population in which superior milk production can be consistently reproduced from one generation to another. That is why pedigree integrity, individual animal identification, performance recording and selection of proven maternal and sire lines are central to what we are doing at Nshaara.”

What began at Nshaara as the identification of naturally superior milk-producing Ankole cows is steadily developing into a structured breeding programme aimed at producing a genetically stable, productive and resilient pure Ankole dairy population, placing Uganda’s own indigenous cattle genetics at the centre of the country’s

The post Will selective breeding of Ankole cattle transform the dairy sector? appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.