ODI Livestock breeds WP.pdf - Roger Blench

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6. Changing Livestock Species and Breed Distribution
6.1 Cattle
6.1.1 'Trypanotolerant' breeds
Muturu or West African Dwarf shorthorn cattle were once widespread throughout southern Nigeria
but are almost everywhere in retreat (Blench et al, 1998a). In the past, many villages kept muturu
cattle for ceremonial purposes. In the 1960s it was common to see them in the villages and by the
roadside. Testimonies to the importance and prevalence of this breed can be found in Dudgeon
(1911), Bradbury (1957), Okojie (1960), Ferguson (1967), Bohannan & Bohannan (1968), Isichei
(1977), Grandin (1980), Ngofa (1988). These texts describe the role of muturu in traditional society
in many parts of Southern Nigeria and many comment on the inter-related disappearance of
ceremonial practice and the animals themselves.
A reason for their disappearance cited in many reports is low productivity. In reality, their
productivity is much disputed, in part because of the great range of management systems under
which they are kept. Muturu cattle were semi-feral in some areas and had to be ‘captured’ or simply
shot by hunters. Elsewhere they were intensively stall-fed and had considerable levels of
management inputs. The small mean size of holdings generally meant that there was a great
variation between individual households. Hence the considerable differences in basic productivity
parameters recorded in RIM (1992, II:76) and shown in Table 4. For example, calving interval
varied between 13.9 and 26.8 months between different ecological zones.
Table 4 Comparative Productivity Data for Breeding Muturu Females
Race/Location Breeding
Females n
Mean Age
(months)
Mean Age at
First Calving
(months)
No. of
Previous
Parities
Calving
Interval
(months)
Northeastern Muturu 41 84.9 41.8 2.8 17.1
Jos Plateau Muturu 36 90.2 46.0 2.1 26.8
S. Muturu (savannah) 40 na 28.3 na 13.9
S. Muturu (forest) 22 na 38.0 2.4 24.5
Source: RIM (1992, II:115)
Research station data for comparisons is summarised in ILCA (1979). Rege et al. (1994) have
recently reviewed the productivity of taurines in West Africa under both station and village
conditions and note a similar variability. Ferguson (1967) gives an age at first calving of 26 months
for Ado-Ekiti while Roberts and Gray (1973) recorded 21.2 months at Vom. Calving intervals for
the same sites range from 11 to 13 months with a mean of 11.5 months at Vom. It can be seen that
the ‘best’ figures for muturu compare very well with those for zebu under traditional management
(RIM, 1992, II:76).
There is little doubt, however, that the decision to keep muturu is not based on strictly economic
parameters. Keeping muturu was a prestigious activity associated with chiefs and senior men and
offtake associated with the ceremonial cycle rather than the market. Indeed, in many traditional
production systems, muturu were never sold. At the same time, muturu were able to digest a wide