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Heat-Resistant Cows
As the planet warms, artificial insemination is gaining ground among cattle farmers grappling with the added heat of climate change.
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In Nigeria, farmers are breeding a new breed of cows that can withstand tropical temperatures and produce more milk. To do so, they're importing semen from the heat-resistant Girolando bull breed from Brazil, creating a strange and coveted new product. And as my colleague Emele Onu and I reported this week, things are looking promising so far. "I will do much better with the Girolando breed," Moyosore Rafiu, a 42-year-old farmer, said in an interview. "They will survive better on our farms and I can already see signs of that in the calves on this farm. It will be a big transformation."
Farmer Moyosore Rafiu on his farm in Iseyin, Nigeria.
Rafiu is one of thousands of farmers across Nigeria participating in a cross-breeding program overseen by the country's dairy producer, FrieslandCampina, to genetically improve the animals. His black and white cows of European origin struggle with the intense sun and local diseases, while native breeds do not produce enough milk. African cows produce an average of just a few liters of milk per day, compared with 30 liters in the United States.
Heat-tolerant, more productive cows are key to efforts by governments, businesses and aid organizations to increase the supply of animal protein on a continent where the population is growing at a very fast rate and hunger is more widespread. While high-income countries consume a lot of beef and other animal products, poorer countries, which suffer from high rates of malnutrition, benefit from more meat and milk in their diets.
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It is hoped that super-productive cows will not only improve food security, but also help curb climate change. More milk from fewer cows means fewer mouths of cows emitting methane. Although African cows account for only 4% of global milk production, they contribute about a tenth of the world's methane emissions.
The idea is to create "sustainable intensification," said Mario Herrero, a professor of sustainable food systems and global change at Cornell University.
If you have two Girolando cows instead of four local cows, it will put "less pressure on resources," he said. "That's how it should be." ยป
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