UK Veterinarians Utilising Advanced Breeding Techniques to Support Dairy Production in Rwanda

Paragon Advanced Breeding (formerly Activf-ET), a veterinary-led advanced breeding services provider based in the UK, has been supporting farmers in Rwanda to improve animal health, welfare and productivity in the region. The long-term project began in 2018, when Senior Embryo Transfer Technician Mark Boland became involved with charitable organisation Send A Cow (now Ripple Effect). Mark has over 40 years experience within the bovine advanced breeding industry, and has worked both in the UK and overseas providing training in the embryo transfer (ET) and artificial insemination (AI) sector. The project was funded by Jersey Overseas Aid (Government of Jersey aid agency) who aimed to support improvements in the quality and profitability of milk production overseas. Mark’s role involved travelling to Rwanda to implant embryos into recipient cattle and provide training to veterinarians and technicians in the region.

Historically, indigenous cattle in Rwanda were owned by subsistence farmers with a typical herd size of 2 animals, producing an average of 3 litres per day per cow. These cows are the farmers greatest asset, allowing them to feed their family while selling on any surplus milk to the local community. In comparison, Jersey cows produce an average of 16.5 litres of milk per day¹, and with Jersey Overseas Aid having in excess of 100,000 straws of high quality semen straws in stock, there was an opportunity to improve the milk production yield of indigenous cows (both quality and quantity) using genetics and advanced breeding techniques. 

With support from the veterinary team at Paragon, the Advanced Breeding team began producing embryos from a selection of high genetic value donor cows and heifers to create a group of high-genetic value Jersey bulls and heifers. The resultant calves will be born with the natural ability to produce more milk than indigenous cattle, whilst also being immune to many local diseases and able to tolerate the subtropical climate. It is also important to note that the resulting cattle were still able to produce more milk whilst grazing rough land, which is generally of low nutritional value and not supplemented by concentrated feeds. 

The project has evolved enormously since 2018; Paragon Advanced Breeding have produced and collected approximately 300 pure-bred Jersey embryos using IVF technology at their facility in the UK. These were exported to Rwanda then implanted into local indigenous recipient cattle, with Mark visiting on a 3-monthly cycle to implant the embryos and provide training to veterinarians and technicians in the region. The resulting male calves would go on to enter into the bull stud, whilst females would become bull mothers and embryo donors in their own right, producing embryos to expand the pure jersey herd which allows for a rapid increase in numbers . In addition, a bull semen collection and processing centre has been built alongside a distribution network to ship semen across the country, to support the production of semen in Rwanda and reduce the need for imports. 

Training and knowledge exchange was a vital part of this project, with Mark and the Paragon team working with local veterinarians and technicians on every trip to provide the skills and expertise to allow them to implant embryos themselves. The next phase of the project will be to provide flushing training, with the aim over the next two years being that local teams will be skilled enough to collect and implant embryos themselves. Further training has also been provided for the Rwandan Institute for Conservation Agriculture to enable them to use Embryo Transfer in its own breeding programme.

The introduction of AI paved the way for rapid genetic improvement, allowing the best bulls to sire many thousands of calves, but the bull is only half of the equation. By utilising advanced breeding technologies, such as embryo flushing, embryo transfer and IVF, genetic improvements can be accelerated worldwide without the need to transport animals vast distances to often remote rural locations. 

Livestock veterinarians are ideally placed to engage and advise on embryo transfer with their clients. For veterinary professionals seeking to expand their knowledge of these technologies, this article by Rob Simmons, director and advanced breeding clinician at Paragon Veterinary Group in Cumbria provides a thorough overview of the various techniques available. https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/advanced-breeding-technologies-embryo-transfer-in-vitro-fertilisation

Mark has another trip to Rwanda planned in December 2024, which will see him travel to view calves born from embryos implanted in January this year. We look forward to being able to update you on this project in 2025.