Cattle breed preferences and breeding practices in southern Nigeria B.M. Swallow * and M.A. Jabbar † * International Livestock Centre for Africa P.O. Box 46847 Nairobi, Kenya † International Livestock Centre for Africa P.M.B. 5320 Ibadan, Nigeria INTRODUCTION As we consider the future roles of trypanotolerant livestock in trypanosomiasis control and African livestock development, it is important that we consider the actions, knowledge, needs and opinions of African farmers. Ultimately it is their breeding and disease control practices we seek to change and their welfare that we seek to improve. In this paper we summarize completed and planned research that studies the actions and opinions of farmers in southern Nigeria regarding cattle breeding preferences and breeding practices. Particularly, we address the following questions. What are farmers’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of the different breeds with which they are familiar? Through what actions and transactions do farmers have discretion to determine the breed composition of their herds? How do farmers’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvan- tages of breeds affect the breed composition of their herds and their breeding practices? BACKGROUND The derived savannah of southern Nigeria is an ideal environment for conducting research on breed preferences and breeding practices with regard to trypanotolerance. First, try- panosomiasis risk ranges from low to moderately high. A cattle survey conducted in five southwest Nigerian states in 1986–1987 found an average trypanosome infection rate of 14.4%, with infection rates ranging from 2.7% in Ogun State to 28.2% in Ondo State (Ikede et al., 1988). Second, over the last 20 years the number of cattle kept in the zone has increased five-fold from about 60,000 to 300,000 due to changes in internal conditions (increased demand for livestock products, land clearance, reduction in wildlife popula- tions, tsetse control programs) and external conditions (the Sahelian droughts of the early 1970s and mid-1980s) (Akinwumi and Ikpi, 1985; Bourn, 1983; Putt et al., 1980). Farmers in the area are familiar with a variety of trypanotolerant breeds (savannah and forest Muturu and N’Dama), trypanosusceptible breeds (Adamawa Gudali, Shuwa and White Fulani) and various crosses between trypanotolerant and trypanosusceptible breeds