The functional traits and threats to the Borgou cattle breed as perceived by farmers in Benin

Abstract Benin has been facing the loss of its animal genetic heritage over the years. The aim of this study was to explore the reasons related to the progressive abandonment of the Borgou cattle breed. The assessment of threat level and functional traits related to the Borgou breed was therefore collected through semi-structured interviews from 105 cattle farmers using the Likert scale (1 to 5), and the scores recorded were compared within each group of farmers using the Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney U tests. The results showed that depending on the types of farmers surveyed, the Borgou breed is much more threatened by the Zebu Goudali (p > 0.05), Yakana (p > 0.05) and Azawak (p < 0.05) with their medians ranging from 3.5 to 5. The lack of good breeding bulls and uncontrolled cross-breeding were considered to be the socio-environmental factors having more influence on the conservation of the Borgou breed (medians ranging from 3 to 4) according to the types of farmers (p > 0.05). Farmers appreciated its qualities such as adaptability, resistance to diseases, fertility, manure production, conformation, aptitude for draught and valorization of food resources (median: 3 to 5). However, scores recorded (medians 2 to 3) for the growth (p > 0.05), milk production (p > 0.05) and selling price (p < 0.01) of Borgou cattle indicated that these traits were unsatisfactory for farmers and reveal that the Borgou breed is mainly discarded in view of its low capacity to swiftly produce meat and its low milk productivity. This leads farmers to resort to cross-breeding through the use of other more productive breeds. This study will therefore allow to take into account farmers’ perceptions in the development of programmes and sustainable in situ conservation strategies of the Borgou cattle breed in Benin.