TopBooty:

True but it's negligible compared to the quantity the western farmers produce.

Think about it for a minute. Africa gets AID from the west. In the west, majority of the population dine on GM. Will the west plant Organic for Africa I mean you expect that all those grains being shipped to feed africa each year, are all organic grains? African's be ajebo??LMAO!!!

Kobojunkie:

Do you have solid information to back up this claim??

You asked for it!
Here's my best. . .

Pros and Cons of Genetically Altered Livestock
Livestock could, in theory, be genetically altered to give maximum output at minimum cost to farmers. Cows could be engineered for high milk production or high meat output, depending on their intended function. Sheep could be engineered for optimum wool growth, and pigs could be altered to have large amounts of meat with a minimum of fat. Advantages of this livestock specification are obvious and immediate: lower costs for manufacturers, lower prices for consumers, and higher output on the part of the animals. Disadvantages are more nebulous: a reduction in genetic diversity; potential and unforeseen health problems from genetically altered products. Some people even object to the ethics of the actual alterations, saying that it is wrong to view animals as production machines for food
source: http://library.thinkquest.org/17109/environment.htm

The unforeseen health problems was what i was aiming at in the beginning. However, I'm not going to be biased by focusing on the negative effects but when you have a reduction in genetic diversity, it means that the animals might not have even have offsprings that can reproduce. If the animals don't reproduce - then it's not successful. The advantages of Genetic Engineering are immediate but we have to consider the long term effects.

j-girl:

You asked for it!
Here's my best. . . The unforeseen health problems was what i was aiming at in the beginning. However, I'm not going to be biased by focusing on the negative effects but when you have a reduction in genetic diversity, it means that the animals might not have even have offsprings that can reproduce. If the animals don't reproduce - then it's not successful. The advantages of Genetic Engineering are immediate but we have to consider the long term effects.

Reduction of genetic diversity in what sense??

If they have reduction in genetic diversity, it affects their offspring because they all have the same genetic composition due to engineering. Any form of lethal selection on them can affect the livestock as a whole. It's all about how their genes interact well with other factors.

j-girl:

If they have reduction in genetic diversity, it affects their offspring because they all have the same genetic composition due to engineering. Any form of lethal selection on them can affect the livestock as a whole. It's all about how their genes interact well with other factors.

but - genetic engineering does not limit the whole genetic makeup of a species but only engineers a particular gene or trait to build resistance to a particular disease or two. Out in the fields, genetic diversity is sure to be seen as there is no limitation placed on the species these engineered stock can polinate with.

Kobojunkie:

but - genetic engineering does not limit the whole genetic makeup of a species but only engineers a particular gene or trait to build resistance to a particular disease or two. Out in the fields, genetic diversity is sure to be seen as there is no limitation placed on the species these engineered stock can polinate with.

I know it doesn't limit the whole genetic make up but genes act together to improve certain qualities. When you have the same couple of genes acting together in a cow, for instance, to improve milk production. They are not only affecting the production of milk. They are also affecting other forms of the cow we don't know about. Because they are genetically engineered, there is no hybridization between these set of genes - limiting the genetic diversity.

@J-girl.

Shey if dem give you genetic enigineering suya u go gree chop?

PAPABOMBOY:

@J-girl.

Shey if them give you genetic enigineering suya u go gree chop?

lol! lai lai

j-girl:

I know it doesn't limit the whole genetic make up but genes act together to improve certain qualities. When you have the same couple of genes acting together in a cow, for instance, to improve milk production. They are not only affecting the production of milk. They are also affecting other forms of the cow we don't know about. Because they are genetically engineered, there is no hybridization between these set of genes - limiting the genetic diversity.

Hybridization still occurs, especially when other genetic make up is introduced. In the case of the Kwara farm, I am guessing the cows maybe coming with one gene and the bulls coming with another. Infact, it maybe the plan to mix that gene up with what we have in Nigeria now so we can have more of those. I understand the "fears" attached to GMs but reality is for so many years now, they have been in the market, even in China were a lot of the chicken Nigerians have been eating for almost a decade now has been coming from and so far we have yet to see people deformed in any way by this. So it is ok to watch and see but I don't believe that Africa, especially Nigeria is as organic as you think it is. And depriving the people food cause of fears we may have of these; most of Europe was that way until recent years , actually and I believe, considering how the farming situation is in that country, we do not have the luxury of time to sit back and watch for additional number of years. We are in a bad place when it comes to growing our own food and if GM will help save lives, I am all for it, even though I have my reservations.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0502/p04s01-woaf.html

Back on the airport tarmac of Kwara State's main airport at Ilorin, crowds watch the first batch of some 690 cows imported at a cost of about $3,000 per head. Despite the expense, Nigerian officials are optimistic that large-scale investment will bring large-scale returns.

These said cow sure are really expensive!
$3,000 is a lot of money for alone cow.

$3000 a cow?? They better be optimistic and play this the good way. But then again, since the farmers are zim farmers, I am guessing they know what they are doing and hopefully if it goes south, they deal with the cost as well.

Kobojunkie:

$3000 a cow?? They better be optimistic and play this the good way. But then again, since the farmers are zim farmers, I am guessing they know what they are doing and hopefully if it goes south, they deal with the cost as well.

See that's what I was saying! I thought it was hundreds of dollars per cow. It better work out sha! But if they are that confident, they must have over-researched.

Kobojunkie:

Hybridization still occurs, especially when other genetic make up is introduced. In the case of the Kwara farm, I am guessing the cows maybe coming with one gene and the bulls coming with another. Infact, it maybe the plan to mix that gene up with what we have in Nigeria now so we can have more of those. I understand the "fears" attached to GMs but reality is for so many years now, they have been in the market, even in China were a lot of the chicken Nigerians have been eating for almost a decade now has been coming from and so far we have yet to see people deformed in any way by this. So it is ok to watch and see but I don't believe that Africa, especially Nigeria is as organic as you think it is. And depriving the people food cause of fears we may have of these; most of Europe was that way until recent years , actually and I believe, considering how the farming situation is in that country, we do not have the luxury of time to sit back and watch for additional number of years. We are in a bad place when it comes to growing our own food and if GM will help save lives, I am all for it, even though I have my reservations.

Hybridization occurs but it is reduced because majority of the genes controlling that trait are the same. I kinda agree with you too and I still have my reservations.

j-girl:

See that's what I was saying! I thought it was hundreds of dollars per cow. It better work out sha! But if they are that confident, they must have over-researched. Hybridization occurs but it is reduced because majority of the genes controlling that trait are the same. I kind of agree with you too and I still have my reservations.

Here is my problem with the way things have worked for decades now that ts my off. You ship the same number of cows to, say, china and it seems the project works but ship the same to Nigeria and they come back to you with excuses upon excuses of why it was a bad plan from the beginning. I am optimistic and see a great opportunity here for Nigeria but at the same time, I hope the Nigerian factor does not come in to plague this as well.

Kobojunkie:

Here is my problem with the way things have worked for decades now that ts my off. You ship the same number of cows to, say, china and it seems the project works but ship the same to Nigeria and they come back to you with excuses upon excuses of why it was a bad plan from the beginning. I am optimistic and see a great opportunity here for Nigeria but at the same time, I hope the Nigerian factor does not come in to plague this as well.

You're totally speaking my mind right there. That's why my first reaction was "this is Nigeria we're talking about here, i wouldn't put anything past them". You take a shipload of guns to china - they give it to their soldiers, do the same in naija and the armed robbers are getting it. I want to be optimistic but they keep giving me reasons not to be optimistic or to not want to believe in them. I'm praying this one will go off without a hitch and stay that way for the longest time.

milk producing cow are better placed in JOS area(middle-belt).

these cows need every thing to be near-perfect to produce as much milk as possible; temp, weather, wind, food, salt, care etc.

i hope they are planning to covert the milk to powder since there is no NEPA plus they have to deal with 'cheap' import from Europe.

OBJ got same cow from Castro in the 70's(OFN), 5yrs later they were all useless and no milk came out.

landis:

milk producing cow are better placed in JOS area(middle-belt).

these cows need every thing to be near-perfect to produce as much milk as possible; temp, weather, wind, food, salt, care etc.

i hope they are planning to covert the milk to powder since there is no NEPA plus they have to deal with 'cheap' import from Europe.

OBJ got same cow from Castro in the 70's(OFN), 5yrs later they were all useless and no milk came out.

Guess what?? All that jazz is not even close to reality of the world we live in today. These cows have all they need and you know what that is?? WHITE FARMERS from ZIMBABWE, Guess what?? For those who are freaked by whiteman, they are here to stay and teach you a thing or two about raising and milking cows in kwara state. LMAO!!!

By the way, from all you posted there, I believe you have never really been to Kwara to taste the lovely WARA sold there. Cows have been doing well in Kwara for a long time. Jos is not the only place for cows.

To date, the Zimbabwean farmers say, the maize and soya yields have been disappointing. "It's just too hot," says Reid. In Zimbabwe, Reid could expect at least eight tonnes of yield per hectare, compared with just four tonnes in Nigeria.

they better buy A/C for the cows too and their milk production?

Cows have been doing well in Kwara for a long time. Jos is not the only place for cows.

there you go. these are nigeria cows that already adapted to Nigeria environment over centuries.

landis:



they better buy A/C for the cows too and their milk production?



there you go. these are nigeria cows that already adapted to Nigeria environment over centuries.

I am going to guess all you know of agriculture in Nigeria is what you learnt in primary school, am I wrong?? I am sorry to inform you but most of what you used even back then was outdated information. problem was we do not look much into updating our text books in Nigeria and you can see that trend today in schools and in the quality of people they churn out.

These said cow sure are really expensive!
$3,000 is a lot of money for alone cow.

I'm quite surprised because $3K per cow is not too high considering how our govt inflates contracts afterall the street value of a normal cow is about $1500, add the transportaion and the 'special breed' price plus other miscellaneous expenses like visas and duty fees for the cows.

@OsunAmazon, cows need visa? LOL. That is the funniest thing i have heard all day. I can just imagine some poor guy taking the cows to the embassy in the morning to queue, lol.

Above all, hope these cows are not introducing new diseases that will wipe away our local cows.

@OsunAmazon, cows need visa? LOL. That is the funniest thing i have heard all day. I can just imagine some poor guy taking the cows to the embassy in the morning to queue, lol.

Yes, they have south African pssports too.

source pls