Performance, biosecurity practices and antimicrobial usage in Montbéliarde dairy farms in Northern Cameroon

To improve local milk production, the Cameroonian government re-imported Montbéliarde heifers from Europe through a World Bank-funded project. This study aimed to assess the performance of Montbéliarde cows distributed in Northern Cameroon, as well as biosecurity implementation and antimicrobial use (AMU) among the beneficiary farms. Data were collected in all the farms that agreed to participate. In total only 75% (48/64) of farms that received Montbéliarde were still operating one year after the end of the project. The rest (16/64) reported to having sold their animals due to the high feed costs and challenges related to animal health management. In addition, the average daily milk production per cow was estimated at 9.1 ± 3.1 kg (95% CI: 7.4-11.6). Only 38.2% of farms had a good level of biosecurity compliance. Biosecurity measures relating to health and calving management were the least implemented. The majority of participants had limited knowledge of AMU (76.5%) and antimicrobial resistance (91.2%). Moreover, more than 90% of antibiotics were overdosed during cattle treatment. These findings highlight a serious concerns in terms of the sustainability of importing Montbéliarde cows. The authors recommend that the government urgently implement measures such as subsidize the feed/drug, and train farm workers on cattle management and AMU.