IMPACT OF DAIRY SUPPORT SERVICES AND STRATEGIES ON REDUCTION OF COST OF MILK PRODUCTION IN DIFFERENT DAIRY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN BANGLADESH: IMPLICATIONS FOR RURAL LIVELIHOOD IMPROVEMENT

The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of set of dairy supporting policies within the framework of the government ‘National Livestock Development Policy (NLDP)’ on the potential for reduction of cost of milk production in small-scale dairy farmers under different production systems. This study further aims at identifying the link among increasing household income and rural livelihoods-thus reducing poverty. This study applies the method developed by the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). The underlying principle of this method is the application of the concept of ‘Typical Farm Approach (TFA)’ and Technology Impact Policy Impact Calculations (TIPI-CAL) model. Three typical farms from three production systems (e.g. extensive, intensive and traditional) were selected from three agro-ecological zones. The required data collection was done in two steps: first, the data were collected from three baseline typical farms (status quo) operating without policy by applying the ‘Panel Approach’. In the second step, 10 different dairy supporting policy scenarios and technologies were simulated and applied in each of the base line farms in each production system and data were collected from 30 farms using the base farm as the status quo farm. The data were analysed by utilizing the extended version of TIPI-CAL (Technology Impact Policy Impact Calculations) model (TIPI-CAL software version 5.1). The results showed that improved dairy support services: improved veterinary services (IM-VHS), improved marketing access (IM-MKS), improved feeding and nutritional services (IM-FNS), community based fodder production system (CB-FPS), national breeding programme (NL-BRP) showed the highest impact on increasing milk productivity, decreasing milk production cost, increasing income from dairy and overall household income in all three production systems compared with base line farms. However, the magnitude of the impacts substantially differs among the production systems. This study also reveals that that there is a direct link among increasing income and reducing poverty since the household income increases as a result of implementing dairy support services to a level above the poverty line (1.9 US$/day equivalent to 147.96 BDT). This study results could be useful for prioritizing the policies on delivery of support services and technology and are expected to be helpful as a benchmark to implement the ‘draft policy proposal’ by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MOFL) in Bangladesh

Manure management practices

Survey data from 23 dairy farms on manure management practices including herd structure, housing, productivity and farmer opinions on manure management

Fresh cow concept

Experimental trials including feeding improvement of individual cows during the last weeks of gestation and the first weeks after calving. Comparison with control groups having standard diet

DairyBISS manure trials data

Experimental trials on a field station at Holeta. It includes effects of different rates of manure application with and without fertilizer on fodder growth on natural pasture

Effects of fodder conservation and ration formulation interventions on dairy performance in Kenya

Use of conserved forages and proper ration formulation has great potential to bridge the gap in dairy nutrition and reduce seasonal variations in milk yield. This study determined the effects of various fodder and ration formulation interventions on dairy farm performance in North Rift, Eastern, and Central regions of Kenya. Seventy-two farms were purposively selected as participating farms and assigned into six groups of twelve as follows: two groups on silage production, two groups on ration formulation, and two control groups having similar production systems and in the same geographical locations as the other groups. Data on daily dry matter feed intake and milk yield were recorded while laboratory analysis was done to determine milk butterfat and protein content. The data was analyzed using a multilinear regression model to assess the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The results showed that farmers using feed rationing with advisory services had the highest average daily milk yield (19.7 kg/cow) compared to maize train silage (16.8 kg/cow) and those with silage support from Service Provider Enterprises (SPE) (13.3 kg/cow) (P0.05) across the interventions. In conclusion, use of maize train silage and feed rationing with advisory services increased milk yield and reduced seasonal milk fluctuation

Constraints limiting the improvement of manure management as climate smart technology for smallholder dairy farmers

The global quest for a sustainable bio-economy has brought to the fore importance of engaging agricultural systems in the production and in practice change. There have been issues limiting farmers from improving the practice of manure management as smart climate technology. The objective of this paper was to highlight the constraints, type, and valuation of manure types and information sources that smallholder dairy farmers find it useful to change practices regarding manure management. In this present study, 336 smallholder dairy farmers were surveyed on various constraints the farmers faced and, on the type, and value of different manure types and information on manure management received by the farmers. The study used descriptive statistics for the variables and compared them using frequency tables. The key findings from this study would support information to stakeholders in inducing climate-smart manure management practices as a climate adaptation practice. The study highlights the type of information systems that determine areas for further investigation as drivers of practice change for smallholder dairy farmers. The paper focuses on these constraints and synthesizes them into factors that determine practice change on manure management by smallholder dairy farmers in order to improve manure management

A cluster analysis of variables essential for climate change adaptation of smallholder dairy farmers of Nandi Country, Kenya

Smallholder dairy farmers occupy high potential areas of Kenya and are a source of manure, crops and milk. There is need to use other means of characterising smallholder dairy farmers as they mostly practice mixed farming. The objective of this paper is to use cluster analysis method to characterize the smallholder dairy farmers with added farmer and activity data variables. Clusters of 336 farmers in this study were derived using 28 key variables. This paper demonstrates how to conduct farmer assessments for climate change adaptation activities, climate smart technologies implementation using knowledge of key farmer variables and their distribution in the smallholder dairy farmers of Nandi County, Kenya. This paper demonstrates the importance of integrating agricultural information for smallholder dairy farmers to machine models to characterize the groups and observe the natural groupings. This allows for policy managers to know the key characteristics and how to use them in policy implementation especially in designing climate change adaptation programs factoring education and training of farmers as demonstrated in this paper that they are practicing many activities on their farms