Trends in on-farm performance testing of cattle and sheep in sub-Saharan Africa

Summarises past and present experiences with livestock performance testing in sub-Saharan Africa and outlines the role of networks in improving on-farm testing through the use of standardised testing methods and rapid data handling and feedback. Includes data on the distribution of cattle and sheep populations by ecological zone in sub-Saharan Africa. Presents current programmes for on-farm and on-station performance recording

Nagaland's pig sub-sector: Current status, constraints and opportunities

This report presents the results of a study which appraised the pig sub-sectors of three selected districts in Nagaland state, Northeast India. It synthesises the results from the three districts - Dimapur, Mon and Phek, and a market study in Kohima, draws conclusions and makes recommendations for research and development (R&D) interventions. To ensure consistency and comparable results, the same methodology was used in each of the district appraisals in Nagaland and in a similar study carried out in five districts of Assam and in Guwahati, Assam's capital. The report is divided into five main parts. Part one is introduction. Part two looks into Nagaland, livelihoods and the pig sub-sector. It discusses rural economy and the role of pigs. Part three discusses marketing of pigs and consumption of pork. Topics of discussion include prices of pork and factors affecting demand, price trends, level of consumption, future demand, current supply chain of pigs, and pork, output market, input market, projections of demand and supply of pork, food safety issues and main issues in consumption and marketing. Part four deals with pig production systems and discusses ethnic and socio-economic distribution, production systems and their classification, breeding and reproductive management, management of feeding, health management, and main issues in production systems. Part 5 summerises policy and institutional issues including regulatory environment, government and donor participation in the pig sub-sector, delivery of livestock services, and main policy and institutional issues

Disposal and replacement practices in Kenya’s smallholder dairy herds

The objectives of this study were to explore the possibilities for improving the breeding practices and developing policies in support of smallholder dairy producers in the central highlands of Kenya through analysing current disposal and replacement practices. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional characterization study. This began with a pilot survey in one district where 365 households were randomly sampled and then extended to another eight districts where 1390 households were randomly sampled. The pooled data from the nine districts comprised 987 dairy households with information on dairy cattle disposal and replacement practices during the previous year and the primary reasons for animal deaths and sales. Complementary information on the origins of cows was collected through targeted surveys of 50 sample households representative of the major dairy systems. Based on farmer recall of events during the year preceding the surveys, almost a third of cow and heifer exits were driven by the households’ needs for cash, and another third resulted from losses caused by diseases. Poor performance was less important, accounting for about 10% of cow exits and about 5% for heifers. More cows (>25% y-1) left the herd in zero- and semi-zero grazing systems than from free-grazing herds (19% y-1) and fewer heifers were available as replacements. As a result, the herds in the more intensive grazing systems would have to purchase replacements to maintain their herd size. By contrast, there were surplus heifer replacements in the free grazing systems. The majority of the breeding cows were born within the herd (68%) and few were purchased: 25% from smallholdings and 7% from large-scale farms. Of the purchased cows, 90% originated from smallholdings and 10% from large-scale farms while 96% of heifers were purchased from smallholdings and only 4% from large-scale farms. Purchases from smallholder farms were from within the locality. The implications of these results for smallholder dairy production in Kenya are discussed

How smallholder dairy systems in Kenya contribute to food security and poverty alleviation: results of recent collaborative studies

Kenya has the largest dairy sub-sector in eastern and southern Africa making available annually an estimated 85-90 litres of liquid milk equivalent per capita based primarily upon well-established market-oriented smallholder dairy systems. As a result dairying (the production of milk for the market) has become a very significant source of income and food for an estimated 625,000 smallholder producer households and for those involved in the marketing of milk, in total some 25% of all households. In addition dairying plays a crucial role in sustaining smallholder crop-dairy systems through its contributions to nutrient cycling. It is these smallholder crop-dairy systems, generally based on the cropping of the staple food, maize, that dominate marketed dairy production and that underpin the competitiveness of smallholder dairying in Kenya. In order to better understand Kenya’s dairy sub-sector and to identify constraints to, and opportunities for, improving smallholder dairying’s contribution to poverty alleviation and to increased food security, a series of sequential studies have been carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and the International Livestock Research Institute through the Smallholder Dairy (R&D) Project, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The research has taken a holistic market-oriented production-to-consumption approach with interdisciplinary teams evaluating dairy systems and the interactions of economics, policy, agro-ecology and technology that define their structure. Within the general framework described through an appraisal of the national dairy industry, detailed analyses of the marketing and production systems have identified promising policy, institutional and technological interventions, some of which are being tested. The results of the studies are presented and their implications for poverty alleviation and food security are discussed

Crop-livestock interactions and livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh, India

The research and development community faces the challenge of sustaining crop productivity gains, improving rural livelihoods and securing environmental sustainability in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP). This calls for a better understanding of farming systems and of rural livelihoods, particularly with the advent of, and strong advocacy for, conservation farming and resource-conserving technologies. This scoping study presents an assessment of crop-livestock interactions and rural livelihoods in the Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), drawing from a village survey in three districts (Meerut-NW U.P., Kanpur-central and Faizabad-E) and secondary data. The study reports are structured as follows. The second chapter presents the overall methodology followed and details about the specific survey locations. The third chapter presents the study area drawing primarily from secondary data and available literature. The fourth chapter analyses the livelihood platforms in the surveyed communities, distinguishing between the livelihood assets, access modifiers and trends and shocks. The fifth chapter describes the livelihood strategies in the surveyed communities, with particular attention for crop and livestock production. The sixth chapter assesses the crop-livestock interactions in the surveyed communities, with a particular emphasis on crop residue management and livestock feeding practices. The seventh chapter first discusses the effects on livelihood security and environmental sustainability and subsequently dwells on the outlook for the surveyed communities and draws together an agenda for action