Connell, J.

Khanh, T. T.

Phengsavanh, P.

Stür, W. W.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress Unlocking the Potential of Smallholder Livestock Production‐-Using Managed Forages as an Entry Point W. W. Stür International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Lao PDR J. Connell International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Lao PDR P. Phengsavanh International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Lao PDR T. T. Khanh International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Lao PDR Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/20-1/3 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]999　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands People and Policies ——— Institutional Innovations for the Conservation of Grasslands/Rangelands BiodiversityUnlocking the potential of smallholder livestock production‐using managed forages as an entrypointW .W . Stür , J . Connell , P . Phengsavanh , T .T . K hanhInternational Center f or T rop ical A griculture (CIA T ) , P .O . Box 783 , V ientiane , L ao PDR , E‐mail : w .stur＠ cgiar .orgKey words :managed forage plots , intensification , smallholder livestock production , Southeast AsiaIntroduction In Southeast Asia , smallholder farmers operate small , mixed crop‐livestock farms . Farmers rely largely oncommon property feed resources that are heavily over‐utilized and are becoming increasingly scarce . Farmers are faced withdeclining livestock productivity because of an increasing feed gap . They have little control over the use of common property feedresources and find that they need to spend more and more time herding and feeding their animals . Livestock production basedon common‐property feed resources is fast becoming a less and less attractive farm enterprise .Managed forage plots‐the first step towards more productive livestock production Smallholder farmers in many countries inSoutheast Asia have found that they can double the returns from livestock production if they complement the use of common‐property feed resources with small areas of fodder grown on their own farm . At first farmers find that it is convenient to growfeed as it reduces the time needed for feeding animals . Soon , however , they see opportunities for using this new feed resourceto improve and intensify livestock production . Managed forages are the key to enabling this transition . Farmers are growingsmall areas (１０００‐３０００ m２ ) of well‐managed grass plots . These are almost exclusively utilized by a cut‐and‐carry system ratherthan grazed , and farmers apply manure and inorganic fertilizer to forage areas to ensure high productivity . In some areas ,farmers have gone to the extent of irrigating their forage areas . In most areas , farmers grow forages in plots but there are alsoareas where farmers grow forages as contour hedges ( e .g . Philippines ) or under tree plantations ( e .g . Indonesia and PRChina) . The main species used are the grasses Panicum maximum �Simuang�, Brachiaria humidicola �Tully�and�Yanero�,Brachiaria hybrid �Mulato�and �Mulato II�, Brachiaria briz antha �Marandu�, Paspalum atratum �Terenos�, Setariasphacelata �Lampung�and Pennisetum hybrid �King grass�and the legume Sty losanthes guianensis �Stylo１８４�. The reasonwhy farmers grow mainly grasses is that these have a much higher yield than legumes and quantity of feed ( rather than quality )is the primary concern of farmers .One of the most common uses of managed forages is fattening or conditioning of cattle before sale . Farmers put cattle destinedfor sale into a pen and feed them with managed forages for １‐３ month before selling the animals . Fattening cattle in this wayincreases the sale value by US ＄ １‐２ per day of fattening ; a considerable income for smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia . Thearea required to do this is about １０００m２ per animal fattened . Other uses of managed forages include cow‐calf production ,herbivorous fish production ( e .g . use of Panicum max imum �Simuang�in Vietnam ) , sale of fresh forage ( e .g . Thailand) ,sale of seed and vegetative propagation material , village pigs production ( e .g . use of Sty losanthes guianensis Stylo １８４ in LaoPDR) , and draught cattle ( e .g . Cambodia) .　 　 Figure 1 A dop tion o f managed f orage p lots inSoutheast A sia , 1993‐2005 .Adoption of managed forages By ２００５ , more than １５ ,０００ smallholderfarmers had adopted managed forages as part of their livestockproduction system in Southeast Asia (Stür et al . ２００７) . While manyfarmers were using both managed forages and common‐propertyresources , some had moved to much more intensive livestockproduction systems that relied only on managed forages . Almost allfarmers changed their production system from extensive to a partiallyintensive system ( e .g . fattening cattle ) or fully intensive systemkeeping all cattle confined in pens .Lessons learnt The planting of managed forages is an entry point tomore intensive and profitable livestock production as it providesfarmers with an additional feed resource they can control . Successfulintroduction of managed forages depended on several key factors ,including ( １ ) livestock has to be an important component of thelivelihood system of farmers , (２ ) farmers must recognize the lack offeed as a major problem , ( ３ ) participatory approaches to activelyengage with farmer groups , and ( ４ ) availability of suitable , well‐adapted forage varieties .ReferencesStür WW ,Horne PM ,Phengsavanh P ,Gabunada F ,Khanh TT and Connell ,J (２００７ ) . Planted forages‐the key for makingmoney from smallholder livestock production : Experiences from CIAT摧s forage R&D in Southeast Asia . In : Hare MD andWongpichet K . Forages : A Pathway to Prosperity for Smallholder Farmers . Proceedings of an International ForageSymposium , Faculty of Agriculture , Ubon Ratchathani University , Thailand , ３１３‐３３１ .

Unlocking the Potential of Smallholder Livestock Production‐-Using Managed Forages as an Entry Point

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3826&context=igc

Unlocking the Potential of Smallholder Livestock Production‐-Using Managed Forages as an Entry Point

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Kentucky