ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND SMALL-SCALE
LIVESTOCK PROJECTS
GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING
by
Linda Jacobs
Tsaile, Arizona
Coordination in Development, Inc. (CODEL)
Heifer
Project International (HPI)
Volunteers
in Technical Assistance (VITA)
Winrock International Institute
for
Agricultural Development
CODEL, Inc.
Environment and Development Program
475
Riverside Drive, Room 1842
New
York, New York 10115, U.S.A.
Heifer Project International
P. O. Box 808
Little
Rock, Arkansas 72203, U.S.A.
Winrock International Institute
for
Agricultural Development
Petit Jean Mountain
Route 3
Morrilton, Arkansas 72110, U.S.A.
Order books from:
VITA
1600
Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500
Arlington, Virginia 22209 USA
Tel:
703/276-1800 * Fax:
703/243-1865
Internet: pr-info@vita.org
Illustrations by Linda Jacobs
Cover
Design by Susann Foster Brown
[C] CODEL/HPI/WI 1986
ISBN No. 0-86619-245-X
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
Chapter I
A
DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
WHAT IS A SMALL-SCALE LIVESTOCK PROJECT?
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND LIVESTOCK PROJECTS
Chapter II
IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGY IN
LIVESTOCK-PROJECT PLANNING
ECOLOGY DEFINED
Ecosystems
Ecological
Balance
The Web of
Life
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
CARRYING CAPACITY
COMPETITION AMONG ANIMALS
FOOD QUANTITY AND QUALITY
VALUE OF ANIMALS IN A FARMING SYSTEM
MANAGEMENT BY ISOLATION FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL CULTURE
TRENDS IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT
Chapter III
BEGINNING THE PLANNING PROCESS
THE FIRST STEP ... INFORMATION GATHERING
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
Environmental
Guidelines
Community
Guidelines
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter IV
LIVESTOCK CHARACTERISTICS:
BACKGROUND FOR PLANNING
APPROPRIATE LIVESTOCK FOR FARMING SYSTEMS
Large Animals
Versus Small Animals
Browsers and
Grazers
SOME COMMON LIVESTOCK AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
Cattle
Water
Buffalo
Horses, Mules,
and Donkeys
Sheep
Goats
Camels, Alpacas,
and Llamas
Pigs
Poultry
Rabbits and
Guinea Pigs
CHOOSING LIVESTOCK THAT FIT THE ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION OF NEW BREEDS OR SPECIES
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter V
THE
SOIL AND NUTRIENT CYCLES
THE CARBON CYCLE
THE WATER CYCLE
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
SOIL STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION
ANIMAL FEED REQUIREMENTS
FEED MANAGEMENT
KINDS OF FEED AND FORAGE
FEED CONTAMINATION
PASTURE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter VI
MANAGEMENT OF WASTES AND NUTRIENTS
COMPOSITION OF MANURE
BEDDING
RECYCLING NUTRIENTS
MANURE AS A POLLUTANT
MANURE STORAGE
COMPOSTING
MANURE MIXED IN WATER
BIOGAS DIGESTERS
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter VII
HEALTH AND HUSBANDRY
CAUSES OF DISEASE
DISEASE RESISTANCE
METHODS OF CONTROL
Quarantine and
Sanitation
Vaccination
Medication
Environmental
Modification
THE BREEDING PROGRAM
Fertility
Breeding
Season
Selection of Stock
ANIMAL CARE AND LOCAL CULTURES
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter VIII
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS:
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
LEVELS OF INTEGRATION
WILD ANIMALS IN THE FARMING SYSTEM
AGROFORESTRY
AQUACULTURE
GUIDELINES FOR INTEGRATION
PLANNING QUESTIONS
Chapter IX
MAKING THE PLAN WORK
IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES
DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS
IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT
Training
Programs
Funding
MONITORING THE PROJECT
PROJECT EVALUATION
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
APPENDICES
A. ECOLOGICAL
MINI-GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS
B. SERVICES
AVAILABLE FROM HEIFER PROJECT
INTERNATIONAL AND
WINROCK INTERNATIONAL
C. BIBLIOGRAPHY
D. ADDRESSES FOR
REFERENCES
ABOUT CODEL
Coordination in Development (CODEL) is a private,
not-for-profit
consortium of 43 development agencies working in
developing countries.
CODEL funds community development
activities that are locally initiated and ecumenically
implemented. These
activities include agriculture, water,
forestry health, appropriate technology, and training
projects.
The Environment and Development Program of CODEL serves the
private and voluntary development community by providing
workshops, information, and materials designed to document
the urgency, feasibility, and potential of an approach to
small-scale development that stresses the interdependence of
human and natural resources.
This manual is one of several
materials developed under the Program to assist development
workers in taking
the physical environment into account
during project planning, implementation, and evaluation.
For more information, contact CODEL Environment and
Development
Program at 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1842, New York,
New York 10115 USA.
ABOUT VITA
Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) is a private
non-profit
international development organization.
It makes
available to individuals and groups in developing countries
a variety of information and technical resources aimed at
fostering self-sufficiency:
needs assessment and program
development support; by-mail and on-site consulting
services;
information systems training; and management of field
projects. VITA
promotes the use of appropriate small-scale
technologies, especially in the area of renewable energy.
VITA's extensive documentation center and worldwide roster
of volunteer technical experts enable it to respond to
thousands of technical inquiries each year.
It also
publishes a quarterly newsletter and a variety of technical
manuals and bulletins.
For more information, contact VITA
at 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22209
USA.
ABOUT
WINROCK INTERNATIONAL
Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development
is a private, nonprofit institution founded to help
alleviate
human hunger and poverty through agricultural development.
In partnership with private voluntary organizations,
governments, aid agencies, agricultural research centers,
and others, Winrock assists people and nations to increase
food production and income opportunities.
The institute
provides both short- and long-term technical assistance to
improve farmers, productivity and to strengthen the research
and extension systems that support agriculture.
Winrock
emphasizes human resource development by supporting
developing
country students in degree training; sponsoring
training programs for farmers and people who work with
farmers; and producing training and informational
materials. Winrock
works in Africa, Asia, Latin America and
the Caribbean, and the United States.
For more information,
contact Winrock International at Route 3, Morrilton, AR
72110 USA.
ABOUT
HEIFER PROJECT INTERNATIONAL
Heifer Project International is a nonprofit organization
founded in 1944 and is supported by donations of
individuals,
churches, and grants from corporations and governments.
HPI has provided assistance to people in more than
100 countries. The
purpose of Heifer Project International
is to assist small farmers to achieve a better living
through more efficient use of human and natural resources.
The method is to introduce good quality livestock and to
demonstrate and teach proper management.
HPI provides funding, livestock, and materials for livestock
development projects.
It also provides technical expertise
and training, publishes a newsletter on appropriate
practical
livestock technology and distributes practical educational
materials.
HPI assistance is provided without regard to race, creed, or
political origin, and in a manner which requires the
recipient to share the increase usual]y by passing on the
first female offspring to other families.
Projects are
designed so as to be self-supporting and perpetuating.
To
accomplish this, plans and agreements are made with
indigenous organizations.
GUIDELINES
FOR PLANNING SERIES
Environmentally Sound Small-Scale Agricultural Projects,
1979 (Also in Spanish and French)
Environmentally Sound Small-Scale Water Projects, 1981
(Also in Spanish)
Environmentally Sound Small-Scale Forestry Projects, 1983
(Translations in Spanish and French in process)
Environmentally Sound Small-Scale Energy Projects, 1985
(English only)
Order from:
VITA Publication Services
1600
Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500
Arlington, Virginia 22209 USA
PREFACE
This manual is the fifth volume in the Guidelines for
Planning series. The
series was developed in response to
needs of private development agency field and counterpart
staff for simplified technical information in order to plan
environmentally sound small-scale projects in Third World
countries. Titles of
the other volumes in the series are
listed on the opposite page.
The preparation of this volume has been a collaborative
effort of Coordination in Development, Inc. (CODEL), Heifer
Project International (HPI), and Winrock International
Institute for Agricultural Development.
An Advisory
Committee composed of representatives of the three agencies
guided the preparation of the manual.
These include Andres
Martinez, Winrock International; the Rev. John Ostdiek,
CODEL; Armin Schmidt, Heifer Project International; in
addition to the three coordinators listed at the end of this
preface.
Initial research was carried out and a basic draft prepared
by Dr. Richard Rice, Department of Animal Sciences,
University
of Arizona and Dr. Milo Cox, School of Renewable
Natural Resources, University of Arizona.
The coordinators
are grateful to Drs. Rice and Cox for their contribution to
the final product.
The text was further developed and
extensively revised by Linda Jacobs.
Linda Jacobs, the author of this volume, has prepared the
illustrations for four of the five volumes in the Guidelines
for Planninq series.
Ms. Jacobs holds a degree in Biology
from Cornell University and served with the Peace Corps in
Colombia. For the
last eight years she has been living and
working with Native Americans in Arizona.
She has brought
to the project a special interest in, and small-farm
experience with livestock.
In addition, Ms. Jacobs made
good use of her writing and illustrating
skills.
She is
presently teaching at the Navajo Community College, Tsaile,
Arizona.
Following the procedure used for the previous volumes, a
lengthy review process has involved a number of technical
resource persons and potential users in the field.
The
following have reviewed the manual in addition to the
Advisory Committee:
Charles D.
Bonham, Colorado State University
Milo Cox,
University of Arizona
John Dieterly,
Heifer Project International
Peter F.
Ffolliott, University of Arizona
Peter J. Grill,
Mennonite Central Committee
I.F. Harder,
Heifer Project International
Sister Sharee
Hurtgen, St. Jude Hospital, St. Lucia
Robert K.
Pelant, Heifer Project International
Roald Peterson,
UN/FAO (retired)
James O'Rourke,
Utah State University
Richard W. Rice,
University of Arizona
Sister Mary Ann
Smith, CODEL
Ron Tempest,
Germantown Academy
Gregg Wiitala,
Technoserve, Inc., Kenya
Gerald G.
Williams, Heifer Project International
These reviewers offered extensive, substantive, and
constructive
suggestions for improving the review draft.
The
suggestions were a significant assistance in preparing the
final manuscript.
The coordinators greatly appreciate the
contributions of these reviewers and the other members of
the Advisory Committee.
We welcome comments from readers of the book.
A questionnaire
is inserted for your convenience.
Please share your
reactions with us.
James DeVries,
Heifer Project International
Will R. Getz,
Winrock International
Helen L.
Vukasin, CODEL
Chapter I
A
DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY
This manual is designed for development assistance workers
and others who are planning or managing small-scale
livestock
projects. Although
aimed specifically at those
working in less-developed areas of the tropics and
subtropics,
these environmental guidelines apply to almost any
region of the world.
They stress:
* ecological
principles that relate to livestock production
* the role of
livestock in the farming system and local
environment
* environmental
factors that affect the success of a
livestock
project
* environmentally
sound livestock management practices
A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Most animal science manuals have focused on the care and
management of common breeds of domestic animals to achieve
greater production.
This manual emphasizes the environmental
factors that affect livestock and livestock interactions.
Standard livestock texts should be consulted for
detailed management practices.
The bibliography lists some
of the more comprehensive of these, especially those that
are most appropriate for tropical latitudes.
Traditional livestock texts cover the common domesticated
animals, such as the cow, sheep, goat, and chicken.
This
manual also deals with animals that are unique to certain
areas. The intent
here is to stimulate thinking about
possible options and to stress the uniqueness of local
environments in tropical areas.
In other words, there may
be a local but relatively unknown or overlooked animal that
has great potential for development as a livestock project.
Many references are made to the goal of developing a farming
system that is compatible with the environment.
Just as a
tree or wild animal is part of a forest, a livestock project
is a part of a farming system.
A farming system is an
organizational structure that interlinks the various
activities
of farmers and the distribution of resources.
Farming
systems may be based on one major activity (for example, the
growing of coffee for export), but also may include other
activities that do not conflict with respect to labor
requirements, use of land area, or use of other resources.
An integrated farming system is characterized by strong
interconnections among various farming activities that serve
to conserve resources and labor and to reduce the need for
imported feeds and fertilizers.
One goal of livestock management is to increase production
per animal, which at the same time increases total
production
on a given area of land.
Although this may be the goal
of a project, a broader view places livestock production in
juxtaposition with local environments, local agricultural
systems, and community traditions.
Thus this manual emphasizes the following key concepts:
* maintenance of
environmental balance through recycling,
regeneration and
knowledge of interactions in natural
systems
* active
involvement of local people in planning,
decision-making,
and management
* preference for
traditional agricultural techniques that
have a sound
ecological basis
* integration of
livestock, cropping, and other land-use
systems
WHAT IS A SMALL-SCALE LIVESTOCK PROJECT?
Small-scale livestock projects are developed at the local
level and are designed primarily for the benefit of local
people. Such
projects may involve a few small farmers or
herders, or an entire rural community working in a cooperative
effort.
A good small-scale livestock project:
* involves local
people in planning, decision-making, and
management
* respects the
organization of the community
* encourages
regular communication among participants
* addresses common
problems and needs
* uses technology
appropriate to the region
* includes
practical and relevant training for participants
* enhances
personal and community self-reliance
* takes advantage
of local production and consumption
patterns
* contributes to
overall community well-being
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND LIVESTOCK PROJECTS
An environmentally sound livestock project works with
natural cycles and against environmental degradation.
Because all parts of the environment are interrelated, such
a project avoids the introduction of substances with unknown
properties that might contaminate the soil and water or harm
plants and animals.
An environmentally sound project uses
local resources wisely, works with livestock that are
appropriate
to the environment, and recycles nutrients back to
the soil. Such a
project actually may enhance the environment
by encouraging beneficial changes that contribute to
environmental health.
The overall goal is to contribute to
a sustainable agricultural system.
Chapter II
IMPORTANCE OF
ECOLOGY IN LIVESTOCK-PROJECT PLANNING
The total biotic community and its interaction with
livestock
and the social system must be considered when making
decisions about livestock projects.
Planners must be concerned
with the amount of pressure that populations, biotic
communities, and ecosystems can withstand without drastic
alteration. An
agricultural system that disturbs the
ecological balance least will be more easily sustained on a
year-to-year basis.
Small-scale livestock projects can have both positive and
negative effects.
The impact on the environment may be
greater than that viewed within the original scope of the
project.
An ecosystem becomes unbalanced if the natural cycles are
interrupted. For
example, if the cycling of nutrients back
to the soil is broken by inadequate handling of wastes and
overgrazing, the soil will become less fertile.
Crop and
grass production may drop from year to year.
Maintenance of
a healthy soil requires recycling of nutrients.
In an unstable ecosystem, one dominant species may demand so
much of a resource that the supply of that resource is
threatened. For
example, a grassland may have a cattle herd
that is too large for the amount of forage available.
The
cattle overgraze their favorite plants, which are then no
longer able to compete with less desirable plants for
moisture and nutrients.
The composition of the plant
community is changed, the cattle are forced to eat poorer-quality
forage, and the cattle grow sick and weak.
If
cattle die, or are killed and the herd is reduced, the
ecosystem may return to its former balance, depending on the
extent and duration of environmental stress.
If damage has
been too great, productive forage land may be replaced by
sand dunes and desert scrub.
ECOLOGY DEFINED
Ecology is the study of the relationships between all living
things and their surroundings or environment.
This environment
includes soil, climate, plants and animals.
Animals
and plants living together under similar conditions form
biotic communities, whether on the Arctic tundra or in the
depths of the Amazon basin.
A community of living things
can be found in a field of corn or on an overgrazed
mountainside.
Humans are members of the biotic community wherever they
live. As farmers,
they attempt to change the other members
of that community to improve the quantity or quality of food
and valued resources.
They may plow a field to remove vegetation
that competes with crops.
They may import a new
breed of livestock that provides more benefits than local
animals.
Farmers do not operate from outside the biotic community.
The forces that work with or against their actions are
natural processes -- an intricate network of physical and
biological processes that sustain the community.
A farmer,
as a member of that community, should understand these
natural processes and work with them.
Ecosystems
The biotic community in combination with the nonliving parts
of the environment -- soil and climate -- form an ecological
system or ecosystem. Some major ecosystems are tropical
rain forests, grasslands and deserts.
Within the ecosystem,
each member of the biotic community affects other members.
In the grassland ecosystem, cattle or antelope eat the
grass. Soil
organisms return nutrients to and aerate the
soil, and improve soil moisture retention.
Rodents eat
seeds, leaves and underground stems.
Insects feed on and
pollinate plants. In
various ways, animals carry the seeds
of plants to new areas.
Within an ecosystem, plants and animals compete for the
available resources.
Taller plants provide shade and
shelter from the wind, changing the temperature of the air
and soil. As plants
and animals modify the environment, the
members of the biotic community will change.
As conditions
change, new members will join the community.
These in turn
may modify the environment even more.
A given area of land
will support a more or less predictable sequence of
communities,
a process known as succession.
<FIGURE>
04p08.gif (353x353)
Over time, the community will become relatively stable.
Under demanding climatic conditions, certain plants and
animals may become dominant.
These species will be those
that use resources well, and whose reproduction and growth
are best suited to the environment.
In the humid tropics,
however, usually no one species of animal or plant will
establish dominance.
There are exceptions such as mangrove
forests and grasses on deforested land.
Because of the
warm, moist, stable climate, the tropical rain forest has an
incredible diversity of life forms.
For example, in the
Choco region of Colombia, a one-tenth hectare of tropical
forest may contain over 200 different tree species while a
similar area of temperate forest might contain 25.
Ecological Balance
In a stable biotic community, the processes of growth and
decomposition maintain a balance.
Because of the many
interrelationships between the various members of the biotic
community, it is a dynamic balance.
Populations may vary
seasonally, but cyclic patterns in a population can be
expected over time.
A development project that introduces a
new species of livestock or diverts scarce resources may
disturb that balance.
Sometimes a new balance is quickly
achieved. In other
cases, the environment may be drastically
altered and a new balance will be achieved only after
considerable adjustments have been made within the
ecosystem.
An ecosystem with a wide variety of plant and animal species
has a tendency to be more stable, having a greater capacity
to maintain an ecological balance.
Changes within this
diverse community of plants and animals do not affect the
total system significantly, because one change is often
compensated by another.
The Web of Life
Animals are involved in the cycles of nutrients and energy
that flow through the ecosystem.
The nonliving environment
consists of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, hydrogen, sulphur,
many other elements and combinations of elements.
Animals
need plants to organize these elements into substances that
the animals can use in their growth and maintenance.
Through a process known as photosynthesis, green plants use
the energy of the sun to make sugar from carbon dioxide and
water. Later, plants
use the sugars to make starch, fat,
proteins and other organic compounds.
Green plants are called producers because they have the
ability to make food from raw materials and the energy from
the sun. All other
life depends upon the food-producing
ability of plants.
<FIGURE>
04p10a.gif (256x486)
Animals are called consumers because they eat other plants
or animals and cannot make food directly from raw materials
and sunlight.
Primary consumers eat plants; secondary
consumers eat other animals.
The movement of nutrients from
green plants through plant eaters to animal eaters is called
a food chain.
Because consumers may use more than one food
source, food chains interconnect.
As the food chains interconnect,
a complicated food web is formed.
<FIGURE>
04p10b.gif (486x486)
The decomposers complete the food web.
Decomposers, like
fungi and bacteria, produce enzymes that break down dead
plant and animal material.
The nutrients released by this
process can be reused by the producers.
Soil humus is
formed in this process.
Humus, in turn, breaks down to
release additional nutrients at a rate dependent on soil
temperature, moisture, acidity and aeration.
Valuable
nutrients are also returned to the soil in animal wastes.
At each step in the food chain, most of the nutrients
consumed
are used to support daily activities.
Only a small
portion of the nutrients remain for growth and reproduction.
In a given ecosystem, the amount of nutrients available
to animal eaters is much less than that available to
plant eaters. This
concept can be visualized in the form of
a food pyramid. At
the base of the pyramid is the largest
biomass represented by plants, while the second (decreasing)
level represents the biomass of the plant eaters, and the
top (smallest) level represents that of the animal eaters.
<FIGURE>
04p11.gif (230x353)
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Farmers in the temperate zones have often found profitable,
at least in the short term, large-scale cultivation of
single crops and intensive livestock production.
Concentration
on one animal or crop, and elimination of all other
competing animals or plants, has resulted in high production
compared to labor expended.
For whatever reason, planners may decide that a production
system based on a single breed of livestock is desirable.
The manager of such a project often finds it necessary to
isolate animals in one way or another from the surrounding
environment. This
action itself can result in higher costs
of production. Also,
the system may strain feed sources and
require attention at times that managers find inconvenient
or costly for other reasons.
Diseases and parasites are
major problems for the herds managed by intensive livestock
producers, but they are not as devastating to the herds
managed by farmers having a more diverse livestock
management
system. Therefore,
the benefits obtained by concentrating
on one type of livestock must be compared with the
benefits obtained by developing a more diverse agricultural
system.
In the humid tropics, the natural environment is composed of
a complex network of individual species and the biological
forces work to maintain this diversity.
Major agricultural
activities in some regions are reducing the biological
diversity and thus working against biological forces.
For
example, 70% of the cleared land in Costa Rica is being
turned into pasture.
In other parts of Central America,
rain forests are being cleared at the rate of 4,000 square
kilometers per year.
Some researchers believe that most of
these rain forests will be destroyed by the year 2000.
Little is known about the forests that are being destroyed
or about the long-term, and possibly global, effects of such
destruction. Over
80% of those disappearing tropical
species have not been identified by the scientific
community.
As older people of uprooted cultures die, knowledge
of tropical plants and their uses is being lost.
If
planners would take time to seek out such knowledge and
record it, they would have a better understanding of the
importance of these resources both to the local community
and to the world.
Among the species being destroyed might
be sources of new food crops, natural insect controls, and
miracle drugs.
An agricultural system that embraces the natural biological
diversity of a region may be more appropriate in terms of
fulfilling family needs, using local resources, and
adjusting to environmental stresses.
Creating biological
diversity in an agricultural system means incorporating a
combination of different animals and plants into the
agricultural plan, while at the same time allowing room for
wild plants and animals that may not be an immediate or
apparent benefit to humans.
CARRYING CAPACITY
The number of animals a given area will support on a yearly
basis is sometimes called the carrying capacity.
Carrying
capacity is based on the amount of forage available to be
consumed by livestock.
To determine the carrying capacity,
we must know the nutrient requirements of individual
animals.
Just as each animal is a link in the food chain, it also has
a niche. A niche is
not something you can see, rather it is
the set of relationships that the animal has with the
environment. These
may include the position in the food
chain, the type of environment or habitat in which the
animal lives, the place it sleeps at night and its eating
habits.
Two animals in a stable community may appear to occupy the
same niche and are, therefore, competing for resources.
However, minor variations in such things as eating habits
and food preferences reduce competition.
This creates
separate niches so that these two animals can live in the
same environment.
Competition will occur between two species that have
overlapping
niches and are competing for a limited resource.
A
species will survive if it is a stronger competitor or if it
adapts to reduce competition.
A limiting factor is a part of the environment that limits
the number of animals a given area can support.
By determining
the limiting factors in a specific environment, the
livestock planner in a given area is able to focus
information
gathering. Of
course, limiting factors may change from
season to season and from year to year, but they are an
important concept for planning.
The limiting factor might be the quantity and distribution
of food, shelter, or water.
These would be affected by the
mobility of the animal.
Every animal requires a particular
kind and quality of food.
Animal needs will also vary from
season to season.
Animals may be able to get food in sufficient
quantity, but the quality of that food may be so poor
that the animal is in poor condition.
When farmers introduce new breeds of livestock or increase
existing herds, they increase demands on local vegetation
that has been used by wild species.
The amount of vegetation
may be the limiting factor that determines total
numbers of both wild and domestic species that can be
supported in that environment.
Too much, as well as too little, of a particular requirement
may affect the numbers of animals.
High temperatures may
have a debilitating effect on animals that are accustomed to
a cooler climate.
Each organism has a number of requirements
for maximum growth.
Any condition that exceeds or
fails to reach these requirements is a potential limiting
factor.
The removal of one limiting factor results in the population
expanding to the point that something else becomes a
limiting factor. For
example, in an area affected by recurrent
droughts, the amount of water available for livestock
may be a limiting factor.
With the addition of water
sources, the livestock population may increase to the point
that vegetation is severely overgrazed.
Then, vegetation
becomes the limiting factor.
Because of seasonal changes, the carrying capacity concept
should not be viewed as static.
If livestock are stocked at
range capacity during good years, vegetation may have no
reserve capacity to survive years of severe drought.
Therefore,
carrying capacity and limiting factors must be continually
reassessed through monitoring of range conditions.
Biotic communities and the ecosystem, ecological balance,
the food webs, carrying capacity, and limiting factors are
all useful concepts in developing a livestock plan.
COMPETITION AMONG ANIMALS
The number of animals a given area can support depends upon
the amount of food available to them.
Humans as members of
the biotic community are part of the food web and compete
with other members for food.
(See diagram p. 1.) Animals
compete with humans when they eat grains and other human
food sources.
The graphic representation of a food pyramid (see drawing
p.11) supports the argument that more humans could be
supported if all became plant eaters.
In fact, in some
areas of the world, vegetarianism may have evolved not only
from religious precepts, but also from environmental and
economic factors.
The food pyramid is, however, a simplified representation.
Animals can make use of plants that are not suitable for
human food. They
make use of land that is not suitable for
agriculture. By so
doing, livestock can extend the range of
resources that can be used by humans.
Livestock projects
that focus on local needs, local people, and the enhancement
of the local environment can lessen the conflicts between
humans and other animals for resources.
FOOD QUANTITY AND QUALITY
We should not consider food quantity apart from food
quality. All animals
need protein for maximum growth,
activity, and maintenance of life.
Proteins are made of
amino acids linked together to form a molecule.
Green
plants can make their own amino acids, but animals depend on
plants or other animals to provide some of their amino acid
requirements. The amino acids that animals require, but are
not able to make within their bodies, are called essential
amino acids. Humans
need eight essential amino acids:
arginine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine,
phenylananine,
threonine, tryptophan, and valine.
<FIGURE>
A diet that includes meat, milk, or eggs at each meal is
high in protein. A
diet consisting only of starchy cereals,
roots, or tubers is low in protein, calcium, and vitamins.
A child on such a diet may be able to eat until full, but
may be starving for protein.
A small addition of meat,
cheese, eggs, or milk would balance such a diet.
Meat, milk, and eggs also are called complete protein foods,
indicating that the protein in such food sources has the
proper balance of essential amino acids to satisfy human
needs. Many
traditional vegetarian diets use beans,
lentils, peas, nuts, and grains as sources of protein.
Although these are good protein sources, the protein does
not always have the proper balance of essential amino acids
to satisfy human needs.
The most difficult amino acids to
obtain from vegetable sources are lysine, tryptophan, and
methionine. Grains
are deficient in lysine, and legumes are
deficient in methionine and tryptophan.
Nuts and seeds are
low in lysine and tryptophan.
Although legumes and grains have a lower quality protein
than does meat, in combination they may complement each
other, each making up for the amino acid deficiencies in the
other. Therefore, an
adequate diet is possible without the
addition of meat or animal products.
Although protein
balance is more difficult to achieve without the use of
complete protein sources, traditional diets may use
vegetable protein sources in combinations that effectively
complement each other.
Therefore, studies of local diets
and traditional methods of food preparation are useful in
determining how effectively livestock projects focused on
food production can be in improving nutrition.
<FIGURE>
04p20.gif (540x540)
VALUE OF ANIMALS IN A FARMING SYSTEM
Livestock supply power, fiber, clothing, fertilizer, fuel,
and social status.
In fact, in many parts of the world,
animals are valued most for such nonfood contributions. In
addition, livestock convert foods indigestible by humans
into nutrient-rich, digestible foods.
Livestock can graze
on land that is unsuitable for cultivation or of little
agricultural value.
They can eat surplus human foods that
would otherwise spoil and can provide a reserve food supply
when crops fail.
Animals that eat plants have digestive systems that can use
the fibrous portion of feedstuffs such as cellulose.
Cellulose
is one of the substances that forms the cell walls of
plants and gives them structure.
As the plant matures, the
amount of cellulose increases.
Cellulose is resistant to
digestion, but some animal digestive tracts contain bacteria
that break cellulose down into organic acids.
The cell wall
breaks, releasing nutrients that then become available for
digestion.
Goats, cattle, and sheep are called ruminants.
Ruminants
have an efficient digestive mechanism to use feeds that are
high in cellulose.
When they eat, food is passed first into
a section of the compound stomach called the rumen.
Here,
bacteria break down the fibrous materials.
This mass of
partially digested material is forced back up into the mouth
where it is chewed more thoroughly before being swallowed
again. The mass then
passes through the rumen and into
another section of the stomach.
<FIGURE>
04p21.gif (393x486)
The bacteria in the rumen break down some of the protein.
These simpler compounds are used by the bacteria to build
other amino acids.
Bacteria also can build protein from
simple nitrogen compounds.
These bacteria eventually are
moved into another section of the stomach where they are
digested, providing nutrients for the animal.
The bacteria in the rumen require sufficient amounts of
protein or nitrogen compounds for growth and cellulose
digestion. With poor
roughage, ruminants need additional
sources of nitrogen.
That is why urea, a simple nitrogen
compound, is sometimes added to a feed supplement.
MANAGEMENT BY ISOLATION FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
Attempts to manage animals by isolation from the environment
may have a short-term benefit, but in the long run may cause
harm to the environment, or will cease to be effective.
In
trying to isolate animals from the environment, humans have
increasingly used compounds, such as insecticides, that kill
other organisms.
Many of these compounds are persistent;
that is, they remain in the environment, accumulate in
animal tissue, and may be eventually consumed by animals
that are higher in the food chain.
Antibiotics also are used routinely to isolate an animal
from potential disease-producing organisms.
Antibiotics are
effective medicines that kill organisms on or in an animal
with relatively few side effects to that animal.
Broad-spectrum
antibiotics kill a wide range of these organisms
and, increasingly, they are being added to feeds to prevent
low-level infections that interfere with growth.
Unfortunately,
the extensive use of these antibiotics may be linked
to the development of resistant strains of bacteria and new
medicines will be needed to treat diseases caused by such
resistant bacteria.
Chemicals used in agriculture to interrupt natural cycles
also can cause a change in the regular balancing mechanisms
of the local ecosystem.
For example, an insecticide applied
to kill a certain insect may be so effective that it is used
regularly, sometimes when the insect problem is only mild.
Natural consumers of the insect also may be killed by the
insecticide, thus reducing natural controls that keep insect
populations down.
With natural controls weakened, the farmer
or livestock manager becomes increasingly dependent on the
insecticide for control of pests.
Also, insecticides are often sold to people who cannot read
the cautions on the containers and who are totally untrained
in their use.
Although an insecticide may be safe as long
as it is used properly, there is a high probability of
improper use.
THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOCAL CULTURE
Studies of current resource-use patterns are needed to
determine how a livestock project may fit into a farming
system.
Consideration also must be given to local values,
traditions, and taboos regarding animals.
The beliefs and
traditions of a culture may be based on religious social,
and economic considerations, as well as biological events
experienced through centuries of development.
Such traditions
or beliefs can affect movements toward balance in an
ecosystem.
The cultural traditions of a group also can help document
the group's interaction with the environment.
Cultural
beliefs, handed down by oral tradition, may reflect the
established method of adaptation to the environment.
For
example, the Navajo Indians of North America are proud of
their skill as shepherds and herdsmen, but their lands are
overgrazed. When
asked why this is so, the traditional
Navajo's answer is that the young people have abandoned the
"old ways."
Traditional Navajos had relied on their
cultural heritage to maintain a balance with nature.
Before
suggesting changes in an agricultural system, planners must
thoroughly investigate and understand the local culture and
its conception of balance with the natural environment.
TRENDS IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT
Many options are available when planning livestock projects
for a local community.
* The availability
of feed can be increased by improving
the productivity
of grazing lands or by using waste
products from
other agricultural activities.
* Breeding
practices can be improved or new types or
breeds of
animals can be introduced.
* Water sources
can be developed.
* Supplemental
feeds can be added.
* New uses for
animal power can be found.
* Disease can be
reduced.
These are traditional methods for improving livestock
management.
Because of the diversity of ecosystems, livestock
improvement
methodology varies widely.
New information and new
ideas for livestock management will develop from a renewed
awareness and appreciation of natural systems.
Successful
application of these ideas to livestock systems will depend
largely on local conditions.
Currently, farming systems involving agroforestry are
receiving wide attention.
Agroforestry or forest farming is
a farming system that integrates trees and other plants that
survive more than one season into the agricultural system.
An agroforestry system might consist of a variety of trees
and shrubs simulating the original vegetative cover.
Alternatively,
the trees and shrubs might be used as borders,
windbreaks or fences around pastures and annually cultivated
fields. The trees
might be intercropped with other crops
such as grains. The
trees are selected for their yield of
food and non-food products, such as fruit, nuts, fibers,
animal forage, and fuel.
Animals can harvest the food
directly from the trees, or the tree clippings and fruit can
be brought to the animals in adjacent pastures or lots.
Wild or semi-domesticated animals also are being considered
as potential members of a farming system.
Recent research
indicates that native wild species often use local plants
more efficiently with less negative environmental impact
than do domestic animals.
The cropping of wild animals by
hunting can be more productive than cattle ranching; for
example, the eland in Africa and the capybara, a large
rodent in South America, are species that have been
considered
for inclusion in a game-farming system.
Domestic animals in tropical areas also may be better suited
to their environment than animals that might be introduced
from other regions.
For example, a recent experiment in
Ecuador showed that the guinea pig, a long-domesticated
animal of the Andean region, was more profitable to raise
than swine or milk cows.
Yet, in the past, planners in this
region had often considered the introduction of rabbits or
chickens, rather than concentrating upon improvement of
guinea pig production.
Trends in livestock management are influenced by local needs
as well as by national goals.
If national goals do not
coincide with local needs and do not consider environmental
effects, imbalance will result.
Makers of national policy
cannot ignore the environment.
As the world communities
become more interdependent, agricultural policy planners
must become global in their awareness, and at the same time,
must be able to adapt policy to the requirements of local
ecosystems.
Chapter III
BEGINNING THE PLANNING PROCESS
This chapter and those that follow can assist the
development
worker to include consideration of the ecological
system discussed in Chapter II in working with a community
to plan a livestock project.
Ideally, planners follow a logical sequence when planning a
livestock project. First,
information is gathered in
partnership with community members.
As community needs and
problems are identified, possible project options are
considered.
Together, community members and planners
prioritize options and define project goals and objectives.
Taking into account anticipated problems, a variety of means
are considered to attain these goals.
The best choice of
these alternatives will bring the most benefits with the
least negative impact on the community and the environment.
It is impossible to anticipate all environmental effects of
a given project.
Therefore, planners should monitor all
activities to determine additional problems that might need
to be addressed.
When the project is in operation, planners
and community members should continuously evaluate the
results to see if objectives are being attained and if any
undesired effects have occurred.
Evaluation also will aid
in the planning of future projects in the region.
<FIGURE>
04p28.gif (600x600)
The first step in planning is the gathering of information.
All planning should be based on a sound understanding of
local community and environmental conditions.
Community
participation in information collection and identifying and
assessing needs and constraints cannot be overemphasized.
From a socioeconomic perspective, a "community"
usually
consists of a mixed group of individuals with different
resource endowments, unequal access to inputs and markets,
and different production objectives.
Thus, individuals
living in a "community" may not readily agree on
what should
be included as community interests.
Before the project is
designed, the specific targeted population should be
identified.
This chapter presents some useful environmental and
community
guidelines for planning, with later chapters focusing
on specific relationships of the environment and
agricultural
systems. Chapter IX
outlines the remaining steps in
the planning process.
THE FIRST STEP...INFORMATION GATHERING
Gather information on the social structure, the economic
base, land use, livestock practices, and the environment.
Conduct surveys and gather information in cooperation with
local people.
Emphasize the importance of relating a
project to a specific community.
Do not draw premature
conclusions. Take
special notice of the social structure in
regards to sex roles, the division of labor,
responsibilities
and decision-making.
The planner and community members can jointly decide which
data are most essential as community needs are identified.
However, general survey data should be gathered first.
Further information needs may then become apparent.
Understanding
the social structure of the community is extremely
important. Failure
to determine who makes the decisions,
and what motivates them, can lead to the collapse of even
the best-planned projects.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
When community members participate in all phases of project
planning, execution, and evaluation, they will be more
committed to the project and have a sense of ownership.
Arousing and maintaining community participation is a
challenging task. It
is not difficult to communicate with
one or two leaders or a small group.
However, involving the
whole community and helping them to realize what can be
achieved is more difficult.
Some references on the subject
are included in the bibliography.
Planners and community members may not always agree on the
priority needs of a community.
Each is looking at the
problem from their own point of view.
If planners begin a
project that addresses needs that are not identified by the
community, there will be insufficient support from the
community. With the
participation of local people, planners
can learn which issues are critical in the eyes of the
community.
Communities are groups of individuals that may have
conflicting
goals. If the
project satisfies only the goals of
certain members of the community, planners should make sure
that the project does no harm to those who are not
participating.
A project that satisfies the needs of several
different groups within the community will be more
sustainable.
Where commercial sales of livestock or livestock products
are involved, wholesalers, retailers and transporters should
be included in planning.
These groups are experienced with
marketing problems and with past successes and failures.
If all related groups are included in the development
process, they can explore the reasons why projects have
failed, so that mistakes are not repeated.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
The following guidelines should be considered when gathering
information, and while designing, implementing, monitoring,
and evaluating a project.
The guidelines are designed to
help the planner avoid pitfalls and maximize potential.
Guidelines differ from objectives in that objectives are
specific ends to be accomplished, whereas guidelines are
suggested means to reach these objectives.
For example, an
objective might be to provide six eggs per day to each
participating household to supplement the local diet.
A
guideline would suggest how to use locally available chicken
feeds that were not being used efficiently.
The brief list of environmental and community guidelines
below offers a general framework for the kinds of guidelines
to be considered.
Planners should add guidelines that fit
the region in which they are working.
Environmental Guidelines
* IDENTIFY the
competing uses for natural resources and
possible results
of diverting these resources for livestock
production.
* CHOOSE livestock
that are suited to the local environment
with respect to
needs, habits, and special characteristics.
* USE an
integrated plan that emphasizes the interrelationship
of all members
of the biotic community and
the physical
environment. Livestock should be an
interlinking
part of a total
farm system.
* MAINTAIN or
enhance the ecological productivity of the
ecosystem.
* PRESERVE the
ecological balance for long-term benefits.
* INTEGRATE
livestock production plans with crop
production and
soil management plans.
* IMPROVE soils by
reducing erosion and increasing soil
fertility.
* DETERMINE
seasonal availability and demand for water and
crop residues so
that demand does not exceed supply.
* PROTECT water
quality and supply by improving and protecting
wells and
springs, and planning for recycling of
wastes.
* INVESTIGATE
plant growth potential and resistance to
heavy grazing to
avoid overgrazing rangeland.
* ENCOURAGE
traditional practices that conform with sound
environmental
management by incorporating them into the
plan.
Community Guidelines
* INVOLVE all
people who will be affected in all phases of
the livestock project development.
* DETERMINE if
resources to be used are not presently
needed by the
landless and the very poor.
* BUILD upon the
existing social organization and customs.
* DETERMINE what
problems may occur when a new system of
management is
placed on an older system.
* DEVELOP land-use
strategies that integrate livestock
with established
agricultural systems.
* CHOOSE livestock
which in terms of methods of control,
labor required,
technical knowledge required, and type
of product are
best adapted to the local community.
* CONSIDER
possible health problems such as contamination
of the ground
and water supply by animal droppings.
* DESIGN projects
which can be controlled by the target
population.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
The questions below are designed to help the planner gather
information and organize the data into a usable form.
Additional questions follow other chapters, as ecological
concepts are introduced that may apply to a particular
situation.
* What is the
population of the community and what is the
rate of growth?
* What is the
structure of the population of the community?
* How are
decisions made in the community?
* Who are the
local leaders?
* What is the
traditional method of determining leadership
in the
community? Age, sex, religion, wealth,
herd
numbers?
* What groups are
involved in assessing needs and
addressing them?
* Who controls the
use of land and other resources? How
are the controls
administered?
* What are the
indicators of wealth in the community?
* What are the
local sources of employment?
* What local
industries and crafts production exist in the
region?
* To whom and for
what is credit locally available? Is it
easily available
to all groups? To women?
* What local
traditions and ideas may affect the acceptance
of a livestock
project?
* What local,
regional, and national policies such as
laws, taxes, and
subsidies affect local resource management?
* What are the
local, regional, and national markets for
livestock
products?
* What marketing
and transportation facilities are available?
Are they
adequate to handle increased production?
* What public
health problems are the most critical in the
region?
Will new livestock projects add to or help
prevent the
conditions that are causing these problems?
* Have recent
changes in the community affected livestock?
How does the
community view these changes? How
are they
responding to these changes?
Chapter IV
LIVESTOCK
CHARACTERISTICS: BACKGROUND FOR
PLANNING
Livestock project planners should analyze the characteristics
of different species and how each fits into the farming
system and local traditions.
Animals are often valued most
for characteristics other than for the production of meat,
milk, and eggs; they also provide power, fiber, and manure
for fuel and fertilizer.
They devour insect pests and
thorny brush and can be sold or traded in the market place.
<FIGURE>
04p36.gif (437x437)
Within various social systems, animals are used as
indications
of wealth, gifts to resolve conflicts, exchanges to
establish marriage alliances, offerings to promote
friendship
with others, and symbols of harmony and good health.
The provision of meat or gift of an animal to relatives,
friends or strangers at traditional gatherings is seen as an
expression of goodwill that enhances a family's position in
the community.
As a negative influence, livestock may overgraze the land,
destroy useful vegetation as they invade cropland, strip the
bark from trees, and kill young trees.
Overgrazed pastures
may erode, and water sources may be polluted.
Improper
manure management may cause insect, odor, and pollution
problems, which are especially annoying in populated areas.
Planners must consider the positive and negative effects of
livestock projects in terms of the total environment.
APPROPRIATE LIVESTOCK FOR FARMING SYSTEMS
The development of a new farming system or the improvement
of an existing system should be based on identified
community
needs. Because many
breeds and types of animals are
now domesticated, it is usually possible to find one that is
adapted to the local environment, available at reasonable
cost, and socially acceptable.
Thus, the planner seeks to
identify livestock with food, water, and labor requirements
that fit the local environment.
Livestock that can be
easily controlled and are within the financial reach of
participants
can best serve the needs of the community.
Large Animals Versus Small Animals
One major consideration is the suitability of large animals
as compared with small animals.
Large animals, including
the horse, cow, buffalo, llama, elephant, and camel are
important as draft animals.
Draft animals greatly increase
the ability of the small farmer to prepare land and plant
crops at the proper time.
By using draft animals, the
farmer can increase the amount of land farmed and the total
food production of the family unit.
Large animals cover extensive areas in search of food.
They
require large amounts of feed and water per animal, but most
breeds can use low-quality forage to a large extent.
Many
are adaptable to nomadic herding systems, but may require
protection from predators.
Generally, large animals require a greater financial
investment,
can be more difficult to control, and have lower
reproductive potential than small animals.
Butchering for
meat in areas without refrigeration requires cooperative
agreements between families or other meat-processing
techniques.
Smaller animals such as sheep, chickens, rabbits, guinea
pigs and pigs require smaller amounts of feed per animal.
They are generally more efficient in converting feed to
animal protein.
Many, such as chickens, rabbits and pigs,
are not suitable for a nomadic farming system.
They are
valuable where land is limited and when production must be
concentrated in a small area.
Many require housing for
control and protection from predators.
Small animals require a smaller financial investment.
They
are easier to control and have higher reproductive
potential.
They can be butchered on a daily basis for family
meals and are a suitable animal husbandry educational
project for children.
Browsers and Grazers
Animals that are browsers, such as the goat or camel, prefer
the leafy tops of brush.
Because they are browsers, they
are less susceptible to infection from parasites found on
grasslands that have been heavily grazed and that are
infected by parasite eggs and cysts.
Pasture management for
browsers requires planning for forage from brush and tree
species. Because the
browser prefers leafy, young growth,
it will avoid the tougher and more mature pasture grasses.
As grasslands are taken over by older growth, productivity
slows.
Grazers crop the grasses and leafy plants that are at ground
level. Although
grazers also prefer leafy growth and
certain plants, on poor pastureland they unwillingly graze
the mature stands while browsers nibble the buds and new
growth on shrubs.
Knowledge of these different eating
habits can be advantageous; for example, a livestock manager
can adjust the balance of browsers and grazers on a range to
coincide with the kind of forage that is available.
Knowledge of food habits also can help the livestock manager
find ways to influence beneficial forage changes.
For
example, to prevent a woody plant from establishing
dominance
and crowding out other beneficial species, the manager
can stock the range with browsers that will eat the plant.
Herds of browsers can be brought in and held in areas where
the plant is concentrated.
The proper mixture of browsers
and grazers can have desirable effects on the overall plant
species composition and total productivity of the range.
SOME COMMON LIVESTOCK AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
Cattle
As ruminants, cattle can make use of large quantities of
low-grade forage and agricultural by-products and thus do
not compete with humans for grain resources.
They are able
to range over large areas in search of food and are
therefore
useful in extensive forage areas where crop production
is limited by low rainfall.
They require less labor than
many other types of livestock, as well as a limited
investment
in buildings and equipment.
The major environmental stresses for cattle in the tropics
are high temperatures, sometimes combined with high humidity
and diseases. For
example, breeds originated in European
countries and noted for milk or meat production are strongly
affected by heat stress and disease problems when exported
to tropical regions.
Zebu cattle, on the other hand, are
resistant to heat stress and tropical diseases.
European-Zebu
crosses retain some of the hardiness of the Zebu and at
the same time show increased ability for milk or meat
production.
Superior milk yields in the tropical regions
require feed of high quality, obtained through the use of
supplements or improved pastures.
Cattle herd numbers build slowly, so the return on the
investment in animals is gradual.
This slowness also makes
it difficult to adjust herds to range conditions.
Some
benefits may be gained by grazing cattle with other animals,
such as sheep and goats, which will help promote more
productive conditions on the range by distributing grazing
pressure more evenly.
Cattle are valued as draft animals and for their manure,
which can be used as a fertilizer and as fuel for cooking or
curing pottery.
Although sheep or goats may give greater
meat or milk production (per unit of feed consumed), cattle
may be preferred to provide cow manure, animal power, or
social status.
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo is an important draft animal for the small
farmer. Where cattle
may produce poorly, water buffalo
provide meat, milk, and hides.
Their milk has a high
butterfat content and one animal may produce from one to
sixteen liters per day.
The water buffalo can digest low quality roughages and also
aquatic plants. As
compared with other livestock, the water
buffalo is one of the most efficient in using feeds with a
high content of fiber.
Food passes slowly through its large
digestive tract and is exposed to intensive microbial
fermentation.
Because of this slow digestive rate, water
buffalo are less efficient than cattle in using high-quality
pasture. Water
buffalo seldom are raised in a pasture
system, but can take advantage of roadside vegetation, crop
residues, and aquatic weeds.
Two main types of water buffalo are named for their choice
of habitat -- the swamp and river.
The swamp buffalo
prefers a mudhole for wallowing and works well in rice
fields. It produces
some milk and is a good source of
meat. The river
buffalo prefers running water for its
habitat and is primarily a milk producer, although it is of
some value for meat.
Water buffalo are docile and long-lived, sometimes working
until 20 years old.
They have few foot problems, and
apparently have some resistance to ticks.
Water buffalo
need water and shade during hot weather, and prefer to graze
at night.
Water buffalo have an excellent potential for improvement
through selective breeding.
Artificial insemination has
been difficult, however, perhaps because of low fertility.
Because of a slow rate of maturity, long intervals between
births, high death rate of the newborn, and its digestive
physiology, the buffalo does not compete with cattle for
better forage. It is
best used in wet areas such as in
marshes or rice fields with high-fiber forage or crop
residues.
Horses, Mules and Donkeys
Horses, mules, and donkeys have been used for centuries for
transportation and as draft animals.
The larger animals are
preferred when farm work is heavy and the fields are level,
whereas smaller animals are adequate for hill farms or where
feed is scanty.
Mules and donkeys can tolerate poorer feed
and are better adjusted to hot weather than are horses.
Donkey milk is said to be highly nutritious, with more
sugars than cow milk.
Sheep
Sheep provide meat, milk, and fiber and sheep breeds have
adapted to regions from the moist tropics to the sub-Arctic.
However, a taste for mutton and lamb meat may have
to be developed among people unaccustomed to their flavor.
The two major types are wool sheep and hair sheep, the
latter not markedly different in appearance from the
short-haired
goat. Sheep do well
in dry climates. Some breeds
store fat when feed is plentiful to be used later when
drought reduces the amount of food available.
Some breeds
are prolific and lamb more than once per year.
As ruminants, they are able to use a wide variety of
forage. However,
they are very susceptible to diseases.
Sheep need more protection from predators than do cattle, as
well as more attention at lambing time.
Labor demands also
are high if animals must be sheared.
When children serve as
herders of sheep in settled areas, such work often deprive
them of the opportunity to attend schools that may be
available.
Sheep production is best on rangelands with medium to low
rainfall. They can
take advantage of cereal grain stubble,
and their flocking instinct makes them relatively easy to
manage around crop areas.
Goats
Goats are also ruminants.
Goats are hardy, adaptable to
many climates, consume a wide variety of feeds, and produce
meat, milk, fiber and leather.
Goat milk can greatly
improve the diet of rural families.
With well-managed
breeding practices, a herd of three or four goats can
provide milk through an entire year.
Excess milk is often
used as a supplement feed for young pigs or chickens or is
made into cheese for market or home consumption.
Goats are browsers, preferring the new growth of shrubs and
the seed heads of grasses to the lower-quality older growth
in a pasture.
Because they are able to select the most
nutritious parts of plants and can use a wide range of
forage, they are able to survive in areas where other
livestock
production would not be feasible.
As browsers, they are useful in brush clearing when grazed
in high concentration on a restricted area.
Because they
strip the leaves and bark of young trees, they should be
used in settled farm areas only if good fences can be
provided.
Even when goats are well fenced, constant vigilance
is necessary; they will continually try to get through
fences to wander the farm yard.
One or two animals can be
controlled with a tether, but this method also requires
vigilance.
Frightened goats will run to the end of the
tether and be jerked to the ground; they will knock over
carelessly placed water containers, get tangled in the
brush, or wind themselves around a small tree.
Goats have a herd instinct, but are more independent than
sheep, and are thus more difficult to herd.
This may cause
problems in settled areas, as they may lead the sheep flock
onto cropland.
Goats are suited for dry areas with little high-quality
forage and areas with dense brush that other livestock
cannot penetrate.
They are at a disadvantage when crop
residues are the main feed source, because of the low
selection
of food sources in most crop lands.
Camels, Alpacas, and Llamas
Camels provide meat, milk, and draft power and transport men
and goods across the desert.
Llamas carry loads to market
in the high Andes.
Alpaca wool is spun and used for
valuable textiles.
These members of the camel family are more efficient at
digesting poor-quality foliage than are sheep or cattle.
They are ruminants that chew their cud, but their stomachs
have only three main parts.
The first stomach contains
specialized pouches that increase the absorption of
nutrients.
Camels require relatively little water, can survive almost
indefinitely on browse, and can eat plants with a high salt
content. However,
they feed slowly, mature late, produce
low-quality meat, have long intervals between births, and do
not like muddy conditions.
They serve best in providing
transport and animal power in dry regions where high-quality
feed is lacking.
<FIGURE>
04p46.gif (285x486)
Alpacas are adapted to high altitudes, having small red
blood cells with concentrated hemoglobin that may improve
the cell's ability to exchange oxygen.
Compared on the
basis of body weight, they consume less feed per day than
sheep or cattle.
As yet, the Andean breeds are of major importance only in a
limited region of South America.
Llamas are currently in
vogue, however, in the mountain regions of North America
where they are used for carrying supplies on extended hiking
expeditions. In the
Andes, benefits will be gained by a
more complete understanding of disease, fertility and
nutritional
problems and by improvements in herd management and
breeding programs for wool production.
Pigs
Pigs are efficient converters of feed to meat, but they are
not able to consume large quantities of coarse forage.
However, they eat a wide variety of feeds when fed a limited
amount of grain, swine can be raised on waste materials such
as vegetable scraps, corn husks, sweet potato vines, and
water hyacinths.
They also will eat acorns, roots, fruit,
insects, lizard eggs, mice, and birds.
Pigs are prolific and can have up to 12 young per litter and
two pregnancies per year.
Under intensive production, the
young can reach market weight of 100 kilograms within six to
nine months.
However, high growth rates require considerable
attention to feed rations.
The dressed meat portion of the swine carcass may amount to
60% to 80% of live weight, as compared to 50% or 60% for
cattle and 45% to 55% for sheep.
Pork fat is highly valued
and mature sows are acceptable for slaughter.
Some cultures, however, have taboos against raising and
eating pork products.
Pigs are highly susceptible to
disease. Although
pigs require only a small investment for
buildings and equipment, any fencing for hogs must be
strong. Enclosures
must be tight enough to keep the young
pigs out of crop land.
Pigs kept in pastures will be
healthier and cleaner, but by rooting up soil on steep
slopes pigs can encourage erosion.
Pigs are best adapted to diverse and intense agriculture.
Because they are prolific, returns on an investment multiply
quickly. They are
most efficiently produced in areas where
grain by-products are available.
Poultry
The term "poultry" includes several different
species of
birds raised for meat and eggs, including chickens, turkeys,
ducks, geese, guinea fowl, and pigeons.
Small-scale livestock projects have most commonly focused on
chickens, which are efficient converters of feeds to meat
protein and eggs.
Eggs are one of the most complete foods,
with a good balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
minerals, and vitamins.
However, chickens do require high-quality
feeds and thus may directly compete with humans for
food grain.
To reduce competition for scarce and expensive feed,
chickens often are allowed to forage for their own food,
eating insects, food scraps, and weed seeds.
In this way
they can survive with minimal supplemental feeding.
Because
they are unprotected, however, they may be eaten by wild
animals. Poor
nutrition also results in fewer eggs, which
may be well hidden and difficult to find.
The introduction of more productive breeds is often
recommended,
with improved breeds of chickens put in cages raised
above the ground for good ventilation and for ease of manure
collection. An
enclosure system requires more attention to
feed requirements and possibly the purchase of some grains
or food supplements to insure higher production.
It also
requires more attention to sanitation and disease
prevention.
Other poultry have potential as a livestock project; for
example, the Japanese have found raising quail to be
profitable.
Geese are good foragers and can be raised on good
quality pastures.
They can be used with certain crops to
help remove weeds and insects.
Ducks also are good
foragers, requiring less management and labor than do other
poultry. They are
especially suited for wet regions; they
glean grain from croplands, they help control weeds and
insects, and their manure is high in nitrogen and
phosphorus.
The guinea fowl is a native poultry bird of Africa and has a
tendency to lose domestic characteristics.
Because each
male bird chooses one mate, many male birds are required for
each flock. Their
eggs are thick-shelled and keep longer
than do chicken's eggs.
Rabbits and Guinea Pigs
Domestic rabbits produce meat, fur, and skins.
Does should
be bred at six months of age and can average four litters a
year, with seven or eight per litter.
One doe can therefore
produce 70 to 80 pounds of dressed meat per year if well
managed. Rabbits
will eat farm scraps, such as leafy
plants, root crops, shrubs and kitchen scraps.
Rabbits need
clean but simple housing and a little daily care.
They need
extra feed during pregnancy and when nursing young.
Guinea pigs were a major meat source for Andean Indians long
before the arrival of the Spaniards in the 1500s.
They are
gentle, prolific, and easy to care for and when fed kitchen
scraps and alfalfa, are efficient meat producers.
Twenty
females and two males can provide adequate meat for a family
of six. Females
begin breeding at two to three months of
age and produce up to four litters a year, with six in a
litter.
Traditionally, guinea pigs are raised in the farm
home. Sometimes kept
in a pit on the floor, they are fed
kitchen scraps, wild
grasses, barley and alfalfa. They are
cared for by women and children.
In Peru, a guinea pig breeding program reported average
weights had increased from .7 to 2 kilograms, along with
accelerated growth rate.
CHOOSING LIVESTOCK THAT FIT THE ENVIRONMENT
Improved livestock production should take advantage of local
animals and local situations.
Objective study of a specific
environment can be more rewarding than taking the ideas of
another location and(or) another culture and trying to force
them to work.
To decide which livestock can be most suitable for a
project:
* Make a thorough
assessment of environmental conditions
and local
resources. How are these resources
being
used?
* Identify the
overall needs and goals of the project.
* Describe
tentatively the characteristics of the animal
that would
fulfill those needs.
* Compare local
livestock breeds. How do they use
resources?
Could they satisfy the needs of the project?
What are
management practices and how could they
be improved?
* Identify new
livestock types. Would they satisfy
needs?
How would they fit into local farming
systems?
Would they
adjust easily to new environmental conditions?
Often, the value of local breeding stock and its adaptation
to local environmental conditions is underestimated.
They
may be resistant to local diseases, have developed ways of
coping with droughts or extreme heat, or may have unusual
characteristics that are of value to local people.
In contrast,
a new breed of cattle may adjust poorly to environmental
stresses, or may not have the type of hump on its
neck that fits the local draft harness.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW BREEDS OR SPECIES
In the less developed parts of the world, livestock managers
often have not assigned production capability a high
priority in their breeding programs.
As a result, improvement
of production is one area in which a change in livestock
breeding practices can show dramatic results.
Partly
because of this, a considerable emphasis is now being put on
the importation of superior breeding stock from other areas
or countries.
The introduction of new animals into an environment must be
approached with caution.
Large-scale introductions should
be attempted only after the proposed animals are tested
under local conditions for performance and resistance to
local disease.
Introduction of livestock brings with it the possibility of
introducing diseases that may decimate local domestic and
wild species. For
example, the superior water buffalo
wanted for breeding purposes live in areas having many
severe diseases; importation of these animals would
increase the risk of spreading these diseases.
Animal introductions have sometimes caused dramatic changes
in local environments.
On an island, such effects are more
visible, and, therefore, have been more easily studied.
In
the last 200 years, more species have become extinct in
Hawaii than on the entire continent of North America, mainly
because of the introduction of new plants and animals.
<FIGURE>
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Island flora and fauna have evolved over thousands of years
of isolation and have developed defenses only against native
animals. A study of
an island environment leads to an
understanding of what occurs on a modified scale in
ecosystems
that have had more interactions with surrounding
systems. On an
island, introduced animals that escape
captivity may survive without human care.
A domesticated
animal that becomes wild is called a feral animal.
Within
ten years, a pair of feral goats can multiply to a herd of
one thousand. Feral
animals can completely destroy the
unique flora of an island, and at the same time introduce
new plants, insects and disease organisms.
Feral animals
that have been blamed for the destruction of island
environments
include rabbits, pigs, dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, and
goats.
Once introduced, feral animals are difficult to remove.
No
matter how many animals are hunted or slaughtered, if there
is a breeding pair left, the island will soon be
repopulated.
In Hawaii, to save the remaining vestiges of native forest
and shrubland communities, miles and miles of expensive
fences over hilly terrain must be erected to keep out feral
pigs and goats.
Feral sheep prevent native forests from
regenerating, also.
The coypu or nutria, a native rodent of Central and South
America was introduced into England as a fur bearing
animal. When the
experiment failed, the animals were
released. They
settled in rivers and marshes, where they
chewed and trampled reeds used for thatching.
Later, as they
grew in numbers, they began attacking crops.
Fortunately,
hard winters and a campaign against them reduced the
population
to a manageable size.
Weeds may be introduced by seeds in the hair or manure of an
imported animal.
These plants interfere with the growth of
native vegetation.
In Hawaii, an introduced vine,
the
banana poka, grows so thickly it kills groves of native
trees.
The mongoose was imported to Hawaii in 1883 to attempt to
reduce populations of roof rats that were feasting on the
sugar cane. The
mongoose, however, was equally fond of
native birds.
When considering the introduction of livestock, assess the
danger of importation, the possibility of animals becoming
feral, and the introduction of weeds, insects and diseases.
Local livestock and native plants and animals may be
threatened, especially when animals are brought from other
continents or when local animals have lived in isolation for
a long period of time.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
* What type of
livestock can be raised under local
climatic
conditions?
* What wild and
domestic animals are already present and
in what
numbers? Have domestic or wild
populations
changed
significantly lately? Why?
* What are present
livestock practices that control the
size and the
composition of herds or animal groups
managed by the
family or community?
* Are livestock in
danger of attack by wild animals?
* What are the
feeding preferences of existing animals?
Do they compete
for the same food and water sources?
* Is there demand
for livestock products locally or in
surrounding
areas?
* If new types of
animals are to be introduced, what are
the
characteristics that would best fill local needs?
* What dangers and
therefore accompanying precautions
will be involved
in the introduction of new animals?
* How much time do
livestock managers currently spend on
animal care?
* Are livestock
managers interested in learning new
methods or do
they prefer current methods?
* Are livestock
managers willing to increase time spent
on daily care
for animals?
* Will new
technologies for preparing livestock products
reduce demands
on the environment, while opening
additional
markets, increasing income or increasing
health and
nutrition?
Chapter V
THE SOIL
AND NUTRIENT CYCLES
Soil is a living community overlying a rock base.
It is
made of inorganic and organic materials, microorganisms,
water, and air. A
gram of soil may contain a million
bacteria, a kilometer of fungal threads and thousands of
cells of algae and protozoa.
THE CARBON CYCLE
When studying the environment, we cannot look simply at such
variables as soil types, vegetation types, and rainfall.
This is a static view of the environment and does not
reflect the relationships between each member of the living
and nonliving community.
Materials such as water, carbon
dioxide, and oxygen constantly flow from the soil and air to
plants, from plants to animals, and eventually from animals
back to the air and soil.
The flow of materials can be
thought of as following a circular path.
One of the
processes central to life and growth is the carbon cycle.
The following diagram shows the cycle of carbon through an
ecosystem.
<FIGURE>
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THE WATER CYCLE
Another important ecological cycle is the water cycle.
As
sunlight warms the surface of the soil, plants and lakes,
water rises up into the air.
Water collects in clouds and
returns to the earth as rain.
Vegetation helps to slow the
return of water to lakes and rivers, preventing flooding and
soil erosion.
<FIGURE>
04p59.gif (486x486)
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
Nitrogen is an important nutrient.
The following diagram
shows the valuable role of soil bacteria in the nitrogen
cycle. Interruption
of the nitrogen cycle may occur when
bare soils are exposed to heavy rainfall and when animal
wastes are not returned to the land.
Accumulation of
nitrates (a form of nitrogen) can also occur, especially in
areas with little rainfall or during drought.
High nitrate
levels in feed can poison sensitive animals, such as cattle
or pigs.
<FIGURE>
04p60.gif (486x486)
Knowledge of the various cycles of nutrients helps us to
realize the importance of soils in the total ecosystem and
the effect that interruption of these cycles might
have. It
emphasizes the interrelationships of water, soils, bacteria,
plants, and animals.
SOIL STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION
About 51% of tropical soils are highly leached.
Leaching is
a process in which water moving through soil carries away
substances that can be dissolved.
Often these nutrients
later show up in rivers, streams, and ground water.
In areas where rainfall is heavy, abundant vegetation
reduces the amount of leaching that occurs and consequently
the amount of nutrients lost.
Under conditions of high heat
and humidity, plant litter such as leaves and rotted
branches decompose rapidly.
The vegetative cover quickly
recycles the nutrients released to prevent loss.
Therefore,
in the humid tropics, most of the nutrients will be found in
this vegetative cover, not in the soil surface as is common
in temperate regions.
Without a vegetative cover, these
nutrients are washed from the soil during heavy rainfall,
resulting in a yearly decrease in productivity.
<FIGURE>
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The fertility of the rain forest is, therefore, tied to the
vegetative canopy.
Slash and burn agriculture has been able
to continue in this environment because the rain forest was
allowed to quickly regenerate and such agriculture was not
practiced over extensive regions.
Recent failures in this
system are blamed on shortening periods between reuse of
forest areas as a result of population pressures.
The ecosystem
is unable to return to its former balance when the
ability of the forest to regenerate is threatened by
decreases in fertility, extensive changes in plant species
composition, and changes in soil structure.
In dry soils, a process almost the opposite of leaching
occurs. Water is
drawn-up through the layers of the soil by
evaporation at the surface.
As a result, calcium carbonate
and other minerals are deposited at the soil surface and the
soil becomes alkaline.
Plant growth is limited to those
plants that can tolerate high concentrations of various
minerals and salts.
The plant growth is further limited by
the lack of water, not nutrients.
<FIGURE>
04p62.gif (486x486)
Laterization is a process that occurs in some tropical soils
in parts of Asia and Central and South America, where heat
and heavy rainfall can turn soil to a hard bricklike
surface.
Soils that are susceptible to laterization are high
in iron and aluminum.
The rains wash silica out of the soil
and the soil surface becomes compacted.
This condition is
accelerated when forest canopies are removed and can result
in an irreversible reduction in the total growth potential
of the ecosystem.
Because soils are formed from the rocks in the surrounding
areas, the mineral content of soils is affected by the
mineral content of the rock.
In some tropical areas, soils
are low in minerals such as calcium and phosphate.
As a
result, the vegetation in these regions is also low in these
compounds. Animals
eating feeds deficient in certain
minerals will develop disease symptoms that can be
alleviated
only by supplementation of the needed minerals.
Animals that do not have enough phosphorus in their diet
will chew bones, wood, soil, and rotten flesh.
They will
lose their appetite and have weak bones, stiff joints, and
reproductive problems.
Animals with low amounts of calcium
in their ration break their bones easily and give less milk.
Iron, cobalt, and copper are related in the functions they
perform in the body, and feed deficiencies in these
substances
produce similar symptoms.
Animals become anemic and
grow thin. When
sheep diets are deficient in copper, newly
born lambs are unable to stand up and nurse.
ANIMAL FEED REQUIREMENTS
As illustrated in the nutrient cycles, animals are dependent
on plants and the soil for the compounds they need for
growth, maintenance, and reproduction.
Animals need carbohydrates,
protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water.
The
quantities needed may vary, for example:
* An animal may be
able to make certain compounds within
its own body.
* A young animal
needs additional nutrients because it is
growing and
building bone and tissue.
* A pregnant
animal needs additional nutrients for her
growing young.
* Milking animals
need more calcium and water.
* Different daily
habits may create a difference in feed
requirements. The active or
nervous animal will use
more food energy
in daily activities.
When resources become scarce, the ability of an animal to
grow and reproduce with the least amount of feed intake
becomes important.
An animal that eats a kilogram of grain
will not produce a kilogram of meat, because not all of the
feed will be digested.
About one half of the nutrients
digested are used for maintenance.
The food is used to
maintain body temperature, repair tissue, and replace water
and minerals lost through excretion.
In one study in a temperate environment, calorie and protein
production of various farm animals were compared with the
amount of feed consumed.
Pigs and dairy animals, such as
milk cows and goats, were shown to be the most efficient.
Next came chickens and turkeys and last were beef cattle and
sheep. This estimate
did not take into account various byproducts
such as wool. The
results of such studies would,
of course, vary with local conditions.
FEED MANAGEMENT
Animals may range for their own food or have their food
brought to them. When
grazing, given abundant and varied
forage, animals are able to select the food they need.
If
fencing of pastures is feasible, the daily work of herding
can be reduced.
Where herding or fenced pastures are not satisfactory,
animals can be kept in pens and will have their food brought
to them. Such a
management system, called zero grazing, has
proved to be economically rewarding for dairy farmers close
to markets in Africa.
The manager of a confinement system
can make use of crop wastes that could not be grazed, can
reduce fencing needs, and can gather manure more
easily. In
addition, the farmer can locate animals close to crops to
ease feeding and fertilizing chores.
A feed management system also can be adapted to seasonal
growth. For example,
hay and other crop residues can be cut
and stored as hay or silage and used during periods of
severe drought.
Livestock nutrition is affected by the timing of use of
forage. Grasses and
other forage crops have different growth
cycles, depending on their reaction to temperature,
moisture,
and sunlight. The
nutrient value of forage changes as
it grows and matures.
Green, rapidly-growing vegetation is
high in nutritive value, especially protein.
As grasses
mature, protein and phosphorus content decreases as the
amount of carbohydrates increase.
Older plants also have
more fiber and are less digestible.
They also will have
less vitamins. Thus,
animals will benefit most if plants
are grazed or harvested when their nutrient content is high.
KINDS OF FEED AND FORAGE
Soils that lack nitrogen produce vegetation that is
slow-growing
and also lacking in nitrogen.
To improve the soil
and provide additional forage that is high in nutrients, the
planting of legumes is recommended.
Legume plants are
members of the pea family and have nodules on their roots
that contain bacteria.
These bacteria use energy obtained
from carbohydrates of the host plant to fix nitrogen from
the air and form ammonia.
This process is known as nitrogen
fixation. The
bacteria use the ammonia to make protein.
Any excess ammonia produced is used by the the host plant.
Death of these bacteria also frees the nitrogen compounds to
be used by plants.
<FIGURE>
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Many legumes are now being used in farming systems.
For
example, pigeon pea is a short-lived perennial that grows
well in subhumid regions with long dry seasons; the cluster
bean, or guar, is a bushy annual that does well in sandy
soils at high temperatures; and the hyacinth bean, or
lablab, requires good drainage, but tolerates poor soils.
Other legumes used for forage include the jack bean, rice
bean, velvet bean, and winged bean.
Peanut leaves and stems
are an excellent protein feed for horses and ruminants.
Because of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, legumes are not
dependent on soil or fertilizer to meet their high nitrogen
requirements.
Legumes also have a high requirement for
minerals, phosphorus, and various trace elements.
Adding
manures to correct these deficiencies is often recommended.
The value of the manure in this case is not in supplying
nitrogen, but in supplying the phosphorus and other trace
elements such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.
If
chemical fertilizers are to be used, additional analysis of
crop needs is recommended, because of the absence of trace
elements in most standard fertilizer formulas.
Legumes are excellent feeds for ruminants and often are used
in swine and poultry rations as a protein source.
Certain
legumes, such as peas and beans, are suitable human foods,
and their vines can provide feed for livestock, while the
roots improve the soil.
Shrubs and trees can also provide food for livestock.
The
leaves and fruit of woody plants are especially important
food sources during the dry season when other plants are
dormant.
Crop residues that may be fed to livestock include cereal
grain, straw, sugarcane stalks, and excess garden produce.
Most of these are considered roughages, because they are low
in protein and usually high in fiber.
They will maintain
mature animals, but usually are not adequate as the only
feed for growing or working animals.
Such feeds should be
supplemented with foods rich in carbohydrates, protein, and
phosphorus.
Feeds that are low in fiber and high in nutrients include
grains, roots, tubers, and fruits.
Roots are high in carbohydrates.
Grains are high in protein.
Soybeans, peanuts,
beans, and peas also contain digestible fats, as well as
protein. Other
supplements that may improve nutrition are
calcium and vitamins, especially B vitamins.
To keep costs low, the livestock manager should use locally
available supplemental feeds.
In addition to the feeds with
high nutritive content mentioned above, other possibilities
include dried citrus pulp, dried seaweed, and the byproducts
of sugar manufacturing.
Some problems are the result of mineral deficiencies in
feed. In Colombia,
50% or more of cattle loss in the plains
region may be due to mineral deficiencies.
Commercially
available mineral mixes lack important minor elements.
Furthermore, the commercial mill could not produce
economically
the variety of mineral mixes that would be necessary
to adjust to the variable nature of the local soils.
In
experiments that provided minerals in separate boxes on a
free-choice basis, the findings showed wide variation in
amounts of minerals consumed from the dry to the wet
season. Assuming
that livestock are able to recognize their
own mineral needs, such experiments could be used to
determine feed deficiencies and mineral needs at specific
locations.
FEED CONTAMINATION
If feed must be purchased from a mill, livestock managers
should get reliable information about or visit the mill to
find out how the feed is mixed and what safety precautions
are taken.
The importance of such precautions is illustrated by a
disastrous event in the United States of America, where, in
1973, a feed mill in Michigan accidentally mixed into animal
rations several hundred pounds of polybrominated biphenyls
(PBBs), a highly toxic chemical normally used as a flame
retardant. Tons of
this contaminated feed were distributed
and as a result 30,000 cattle, 2 million chickens, and
thousands of sheep and pigs died or had to be destroyed.
The PBBs also contaminated the animal manure which polluted
soils, rivers, and lakes.
According to studies reported in
1977, all Michigan residents tested had excessive levels of
PBBs in their body tissue.
This catastrophe underlines the
effect that one mistake at a feed mill can have on an entire
region.
In a rural environment, introduced compounds, such as
chlorinated hydrocarbons, stay in the farming system or may
be washed into adjoining lakes and rivers.
These compounds
can be passed from one organism to another through all the
links in the food chain.
For example, if a crop is dusted
with such an insecticide, and grain from that crop is fed to
chickens, the eggs laid by these chickens may contain that
chemical. In the
body, the compound may be stored in fat
tissue and also in the liver and kidneys where it may become
concentrated. Thus,
ingestion of small amounts of chlorinated
hydrocarbons can build up to lethal quantities in
living tissue. Such
compounds in the body freely cross the
placenta to the fetus, which has less resistance to the
poisons. Chlorinated
hydrocarbons can become concentrated
at the highest levels in animals that are at the end of the
food chain.
<FIGURE>
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Potential for contamination of feed for animals and animal
products has become greater as the use of pesticides
expands. Public
awareness of these potential effects can be
developed through sophisticated testing and methods of
communication. All
agriculturalists and others who might
inadvertently cause food or soil contamination must depend
on each other to practice safe methods of handling
potentially
dangerous substances.
When examples of food contamination are made public,
evidence
from recent incidents suggests that:
* All producers in
the area may be immediately suspected
of having
contaminated products.
* The market for
all related products may drop. Crops
must be left in the field to rot and(or)
milk must be
poured out upon
the ground.
* If producers
have used contaminated feeds, yet claim to
have used a
substance properly, their honesty and
ability as
farmers may be questioned.
* Governmental
agencies responsible for notifying producers
and consumers
may not release information to
protect the
agricultural sector.
* The public may
become concerned about a cover-up and
will lose faith
in both farmers and government
officials.
All farmers should
be concerned that others engaged in
agriculture or that have the potential to affect agriculture
in the region are conscious of how their actions may affect
the environment, including the people in the area.
PASTURE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT
Pastures usually are located in areas of medium to high
rainfall where conditions for grass growth are favorable.
If pasture areas are not extensive, practices such as the
planting of improved grasses and hand removal of brush may
be useful.
Ranges include a wide variety of habitats, such as desert
scrub, savannahs, and woodlands.
These various habitats are
the result of differing amounts of rainfall and
other
weather and soil factors.
In extensive rangelands, mechanical
ways of managing forage are less practical.
Therefore,
when livestock managers study rangeland ecosystems, they
must concentrate more on environmental interactions to find
ways to manage forage.
Grasses and other plants that make up the forage floor of
pastures and rangelands can be perennial or annual.
That
is, they may survive from season to season or they may grow
from seed each year.
Grasses that dominate many types of
climax vegetation are perennial.
Annuals are common in
areas where the climax vegetation has been removed.
Where rainfall supports the growth of shrubs and trees,
grasslands can be developed by removing the forest canopy
and planting grasses.
Because shrubs and trees will quickly
reinvade these man-made grasslands, management must focus on
the prevention of shrub and tree regrowth.
If brush removal
is difficult in such areas, animals that can make use of
browse are often included in the livestock system.
Desertification is a term used to describe a process through
which lands in many parts of the world are becoming
deserts. In this
process the long-term productivity of the
land is degraded by natural events or human abuse.
There is
a major debate about the extent to which desertification is
caused by natural events or human abuse.
Weather experts have pointed out the cyclical nature of
droughts; that is, that droughts come and go, and, in
drought-prone lands, one can alway expect a reoccurrence of
the cycle. The
problem is that no one has been able to
predict accurately the time of arrival of a drought, nor has
anyone been able to predict when a drought will be over.
Therefore, one argument is that the present trend of
desertification may be reversed at any time as climatic
conditions change.
On the other hand, the United Nations Conference on
Desertification
cited mismanagement of the land as the cause of the
environmental deterioration known as desertification.
The
consensus was that abuse renders the land more vulnerable to
a drought and the drought precipitates more abuse of the
land.
Accordingly, proponents of this view say that the process of
desertification has been hastened by human activities and
overgrazing. First,
the land is cleared of trees. As the
vegetation disappears, there is less water loss from leaves
and the humidity drops.
The land is invaded by grasses.
Then these grasslands are grazed to the roots.
The last
scrub trees are cut for firewood.
Topsoil is blown away,
and rain and cloud patterns are altered.
Organic litter no
longer accumulates; topsoil is washed away.
The land
becomes part of the expanding desert.
No matter what is the outcome of these arguments, planners
in areas endangered by desertification should focus on
practices that:
* Increase the
amount of plants and plant residues left
each grazing
season.
* Increase soil
moisture levels.
* Encourage
preservation of brush and tree species.
ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES
Because of the complex biological interactions in a pasture
or range system and the difficulty of generalizing from one
ecosystem to another, the environmental guidelines suggested
here are outlined broadly, with brief explanations of why
these guidelines should be considered.
* Combine
livestock species to maximize forage productivity.
Animals tend to
overgraze favored areas and plants and
to neglect
others. Those plants that are not
grazed
will continue to
be avoided in subsequent years. As
these plants
mature, they lose vigor and the dead
material reduces
their nutritional value. If various
livestock breeds
are combined or alternated on a range,
their differing
food preferences can help the process
of keeping
plants productive.
* Make superior
forage available to animals with the
highest needs.
When forage is
limited, livestock handlers may decide
that producing
and young animals must have first access
to new pastures
and range with a wide variety of abundant
forage.
Fencing modifications may be made that
allow young
stock access to special feeding areas in
adjacent
fields. Such management methods may
reduce or
eliminate the
need for costly supplements.
* Investigate the
value of various rotational systems.
Livestock may be
grazed continually on a pasture
throughout the
year. This method does not require
extensive
fencing, but may cause increased disease
build-up and may
not take best advantage of seasonal
variations in
plant growth or provide rest periods from
grazing pressure
for the land.
To reduce
disease build-up and to vary grazing pressures,
livestock can be
rotated between fields or
ranges.
They can be moved into crop lands to clean
up
residues either
by fencing or herding. Rotations can
be planned on a
daily, weekly, or seasonal basis,
according to
forage production and crop cycles.
There are some
studies that suggest, however, that a
set stocking
system may be as good as a rotational
system, as long
as the number of livestock is gradually
adjusted to
pasture production. One of the major
justifications
for pasture rotation is that it breaks
the life cycle
of disease organisms. If the disease
organism remains
infective in the soil (beyond the
rotational
period), then this method of livestock
handling will
not reduce the incidence of the disease.
* Prevent
degradation of the range from overgrazing.
With heavy
grazing of livestock, native plants may not
survive.
New species whose seeds are brought in, for
example, on the
hooves of livestock, quickly occupy the
place of the
native plants. Even when grazing
pressure
is reduced, the
alien species may retain their
dominance.
These new species may not be eaten readily
by livestock.
With heavy
grazing, soils become exposed to rain and
wind, resulting
in massive erosion of topsoils. During
the dry seasons,
winds blow the top soil until it
collects in
loose piles. Heavy rainfall at the
beginning of the
wet season carries the loose soil
away.
* Time pasture and
range use to minimize soil compaction.
Considerable
compaction of soil can result when herds
are grazing soil
that is moist. One result of compacted
soils is decreased
absorption of water into the
soil.
As a result, more run-off occurs during
rainfall.
On the other
hand, hoof action can break up dry,
crusted soil,
trample mature vegetation, and help work
seed into the
ground. Timing of the use of range or
pasture can
therefore have negative or positive
effects.
* Adjust herd or
flock sizes to forage availability.
A herd of 100
cattle might travel 34 kilometers per day
in grazing to
obtain sufficient forage. Under the
same forage conditions, a herd of ten cattle
might
graze for a
distance of only six kilometers. The
larger herd
would have to graze further because of
competition
within the herd for forage. Therefore,
when forage is
poor and herds must walk long distances
in search of
forage, it may be better to have smaller
herds.
This would reduce the amount of forage used
just
for maintenance.
* Understand the
use of fire as a management tool.
Fire can be used
to remove woody growth and mature
vegetation.
Burning removes the ground litter that
normally slows
growth of certain types of plants. The
nutrients in the
ash are another reason for increased
plant production
following a burn. Research findings
indicate that
for a year or two, the total biomass on
recently burned
prairie can exceed the biomass of the
unburned
prairie. Even if total prevention of
grassland
fires were
desired, it would be difficult, because
as dry litter
builds up, the probability of a natural
fire increases.
* Use labor-
or money-intensive methods of forage
improvement, if
the benefit will justify the cost.
If a forage area
is severely damaged, the manager may
try to improve
the land by cultivating the soil, fertilizing,
reseeding
desirable plant species, filling in
gullies, and
building dams. Various types of brush
removal may be
tried. Improved strains of grass can be
introduced.
Such grasses, however, may require better
soils or more
fertilization. They may not be
well-adapted
to the region,
resulting in negligible
increases in
production as compared with the costs
involved in
weeding. When high-cost methods are
involved,
weigh the cost against the possible benefit.
* Look for ways to
monitor production that will give
immediate
information on forage condition.
For example,
milk production is easily measured and may
be used to some
degree as an indicator of forage
quality in the
absence of more sophisticated methods.
Meat or wool
production would not give such an
immediate result
for feedback; nevertheless, wool
production is
used by herders in the Andes of South
America to
determine stocking rates of alpaca on dry
season pastures.
* Investigate
patterns of ownership of water resources
and how changes
of ownership can affect forage use.
For example, the
control of water or critical grazing
lands in dry
areas by indiviuals or groups of individuals
may be the
deciding factor that limits livestock
populations and
keeps livestock herds from exceeding
forage
availability. The provision of a
publicly owned
well may
eliminate this limitation on the number of
livestock and
thus result in an increase in livestock
beyond the local
grazing capacity.
* Find management
practices that will be effective under
local land
ownership patterns.
When land is
held in common, management practices must
be accepted by a
group of people before they are effective.
Thus, social and
political factors as well as
technical
factors must be considered. For
example, if
one herder
decides to reduce his flock because of
overgrazing and
yet other herds grazing on the same
land are
increased, the individual herder will receive
no
benefits. Even with such difficulties,
however,
individual
ownership of land often is resisted by
herders whose
animals must cover extensive range, and
who vary their
travels according to the seasonal
availability of
forage and water. Management under
such conditions
requires joint agreements among the
livestock
managers involved.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
* What types of
vegetation, including grasses, grow in
the area?
* What kind of
soil does this vegetation indicate (clay,
sand,
loam)? Are there deficiencies in the
soil
indicated that
might affect the needs of livestock?
* Are soils threatened
by erosion caused by water or
wind?
Would livestock expansion increase the
possibility
of such erosion?
* Are steep slopes
used for crops or pasture? Will a
livestock
project affect the ground cover on such
slopes?
* What rainfall
and other climatic patterns may affect
livestock?
* What natural and
man-made disturbances of plant growth
such as range
fires, wood gathering, or crop production
may affect
livestock production?
* Could more use be
made of local vegetation for livestock
without danger
of overgrazing?
* Are there
biological changes taking place that are
directly related
to current livestock numbers?
* Are some
nutrients being recycled back to the soil?
* What effect will
pasture clearing have on soil structure,
wild
populations, and community balance?
* Are there plants
in the area that are indicators of
overgrazing?
* Will the use of
purchased feed or concentrates be practical
or environmentally
sound? Are they affordable?
* What improved
strains of forage plants have been used
with success
under similar conditions?
Chapter VI
MANAGEMENT OF WASTES AND NUTRIENTS
Animal wastes help maintain soil fertility; they contain
organic materials that are broken down by decomposers to
provide nutrients for plant growth.
Manure increases the
amount of the soil humus, a complex organic material that
slowly decomposes and releases nutrients for plant growth.
Humus increases the capacity of the soil to hold water, and
helps keep nutrients in the top levels of the soil, where
they will be available for plant growth.
Humus also makes
soil more resistant to wind action.
COMPOSITION OF MANURE
The nutrient content of manure depends upon the type of feed
given and the amount of water consumed by the animal.
In
addition, the composition of the manure depends upon the
nutrient requirements of the individual animal.
For example,
a growing animal will use more of the nutrients in its
feed than does a mature animal.
Consequently, its manure
will be lower in these nutrients.
An animal having to
forage on nutrient-poor land would have lower nutrient
levels in its manure than would the same animal fed with
nutrient supplements.
The livestock manager who provides
feed supplements for his herd will be compensated, in part,
by a higher nutrient level in animal manure.
If this manure
is returned to the land without substantial loss of
nutrients, higher soil fertility should result.
Such
feeding methods, however, should not be looked upon as a
substitute for management practices that will directly
improve soil fertility.
Manure is also valued for its content of nitrogen,
phosphorus,
and potassium. When
judged by the amount of these
nutrients, chicken manure has the highest value, followed in
descending order by goat and sheep manure, cattle manure,
and pig manure.
Because goat, sheep, and horse manure
contain less water, they heat up easily when decomposing and
are often called "hot" manures.
Animal manures do not have an ideal balance of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and potassium, because they are low in
phosphorus.
Thus, additional phosphate is often used to
increase fertility of soils that have been fertilized with
animal manures.
Manure releases nutrients more slowly than
does commercial fertilizer so fewer nutrients are leached
from the soil surface during rainstorms.
BEDDING
Much of the valuable nutrient content is excreted as liquid
animal wastes.
Bedding such as straw, sawdust, or peanut
shells keeps animals clean and dry, because it absorbs
liquid wastes. The
bedding also adds to the amount of
organic matter in the wastes.
Usually, bedding alone is low
in nutrients, but the organic matter in the bedding makes an
excellent soil additive when combined with the nutrients in
the urine and manure.
<FIGURE>
04p82.gif (437x437)
RECYCLING NUTRIENTS
Manure has its highest nutrient levels when fresh and
nutrients are lost if manure is poorly handled before it is
returned to the soil.
Losses are least when manure is
returned daily to the soil and plowed under.
If heavy rains should fall right after manure has been
spread on the soil, nutrients that are not absorbed in the
soil will wash away.
For best results, manure should be
spread during periods of light and intermittent rain that
can soak the manure into the soil where the nutrients can be
used by growing plants.
Manure applications are more effective when the manure is
spread thinly over a greater area, rather than when
concentrated
in a small area.
This reduces the time between
applications in a given area and increases the total
recycling capability of nutrients.
Manure is best spread early in the morning when air is still
and(or) when the wind is blowing away from settlements.
Low-lying areas where water stands should be avoided.
MANURE AS A POLLUTANT
Manure can be a health hazard for humans and other animals
if the manure contains disease organisms or if the manure is
allowed to contaminate ground water or other water sources.
It should not be applied to ground within 30 meters of a
water source.
<FIGURE>
04p84.gif (437x437)
Nitrates (chemical compounds of nitrogen) that enter the
body in water or food are changed to nitrites (a different
compound) by bacteria in the stomach.
These nitrites can be
absorbed into the bloodstream.
The nitrites combine with
hemoglobin in the blood and reduce the blood's ability to
carry oxygen, a condition of nitrite poisoning known as
methemoglobinemia.
Symptoms of nitrite poisoning include
fatigue, weakness, rapid heart beat, headaches and
dizziness.
Cattle, young animals, and children are especially
sensitive to high concentrations of nitrates in drinking
water.
In lakes and streams, large amounts of nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphate stimulate the growth of aquatic
plants and algae, a process known as eutrophication.
The
algae form a scum on the water surface.
As these large algae
blooms die off, the decaying plants use up the dissolved
oxygen in the water, harming fish and other aquatic life.
To avoid waste contamination of water supplies and
eutrophication
of lakes and streams, animal pens and manure piles
must be located away from water sources and slopes that lead
directly into these water sources.
Also, animals should not
be penned in high concentrations where there is danger of
nitrates and other substances moving through the soil
structure
and into ground water.
MANURE STORAGE
If manure is not spread immediately, it must be stored in a
way that will prevent the loss of nutrients.
If possible, a
manure pile should be located on a solid surface and be
protected from rain by a shed roof.
It should be kept
well-packed and damp.
This helps prevent the formation of
ammonia, a nitrogen compound that escapes from the manure as
a gas and is a cause of odor.
Manure of various animal
species should be mixed, if possible.
Well-decayed manure may be better than fresh manure,
especially
when fresh manure is mixed with quantities of straw.
If manure with straw is added immediately to the soil, a
nitrogen shortage may occur, because the decomposing straw
slows down the formation of nitrates.
COMPOSTING
Composting is a more complex method of building manure piles
to receive the most benefit from the various materials added
to the pile. In many
countries, composting is a traditional
method of manure treatment.
Compost piles may be built with
manure, straw, kitchen and garden wastes, leaves, weeds,
seaweed and other organic matter.
The planner should
examine local methods, available materials and community
attitudes.
<FIGURE>
04p86.gif (437x437)
Composting uses waste materials and costs little or nothing,
except the labor needed to gather the materials and turn the
pile. If done
correctly, it can reduce the risk of
spreading disease organisms in manure.
A well-built compost
pile will reach temperatures up to 70 [degrees] C, which is
sufficient
to kill eggs, larvae, bacteria, and other disease-producing
organisms.
Nitrogen is fixed by decomposers in the compost pile and
thus can be released slowly to plants.
In contrast, the
phosphorus and potash compounds in compost are more easily
dissolved in water.
They are therefore immediately available
for plant growth, but they also may be leached from the soil
during heavy rainfall.
The amount of nitrogen in the pile affects speed of
composting
and the temperature of the heap.
The ratio of
carbon to nitrogen also affects efficiency.
Decomposing
microorganisms work best at a carbon/nitrogen ratio of
30-to-1.
Each of the ingredients in the compost pile contains
given amounts of carbon and(or) nitrogen.
Once that is
determined the ratio can be achieved by varying the relative
amounts of the ingredients.
For example, sawdust has a
ratio of 511-to-1, and some manures a ratio of 14-to-1.
Goat, sheep, and horse manures -- the "hot"
manures -- will
heat up a compost pile faster than will pig or cow manure
which have a different carbon/nitrogen ratio.
The heap should be large enough to allow materials to heat
up, and should be kept moist.
A 2-meter square heap should
be adequate. Larger
heaps can be built if sufficient manure
and labor are available.
The pile is usually built with
layers of plant wastes and manure alternated with soil to
which lime or wood ash is added.
Once decomposition has
begun, compost heaps are turned in order to mix in materials
from the edges and to supply air to the microorganisms.
Sheet composting is a method of composting on the soil
surface. First,
plowed fields are left until weed seedlings
have germinated and have grown to about ten centimeters in
height. The young
plant growth is spread with manure and
sawdust or other organic material.
These materials are
plowed into the soil.
Initially, there is a nitrogen
shortage as bacteria break down the organic material.
If
the type of crop to be planted in the field will have an
immediate need for nitrogen, the sawdust is spread on the
surface after manure is plowed under or as a mulch around
young plants.
MANURE MIXED IN WATER
Manure is sometimes mixed in water to form a slurry before
field application. A
manure slurry will increase immediate
absorption of nutrients by plants.
With applications of
large quantities there are problems with surface runoff.
The slurry may block soil pores, reduce aeration, and thus
reduce the nitrification process.
BIOGAS DIGESTERS
Animal wastes can be used to generate biogas, a mixture of
methane and other gases formed from the decomposition of
organic matter. Like
other gas fuels, biogas can be used for
cooking, lighting, and running small engines.
In some parts of the world, users of biogas have found that
labor requirements and construction costs may outweigh the
benefits of biogas production.
They feel that other uses of
manure would be more suitable.
However, biogas production
has been given major emphasis in China, where seven million
biogas plants were in place in 1981.
This biogas is used to
run engines, pump water, irrigate, husk rice, mill flour,
thresh rice, and generate electricity.
The feasibility of biogas generation depends on the quantity
of organic material available, the alternative demands for
these materials, the other energy sources and their costs,
and the economics of day-to-day management of the digester.
Feasibility also depends on the labor available for
construction
and operation, as well as the technology used in
construction.
A biogas digester is a container that holds a slurry of
organic material and captures the gases produced as bacteria
digests the nutrients in the slurry.
Types of structures
that can serve as digesters include clay pits, inner tubes,
fifty-five gallon drums, plastic bags, giant steel tanks,
and waste dumps covered with plastic.
Biogas digesters produce a usable form of energy for
lighting, cooking and heating, as well as a high-quality
fertilizer that contains nutrients (such as nitrogen) in a
more stable form than those in raw manure.
The smell and
the amount of disease-producing organisms are reduced in
this form. The
recycling of nutrients can be the most
important aspect of the process.
The quantity of gas produced and the size of a digester
depend on how much organic material is available for the
slurry. The total
daily amount of manure excreted by two or
three well-fed pigs can produce enough gas to cook one
meal. The manure
from ten cows could produce enough to cook
five meals, or run a biogas lamp and cook several meals each
day.
The larger the system, the greater the planning needed, and
the greater the expense.
The physical handling of the
organic material causes the most problems.
If the material
is too coarse, gas lines become clogged or the scum floating
on top of the slurry prohibits gas from escaping.
The best
slurry is well mixed with solid particles small enough to
remain suspended in the creamy mixture.
In assessing the quantity and quality of waste organic
matter, close attention must be paid to the ratio of carbon
to nitrogen in the slurry.
A mixture of 25-to-1 is best for
biogas production.
Any additional carbon would begin to
adversely affect the process of digestion; however, less
carbon (for example, a ratio of 5-to-1 or 10-to-1) would
still function. The
ratio is usually adjusted by adding
small amounts of well-chopped vegetable matter to a manure
slurry. Temperature
should be maintained at about 35 [degrees] C,
although several types of methanogenic bacteria work at
temperatures higher and lower than this.
In warm areas it
is easy to keep the slurry warm.
In colder areas the slurry
must be insulated and heated by burning a portion of the
gas.
Small digesters include the batch type and the
continuous-feed
type. The batch type
is useful for coarser types of
organic material and
requires less daily maintenance.
Usually three batch digesters are necessary to maintain a
continuous flow of gas.
While one is producing, one is
slowing down, and one is being loaded with new slurry.
Daily agitation of a batch digester is necessary.
In a
continuous-feed digester, a small amount of slurry is mixed
and added daily to the digester and an equal amount
removed. Gas
production is continuous. Cleaning the
slurry
tank is necessary only when inorganic solids fill the bottom
with sediment and reduce the volume of active slurry.
<FIGURE>
04p91.gif (486x486)
Just as farm animals are sensitive to temperature,
nutrients, and toxins, so are the bacteria in the slurry
tank. The success of
a biogas digester depends on how the
methanogenic bacteria are treated.
Guidelines are difficult
to establish that will apply to all situations.
For
example, a given animal eating different feeds will produce
manure in different quantities and with varying amounts of
nutrients. If
chemicals are used to kill pests on cattle,
they pass with the organic waste into the digester and kill
the bacteria.
Mixed slurry will produce gas within a few days to a few
weeks. The quality
of the gas may not be high in methane at
first. However,
further experimentation and control of the
temperature, texture, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and
agitation
of the slurry should produce a better quality gas.
A
word of caution:
biogas with a concentration of 4% to 15%
methane is highly explosive and can be a continuing danger
caused by mismanaged digesters.
Study is needed on management of the exhausted slurry or
sludge. If the exact
content of the nutrients in the
effluent is not known, tests should be made before
endangering an entire crop.
The land must be able to accept
the slurry without becoming waterlogged.
Continual application
may increase the acidity of the soil, which can be
counteracted by lime added to the soil.
Sludge also can be
discharged into lagoons to produce algae to feed back into
digesters or to feed fish such as tilapia or carp.
The location of the digester needs to be carefully
considered.
To keep drinking water safe and ground water
supplies unpolluted, digesters should be located at least 30
meters from wells or springs.
If the tank is below the
groundwater line, the bottom of the tank should be sealed to
prevent seepage.
Also, the digester should be away from
flammable structures but close to the source of organic
waste, the effluent use area, and the biogas use areas.
Water needs to be readily available for diluting the
slurry. Locating the
digester far from the biogas-use area
risks clogged gas lines and low pressure at the appliance.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
* What kind of
manure is available? How much is
produced
daily?
* What are the
traditional uses of manure? Are there
alternative
uses?
* What are
community and family attitudes toward waste
handling?
* How is manure
handled traditionally? Are these
methods
responsible for
disease problems in the area? Will
alternative
methods create health problems or aid in
eliminating
health problems?
* What are the
day-to-day labor requirements for various
possible waste
handling systems?
* Will
introduction of new kinds of livestock or change
in livestock
management practices require changes in
manure
management?
* Are sources of
water being polluted as a result of
contamination by
manure?
* Do local
practices of manure handling reduce the loss
of nutrients by
runoff, erosion, or leaching? What
alternative
management practices might be more effective?
* What organic
wastes are available to use with manure to
make compost or
to run a biogas digester? What is the
composition of
those wastes?
* How can the
design of the farm system reduce labor
requirements for
transfer of wastes?
Chapter VII
HEALTH AND HUSBANDRY
Animal health can be closely related to community health.
Because many animal diseases also can infect human
populations,
the community attitude towards care of animals will
have a direct effect on the total health of the community.
CAUSES OF DISEASE
Disease is a general term that indicates an abnormal
condition
or an absence of health.
Disease can be caused by
internal problems, such as faulty body processes, genetic
defects, or aging.
It can also be caused by environmental
factors, such as scarcity of food, lack of specific
nutrients, parasites, stress, and(or) accidents.
Management
of animal and environmental interactions to avoid disease is
stressed here.
To maintain or restore health in an animal, disease
processes
must be understood.
Knowledge of life cycles of
disease-causing organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and
various internal and external parasites may help prevent or
reduce their contact with healthy livestock.
Knowing how a disease-causing organism enters and leaves the
body of an animal and what other animals it infects will
help determine methods of control.
For example, the adult
hookworm lives in the intestines of a host animal, where it
feeds upon the host animal's blood.
The female worms
produce eggs that leave the body with the host's droppings.
There they develop into larvae that can enter another host
when the animal feeds on infected pastures.
The larvae can
also enter the body through the skin.
Larvae that enter the
skin get into the bloodstream and are carried to the heart
and then the lungs.
Here, they break through the cell wall
into the air space.
Passed up the windpipe, they are
swallowed and pass to the large intestine where the cycle
begins again. Breaking
the cycle requires careful handling
of manure and avoidance of infected pastures.
Of major importance to community health are those diseases
that infect both animals and humans.
The adult liver fluke
lives in sheep and cattle.
The sheep seed the soil or water
with the eggs in their droppings.
The larval form uses an
alternate host, a snail, and eventually encysts on
vegetation. Here
they are reingested by animals, including
humans. One control
method for liver flukes is the
reduction of the habitat of the intermediate host, the
snail, by the drainage of low, wet pastures.
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DISEASE RESISTANCE
Different animal species may vary in their tolerance to a
disease. For
example, a specific strain of yellow fever may
infect and multiply in a population of opossum with no
apparent injury to the opossum, but, at the same time, that
same strain may be fatal to a certain monkey species.
Tolerance to a disease can develop over generations of
exposure. For
example, when a deadly disease spreads
epidemically through an entire population, animals with no
resistance die, but some of the surviving animals may have
been protected by a hereditary variation that made them more
resistant to the disease.
Later generations of these animals
may inherit this resistance and, in the future, the entire
population may become more resistant to the disease.
In a
study of this concept, white leghorn chickens were injected
with fowl typhoid.
Only the most resistant animals were
used for breeding and mortality rates from the disease were
reduced by 90% by the fifth generation.
Animal breeders take advantage of this concept in selecting
for disease resistance and developing strains within a breed
that are resistant to a specific disease.
Local animals
that are resistant to disease also might be used in such
breeding programs.
As breeding programs select for specific characteristics,
the genetic variation between different animals in the
population may be reduced.
Such lack of genetic variability
could reduce the genetic resistance to new diseases that
might invade the population.
When resistant strains are
limited, the possibility of a major epidemic is increased;
thus sound breeding programs maintain some measure of
genetic variability.
As animal populations are being modified by deadly diseases,
the disease organisms themselves may adapt their life
processes for survival.
A disease that kills an entire host
population faces extinction itself.
Through the process of
evolution, a disease and its host population evolve to
survive. In this
way, a usually fatal disease becomes less
dangerous.
When animals are imported from other countries or regions,
the balance between disease organisms and host populations
can be upset and major fluctuations in animal populations
might occur. For
example, in Africa, imported cattle
brought a viral disease called rinderpest.
This disease
invaded native animal herds, causing widespread death losses
and continues to limit grazing on former rangeland.
In
contrast, pigs that were brought to Africa were extremely
susceptible to African swine fever, a disease to which the
native wild pigs had developed a tolerance.
When livestock management practices are designed to prevent
the spread of disease to other areas, other animals do not
require a resistance to the disease.
However, continuous
vigilance is necessary to prevent a disease from spreading
to new areas. In the
event of an outbreak, emergency
clean-up operations can be costly.
For example, when cases
of African swine fever were discovered in Haiti, the entire
native pig population was eliminated in an effort to halt
the spread of the disease to other countries.
METHODS OF CONTROL
Common methods of disease control are quarantine,
sanitation,
vaccination and medication.
Quarantine (isolation of
animals) and sanitation (cleaning and disinfection of animal
quarters) are both attempts to prevent the spread of
disease-producing organisms to healthy animals.
Vaccination
is an artificial method of developing disease resistance,
whereas effective medication is a means to reduce symptoms
or kill the disease organisms in the body.
<FIGURE>
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Quarantine and Sanitation
Animals should be placed in quarantine, that is, isolated
from other animals, if they have an infectious disease.
In
addition, animals that have been imported or bought from
neighboring farmers should be kept isolated from other
animals for a time to ensure that no new diseases are
transmitted to farm livestock.
Sanitation is the most effective means for control of
parasites,
but medication may be used especially for severe
infection. Parasites
usually infect a whole herd or flock,
thus control measures are effective only if used for the
entire group.
Sanitation methods break the disease
organism's life cycle.
Reinfection of animals in close
confinement can be reduced by keeping housing free of
accumulated droppings and, if necessary, using
disinfectants.
Vaccination
When disease-producing organisms (such as bacteria and
viruses) invade an animal, the animal's body attempts to
find, neutralize, and ultimately destroy the organism.
The
body's white blood cells produce chemical substances called
antibodies in response to specific foreign matter.
The
antibody coats the foreign substance or combines with it so
that it cannot infect body cells.
Because antibodies are
specific to the foreign substance encountered, and remain in
the bloodstream for varied lengths of time, an animal may
acquire immunity to a disease by successfully surviving an
attack. Vaccination
is a way of artificially creating the
immunity. A vaccine
is usually a weakened or dead culture
of the agent causing the disease.
The vaccine stimulates
the formation of the antibodies that will later be able to
successfully prevent disease organisms from invading body
cells. For these
reasons, vaccines are not effective for
animals that are already ill, and are effective only for
diseases for which they have been developed.
Medication
Of the animal disease control medications developed during
this century, the antibiotics have been one of the most
effective for combatting disease.
Antibiotics are
substances, usually obtained from microorganisms, that stop
the growth of or destroy other microorganisms.
Some, such
as the tetracyclines, are effective against a wide range of
bacteria. Others are
much more specific in their actions.
Because antibiotics have been so effective, they have been
used widely and at times indiscriminately.
Low levels of
some antibiotics are being mixed into some commercially
prepared
animal feeds to prevent infections.
Although experimental
results suggest that this practice will improve
young-animal growth and development, such use gives
disease-producing
microorganisms an opportunity to develop
resistance to the antibiotics.
When the microorganism population is continually exposed to
the antibiotic, those few microorganisms that may have a
genetic resistance to the level of antibiotic can survive
and multiply, thus increasing the number of microorganisms
resistant to the antibiotic in the population.
Eventually,
the population would be made up of resistant microorganisms
entirely.
Another danger is that this low-level exposure of
antibiotics
would sensitize animals, so that exposed animals would
be unable to tolerate larger doses later, when necessary to
treat an infection.
Drug-resistant microorganisms are becoming more and more
common. For example,
a number of staphylococcic bacteria
have developed resistance to penicillin.
An increasing
number of bacteria are resistant to aureomycin, terramycin,
and erythromycin.
Also, organisms that develop resistance
to one antibiotic may simultaneously develop resistance to
another. Continued
drug experimentation and testing are
needed as microorganisms develop resistance to drugs that
are currently effective.
As a general guideline, use of
antibiotics for less serious diseases should be avoided.
However, when antibiotics are used for therapeutic purposes
to treat sick animals, be certain to follow the
manufacturer's
recommendations.
Environmental Modification
Measures to control disease also may have unplanned and
undesirable environmental effects.
For example in Africa,
the disease trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) is spread by
the tsetse fly. To
get rid of the fly, trees and brush were
cleared to eliminate the moist shade used as a breeding
area. As a result,
shade-loving grasses and herbs were
replaced by poorer quality grasses.
In this case, the
tradeoff (getting rid of the tsetse fly) probably outweighed
the loss of grazing quality, but the example shows how
attempts to modify the environment may have unexpected
results.
THE BREEDING PROGRAM
We have discussed how the genetic make-up of an animal
population may have a direct effect on herd health.
In many
countries, regional breeds can be found that are adapted to
the local climate, disease problems and livestock management
practices. These
breeds often have traits that should be
preserved, such as hardiness, longevity, feed utilization
efficiency and(or) desirable reproductive characteristics.
Breeding stock that has shown outstanding production in a
temperate zone may give disappointing results in the
tropics. Temperature
extremes can cause stress, resulting
in lower productivity.
Breeds developed for dairying and
the intensive beef industry are not necessarily the best
animals for other types of farming systems.
For example,
small farmers may be more satisfied with an animal that is
able to produce without costly supplemental feeding, rather
than one that produces milk in large volume.
Goals of an effective breeding program should reflect the
total management program and the local environment.
Appropriate
emphasis needs to be placed on reproductive ability,
climatic tolerance, longevity, feed efficiency, growth rate,
individual disease resistance, and overall production.
The
program will seek to eliminate defects such as infertility
and structural unsoundness.
After breeding goals are established, the process is begun
to cull animals that are unproductive, have defects, or
appear unthrifty.
The removal of unneeded and less
desirable animals also will reduce pressure on feed
resources.
Fertility
The fertility of animals is affected by climate,
physiological
condition, and nutritional status.
Improvement of
nutrition and reduction of temperature stress should
increase successful matings.
Breeding age is closely related to the level of feeding and
nutrition and can vary by as much as 50% depending on
whether animals are fed a balanced or an unbalanced diet.
This is influenced by regional climatic differences, and by
level of husbandry.
In Guatemala, researchers studied the viability of sperm
produced by imported bulls and rams and found that many of
the animals did not produce live sperm until two years after
importation. This
was attributed to lack of minerals.
Breeding Season
The period of sexual receptivity of the female is controlled
by physiological mechanisms.
Some species mate throughout
the year. Others
mate only throughout a season within the
year. In some types
of sheep, for example, the length of
the breeding season is
related to the severity of the
climate where the breed was developed.
In temperate zones,
where spring weather is severe, sheep that give birth in the
early part of the season often lose their lambs.
Thus
genetic pressure has served to shorten the season to a time
compatible with a mild lambing season.
If the breeding
season can be altered by livestock management practices,
animals with young will benefit from timing the birthing
period to coincide with the availability of large amounts of
high quality feed.
Selection of Stock
Selection and handling of males for breeding purposes is
often a difficult problem for the producer with limited
funds and a limited quantity of animals.
For example, one
livestock owner kept one male from a different female each
year. After his
animals were bred that year, he butchered
the male. His cost
for upkeep of the male was minimal, he
spent nothing on breeding fees, and he did not have to
handle a mature male over an entire year.
On the other
hand, genetic defects were perpetuated through the herd
because of the in-breeding.
Alternatively, he could have purchased a superior animal
from a top breeder and later sold that animal to purchase
another animal for the following year.
This procedure would
involve more time and expense.
It might not be as satisfactory
to a small farmer who is interested more in convenience
and minimum upkeep than total production.
A more satisfactory alternative might be for this farmer to
exchange male offspring each year with another small farmer,
and continue to butcher the animals at the end of the
breeding season. He
would lose the opportunity to test for
a good breeding male, but he would not have to deal with a
difficult animal through an entire year.
Herd sires can be
aggressive and protective of their herd.
In some cases, a producer may find it profitable to maintain
a superior male and charge breeding fees.
Several family
groups could cooperatively purchase and maintain a superior
male. The general
guideline is to adjust breeding systems
to the goals, skill, and resources of the livestock manager.
Artificial insemination might be considered if proper
facilities and trained technicians are available.
However,
in most small-scale production systems, such programs have
not been too successful because of a lack of management
expertise and the low fertility of animals fed a poor diet.
Management objectives that can be expected to improve the
breeding program include:
improving the nutritional status
of the animals, decreasing losses from disease, and culling
unproductive animals.
With these improvements, animal
fertility will increase and newborn animals will have a
greater chance of surviving.
ANIMAL CARE AND LOCAL CULTURES
The treatment an animal receives is in part a reflection of
the cultural influences on those who take care of the
animal. A system
that goes against local beliefs may be
unacceptable to that community.
Methods of livestock management must fit cultural beliefs.
For example, in some cultures a child is taught to care for
and respect animals in preparation for later assuming a
responsible role in the community.
A livestock management
program that plans for a gradual increase in responsibility
for the child is appropriate.
In other cultures, the child
is told not to talk to animals because, if they answer, the
world will end. In
this culture sheep dogs are not trained
to follow commands, because it would not be culturally
appropriate.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
* What are the
local sources for water?
* Are water
sources polluted or contaminated by disease
organisms?
* What are the
health problems of animals in the area?
What human
health problems may be the result of
livestock
management practices?
* Are there
diseases in the area that prevent or inhibit
the production
of certain kinds of livestock?
* How are these
diseases transmitted and what are their
life cycles?
Is there a way to break the cycle?
* What are the
local traditional beliefs about the origin
of disease and
specific diseases? Will proposed
management
practices conflict with these or other
cultural
beliefs?
* What effective
methods of disease control are currently
used?
* Are affordable
veterinary services available locally?
* What are local
animal breeding practices?
* Will the goals
of a new breeding program be compatible
with local
needs?
* Is artificial
insemination practical? Is it currently
used in the
region?
* Are livestock
managers cooperating in support of a
breeding program
or veterinary services? Would they
cooperate with
some management assistance?
Chapter VIII
AGRICULTURAL
SYSTEMS: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Effective livestock management systems must be integrated
into the total agricultural and social system.
The farming/pastoral
system should conserve and regenerate nutrients,
water, soil, and energy, and where possible, these should be
recycled through the system.
A well-planned integrated
system protects the air and water from contamination,
shelters vegetative cover against damage and irreversible
alteration, and prevents exposure of the soil to wind and
water erosion.
In a stable system, specific livestock food requirements
match food availability.
The crops grown are adapted to
soil conditions and the animals and crops fit local needs,
labor availability, and marketing possibilities.
Several
different activities spread the labor requirements evenly
through the seasons.
LEVELS OF INTEGRATION
Progressive levels of integration depend upon the amount of
interaction with other parts of the system.
For example, on
a simple level animals might eat grass on land unsuited for
farming. On another
level animals can help transport crops
to markets. On a
higher level residues from crop production
can be fed to farm animals.
Beyond that, animals can
harvest leftover crop residue in the field or orchard.
A major consideration in the integration of livestock into
the farming system is the availability of labor.
In many
small farm systems, labor is scarce during certain seasons.
An animal project that competes for labor during this time
has little chance for success.
In addition, livestock production
may demand greater management skills for a reasonable
return on money, labor, and land investment.
New
skills may have to be learned.
Both in the introduction of livestock and the maintenance of
the system, timing becomes a factor.
For example, the
introduction of a project should coincide with a period when
other labor demands are low.
Also, seasonal variations in
disease cycles, climate, and crops need to be considered.
Improvements in one part of the system may cause a problem
in another part. For
example, rice straw from some of the
new varieties of rice have lower nutritive value.
Animals
fed this straw will need additional supplementary feeding.
Some new maize varieties have tougher stalks to resist corn
borers. These
varieties are shorter and therefore produce
less fodder. The
stalks also have a higher content of
lignin, a substance that adds stiffness and rigidity to cell
walls that makes them less digestible by animals.
The following are examples of existing integrated
crop-livestock
systems.
In Taiwan, rice is grown on terraces with separate areas
designated for fruit, tea, and vegetable gardens.
Milk cows
are kept in stables above the gardens, so that their liquid
manure flows down to the gardens.
In coastal regions of Asia, farmers grow coconuts, cassava,
cacao, and rice.
They feed coconut by-products to pigs, and
fish scraps to ducks.
Cattle and goats graze under the
coconut palms and on the slopes of near-by hills.
In fertile soils, farmers grow rice, maize, wheat, sorghum,
and beans. The rice
is milled at the village-level and by-products
are fed to animals.
Farmers may have swine,
poultry, cows, buffalo, sheep, or goats.
The cattle are
used to plow and transport crops, and are tethered at
night. The swine are
tethered or penned. Rice and grass
are fed to swine, which are a source of additional income.
Manure is collected and composted with crop residues.
Old
draft animals may be sold for meat.
The ducks glean the
rice paddies after the harvest, and also eat insects and
weeds. Poultry meat
and eggs are eaten by the family or
sold to other community members.
WILD ANIMALS IN THE FARMING SYSTEM
In less developed areas, wild animals may be an important
source for meat and other products.
Expansion of domestic
livestock enterprises may result in the reduction of habitat
for wild species.
Farmers may exterminate wild species that
act as a disease reservoir or as pests.
On the other hand,
wild animals may complement domestic species by eating
different plants, existing where domestic species cannot
survive, and requiring little labor except hunting at the
time of harvest. A
farming system that makes room for and
finds advantage in the preservation of wild species
contributes
to the ecological balance and preserves the legacy of
the natural ecosystem.
Some researchers claim that, in Africa, after man cleared,
fenced, plowed, seeded pasture and introduced cattle, total
meat production fell to 1/60th the natural level.
The
reason, they say, is that local animals, by their varied
food needs and other habits, were more adapted to the local
environment.
Those who believe there may be potential for wild animals as
a complement to livestock in the farming system have shown
interest in the eland as well as other wild ruminants in
Africa. The eland
thrives in droughty areas unfit for
cattle, staying in the shade during the day and feeding at
night to avoid the hot sun.
Preliminary studies indicate
that the eland can go without drinking water by taking
advantage of the higher moisture content of plants at night;
they also can digest plants that would be poisonous to
cattle. Although
they do not seem to be a replacement for
common species of livestock, elands are being used as game
animals on game ranches.
On ranches in the Amazon Basin of South America, the
capybara is a valuable wild species.
The capybara, or
carpincho, is the largest living rodent, about the size of a
sheep. Adults weigh
up to 73 kilograms (160 pounds). They
live near water in the savannahs, an area with severe dry
and wet seasons, and swim well, submerging up to 10 minutes
at a time. They eat
grass and aquatic plants but sometimes
raid grain fields.
Studies have shown that capybaras are more efficient at
converting grass to protein than are sheep or rabbits.
They
live in social groups of up to 20 animals.
Females are
ready to breed at 15 months of age, producing three litters
every two years, with an average of four young per litter.
In the dry season, capybaras gather around the water holes.
It is at this time that ranchers in Venezuela can round them
up like cattle. The
meat is fried and salted, selling in
cities at the same price as beef.
It tastes like a combination
of beef and pork.
The value of the wild capybara
within the farming system means that it may be given the
chance to survive along with domesticated livestock and even
be given some measure of protection.
Wild iguanas have long been highly prized as stew meat and
boiled iguana eggs are a delicacy.
As the forest is cleared
for pasture, however, the wild iguana's habitat is
destroyed.
At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Station in
Panama, researchers have developed a way of artificially
incubating and hatching iguana eggs and 60 of these animals
can be raised to maturity in an enclosure 11 meters square.
They eat tree leaves with an efficiency comparable to
cattle. If iguanas
can be raised in captivity, there may be
less danger for those that remain in the wild.
It also
means that if their natural habitat is totally destroyed,
they may still exist in the region as a semi-domesticated
species.
AGROFORESTRY
As land is cleared for crops and pastures, villagers cut the
few remaining trees for firewood.
As goats nibble the
remaining sprouts and seedlings, the land is exposed to wind
and rain. Soil is
washed away and the land becomes a
desert. Halting this
process requires the integration of
forest or grassland tree habitat with livestock and other
agricultural needs.
The concept of multiple-use of land for tree, livestock, and
crop production is often called agroforestry.
A well-integrated
agroforestry system is sustainable and regenerative.
The system increases the overall yield of the land.
It makes best use of resources while protecting against
environmental degradation.
Trees modify light, heat, litter accumulation, and moisture
at the soil surface, and thus have an effect on forage
production. Trees
provide shade for animals and also serve
as windbreaks. They
protect the soil from temperature
extremes and bring nutrients up from underground, later to
be deposited at the soil surface.
The use of trees in a
farming system make possible two-story or even three-story
agriculture, creating a simulation of the natural tropical
rain forest or other local ecosystem.
<FIGURE>
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A further integration receiving limited attention by
agricultural
researchers is the use of perennial tree crops to
replace annual plants in the production of feed supplements
for animals. This
idea was well described in the book Tree
Crops, A More Permanent Agriculture by J. Russell Smith,
listed in the bibliography at the end of this book.
Tree
crops can provide forage, firewood, and nutrient-rich nuts
and seeds. In
addition, legumes such as Leucaena glauca are
nitrogen fixers, and add nitrogen availability to the soil.
The practice of alley cropping is growing rows of trees
intermittently between bands of crops.
This serves several
purposes. The leaves
provide forage, organic matter for the
soil, or material for mulching.
The wood provides fuel or
construction material.
Grains are annual plants.
Each year the farmer must plow
the field to plant the crop, exposing the top soil to
erosion. The crop
depends on total rainfall and weather
patterns of a short season for grain production.
Trees, on
the other hand, can produce crops when annuals fail.
Their
deep roots find moisture far below the surface.
Trees can
grow on steep hillsides where plowing is difficult or
impractical .
In 1972 it was estimated that there were as many as 30,000
people working full-time cutting down the Amazonian rain
forest. At the same
time, agricultural researchers were
advising against widespread conversion of forests to
pastures or single-crop use.
They recommended more emphasis
on tree crops -- for example, rubber, cacao, fruits, pepper,
and guarana (a tree berry used in medicine and soft drinks).
Tree crops are particularly difficult research topics:
* Long
reproduction cycles from seedling to tree production
slow breeding
experiments.
* Establishment of
tree-crop research projects requires
considerable
time, labor and land.
* Long-term
research projects may be abandoned as
funding,
personnel, and research interests change.
* Survival of tree
seedlings may be threatened by
droughts,
grazing animals and grasses competing for
limited soil
moisture.
Although finding or developing tree crop systems adapted to
the local environment is complicated, various agroforestry
systems are now being developed throughout the tropical and
temperate regions.
For example, in Colombia, cattle graze
on Kikuyu grass under alder trees that fix nitrogen and
increase total forage production of the pasture.
In Paraguay, farmers leave Mbocaya palms in pastures.
The
coconuts are sold to manufacturers of soap and oil, and the
coconut pulp is used for animal feed.
Plants that spring up
in the pasture are allowed to grow with appropriate spacing.
In Peru, waste water is used to grow the algorrobo tree, a
legume. The pods of
the algorrobo are used for cattle feed
and the wood for charcoal.
In desert regions, Prosopis
leaves and pods are relished by sheep and goats.
Under
favorable conditions, the trees will produce as much as 50
tons of pods per hectare.
The Prosopis pods are considered
nutritionally superior to corn.
Forestry and agriculture traditionally have been considered
separate areas of study, concentrating on lumber and food
production, respectively.
Combinations of these two land
uses, however, has been practiced traditionally in many
parts of the world where local people have been more aware
of integration possibilities than technically trained
personnel. Pressure
for multidisciplinary study on an
academic level has increased only recently, as forest
technicians admit that the rate of forest harvesting is
exceeding regeneration and as agriculturalists look to
forest lands to reduce the demand on limited land resources.
Benefits from tree/pasture systems are now being studied.
For example, research has shown that plants grown beneath
the rain-tree, Pithecolobium saman, have greater nutritive
value than the same plants grown in the open.
Satisfactory development of agroforestry systems will depend
more on increased understanding of environmental
interactions
than on mechanical manipulation or other high-energy
management practices.
Although livestock can protect tree
crop areas from fire by altering the vegetative structure
and can eliminate low-value species and harvest crop
residues to help reduce tree pest problems, they also can
overgraze the area, eat valuable young seedlings, and expose
the soil to erosion.
Goats can stunt growth or kill young
trees by stripping the bark, but they also are useful for
removing underbrush.
Cattle are considered less of a threat
to the forest, whereas pigs will eat young seedlings and
uproot the floor of the forest.
Domestic animals allowed to
graze forest lands will replace the wild species that use
the same food sources.
Some agroforestry management practices for livestock are
similar to those used in a pasture or range management
system:
* Stocking levels
should be low enough to allow sufficient
plant regrowth.
* Animals should
be kept out of the area during the first
period of new
growth.
* Uniform use can
be encouraged by constructing fences
and making
trails.
* Use of areas
should be rotated to give plants a chance
to regenerate.
* Exposure of the
soil surface by overgrazing should be
avoided.
* As another
option, animals may be kept in pens and the
forage brought
to them.
* Careful
placement of salt and water sources will help
distribute
animals.
Agroforestry concepts may be applied to natural forest,
combination
tree-pasture lands, or to artificially established
plantations. The
planner may choose to select species
already existing in natural stands and progressively
eliminate
those species that appear to have little value.
We
know little about the myriad interactions that occur in the
tropical forest; thus we must plan carefully to prevent
mistakes such as those in a recent attempt to grow
Brazil-nut
trees in groves. The
trees grew, but failed to produce
nuts because pollinating insects preferred trees distant
from the plantation.
Suitable trees to retain or introduce should:
* grow well in the
local environment
* resist disease
and insect pests
* grow quickly
* withstand
browsing by sprouting readily
* have forage with
high nutrient value
* have no toxicity
problems
* be acceptable
culturally
Stocking rates can affect regeneration of tree seedlings in
several ways. For
example, goats and cattle, and elephants
spread the seed of various leguminous trees through their
droppings. When
manure containing these seeds is applied to
cropland, seedlings will sprout.
Trees will not become
reestablished in heavily stocked pastures, because the young
seedlings are relished by many livestock species.
Seedlings
that escape grazing pressure for three to four years may be
able to survive.
Vegetative changes might be made with little change in labor
requirements, if, for example, animals are rotated daily
between tree areas and other areas during periods of pod
drop. Where trees
are to be established, animals need to be
kept out while seedlings are becoming established.
Grazing
pressure could increase as the trees matured or to assist
with thinning.
Better survival rates are achieved if tree seedlings are
given care, such as weeding and watering, during the first
few years after they are planted.
Because immediate returns
are not expected, however, tree plantings are often ignored
when other crops and livestock demand attention.
Thus the
trees fail to grow and farmers are hesitant to try again.
If annual crops are planted between the rows of trees, the
trees may have a better chance of survival.
Cultivation of
the annual crop will reduce weed and grass competition, and
the trees receive more attention because the farmer visits
the field more often.
He also makes sure that livestock are
kept away from the area.
<FIGURE>
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Tree crop researchers may focus on the kinds of trees to
use, light requirements for growth, tree spacing, and
combinations
of trees which work well together.
Researchers also
are concerned with interactions between livestock, trees,
ground cover and wildlife in order to determine how to
integrate agroforestry and tree crops into the total farm
system.
At the local level, or in nearby regions, the planner can
identify potentially useful tree species and agroforestry
practices as well as land that might be used for
experimentation.
Data gathered through several years observation of
forest and livestock interaction are of value in designing
future projects.
Agroforestry is not a quick-fix technology and requires
commitment from all concerned -- planners, producers, and
policy-makers -- who must have some faith in the
possibilities for success and the perseverance to continue
the project.
AQUACULTURE
Aquaculture is defined as the raising of fish and other
fresh- and salt-water organisms for use in the agricultural
system. An
aquaculture system reclaims agricultural wastes,
while producing food for humans.
Aquaculture ponds, for
example, may benefit from animal wastes or sludge from a
biogas digester.
Nutrients in the waste stimulate the growth
of algae that, in turn, will be eaten by small aquatic
organisms that eventually are eaten by fish.
Usually,
several kinds of fish are stocked, each eating different
plants or microorganisms produced.
Pond water also can be
used to irrigate and fertilize fields.
In Malaysia, pig pens are located next to ponds.
Water
flushed through the pens washes the manure into ponds, which
are stocked with tilapia and Chinese carp.
The fish eat the
algae and insects that grow and thrive in the manure.
In
addition, a fast-growing water plant is harvested from the
pond and fed to the pigs.
Sometimes pigs are kept in pens
right over the water.
In other areas, ducks are part of the aquaculture system.
The ducks scavenge part of their food, eating water plants
and small fish. The
ducks are fed on platforms over the
water so that scattered feed falls into the water and is not
wasted.
Aquaculture practices focus on producing fish with the least
amount of labor and feed input.
Some of the fish commonly
used are tilapia, and silver, black, common, and mud carp.
Introduction of aquacultural techniques has been
disappointing
when planners have failed to consider the effect of
lower water temperatures on fish production.
In areas where
water-borne diseases are a problem, aquacultural systems
should involve practices which break the disease cycle.
Other ideas related to livestock management currently in
experimental phases are increasing the variety of products
utilizing the by-products of livestock.
Genetic engineering
aimed at improving breeds and crossbreeds has introduced
embryo transplants.
GUIDELINES FOR INTEGRATION
Agroforestry and aquaculture are introduced here as examples
of interacting livestock production with other parts of the
agricultual system.
The following guidelines may assist in
promoting further integration:
* Examine existing
levels of integration.
* Minimize labor
input.
* Maximize
recycling of wastes.
* Break disease
and parasite cycles in ways that do not
pollute the
environment.
* Design farm
layout to encourage links between farm
systems.
PLANNING QUESTIONS
* How do local
types of vegetation fit into the total
farming system?
* What are current
livestock production systems?
* What are the
seasonal variations in labor requirements
of present
systems?
* How is labor
divided among members of the family and
community?
*
Are livestock integrated into the total farm
system?
How?
* In what ways
could they be further integrated?
* Would a new
livestock type increase integration?
* How can the
preservation of wild species be made compatible
with an improved
farming system?
* Is agroforestry
practiced already to some extent in
surrounding
areas? What lessons can be learned from
these practices?
* What wild plants
and animals are or could be important
to the local
population as a source of food or other
benefit?
Would they be useful in an agroforestry
system?
* How can
improvements in agricultural practices be
introduced
without damage to biotic communities?
Are
there practices
that can be introduced that might help
preserve biotic
communities?
* Is land
available on a long-term basis for experimentation
and
demonstration?
* What successful
aquacultural methods are used in the
area or under
similar conditions?
* How will proposed
alterations in farming systems affect
community health
and nutrition?
Chapter IX
MAKING
THE PLAN WORK
Earlier chapters have considered the first steps in
planning: collecting
information, generating community
participation, and considering certain environmental and
social guidelines.
Study of each chapter and answering of
the accompanying questions should he useful in identifying
many of the technical, economic, social, and environmental
factors that limit the success of a project.
Community
members and planners work together to define their local
needs and the issues concerning these needs.
IDENTIFICATION OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The community participants must identify those needs with
the highest priority.
A project with objectives that
addresses these needs can then be formulated.
Objectives
should be clearly defined, measurable, and feasible.
An
objective should indicate what is to be achieved, when it
will be completed, and how success will be measured.
The
objective should state actual numbers, such as, the number
of livestock involved, the amount of livestock products to
be produced, the number of wells to be constructed, land
area involved, and so forth.
Here is an example of a
measurable objective:
By the end of
the second year, all members of the 25
participating
households in the community of Toma will
have diets that
satisfy the daily minimum requirement
for protein as
established by the National Nutrition
Board.
This objective states what is to be achieved and when the
objective will be reached.
It gives us a measure by which
to judge achievement of the objective.
A valuable outcome
of stating objectives is the clarification of information
needs. When
objectives are clearly stated, project planners
can more easily determine the kind of information that must
be collected. For
instance, with this objective, planners
would need to make quantitative assessments of family diets
both now and two years from now in order to evaluate
achievement of the objective.
Planners might also decide to
monitor seasonal variations in diet and family eating
patterns. Other
important questions also may become
apparent. For
example, do children eat the same foods as
adults? Will an increase
in food availability ensure an
improvement in diet, or will cultural restrictions or
dietary habits limit food innovations?
Notice that the objective does not say exactly how the
project goal will be accomplished.
Once project objectives
are clearly established, then ways to reach these objectives
can be considered.
It may be easier to develop objectives if the planner first
answers each of the following questions.
* What is the long
range goal? (example, increase income,
improve health)
* Who will be
responsible for moving toward that goal?
* Are these the
same people that will benefit from the
project?
* How can steps
toward goal achievement be measured?
* What results
would indicate that the goal was reached?
* In what time
frame can these results be expected?
* Over what
geographical area will the project extend?
If planners answer all these questions, they should be ready
to combine these answers into one or more coherent
objectives.
DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS
Once objectives are defined, planners and members of the
community can decide on alternative methods to reach these
objectives. At this
stage, planners can make use of
assistance from people with specialized knowledge of various
aspects of livestock management.
Informed and constructive
opinions are always helpful in reaching decisions.
For each alternative proposed, predictions should be made as
to probable impacts, both negative and positive, of the
proposed activity.
Choices often involve trade-offs; a
choice that has strong positive benefits may also have
negative effects.
For this reason, the costs and benefits
of each alternative are often compared with each other,
using a standardized format.
This is called a cost-benefit
analysis. The
Ecological Mini-Guidelines included in the
appendices of this book also can be used as a format for
analyzing trade-offs for small projects.
This format emphasizes
ecological impact, but also considers socioeconomic,
cultural and technical factors.
The weights and the measurement scale of the mini-guidelines
are given for illustrative purposes.
The weighting system
is determined through a well-defined process.
Sometimes the
process of attaching weights to the costs and benefits is
the most informative part of the cost-benefit exercise.
It
is anticipated that the variables listed in this sample
would be adapted to make them appropriate for the project
being planned.
IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT
After alternative designs have been examined, the sequential
steps needed to put the plan into action should be finalized
and a tentative timeline established with the help of
community or livestock managers.
Meeting the objectives of
the project depends in part, upon continuous community
participation, development of local leadership, and
consideration
of community dynamics.
A plan that is adapted to
the local environment should highlight local materials and
local expertise. It
also should include training in new
management methods and other skills needed for project
realization, while taking advantage of local knowledge of
the environment.
Many case studies show that herdsmen and their families have
a good understanding of the needs of their livestock in
their immediate environment.
Livestock husbandry techniques
are highly site-specific and local people usually have
developed practices that take into account the local
climate, topography, available feed, and vegetation, as well
as diseases and pests.
For instance, in the Sahel of West
Africa, during the drought of the late 60s and 70s, herdsmen
frequently moved cattle into the tsetse fly zone, risking
the effects of trypanosomiasis as they sought to reach
available forage.
Cattle were moved at night, when the
tsetse flies were not active and during the day they were
herded into pole corrals, where smoky brush fires rid them
of flies. The cattle
and herders avoided the tsetse fly,
and the more brush they cut and burned, the more they
reduced the tsetse fly habitat.
Training Programs
When planners know local practices, they can determine what
training is needed.
For example, training is essential when
larger or more complex systems are planned, when new animals
or forage crops are to be introduced, or when new methods
are to be adopted.
In every community some farmers or livestock
producers are more innovative, more productive, and
(or) more tolerant of change than others in the community.
These producers consistently increase yields and are usually
well-known or easily identified.
If such people are given
special training, they can help in the training of other
members of the community and can demonstrate project
benefits.
Funding
Funding of projects can be critical.
Small farmers usually
have few resources and little money or time to invest in a
new enterprise. They
may be reluctant to enter a loan
agreement in an untried venture.
However, the more sustainable
projects are those in which the beneficiaries have made
some sacrifice such as a loan, or reducing consumption.
Financial assistance sometimes may be needed from the local
community, government, or other organizations.
In some
projects, animals are loaned to participants with the
agreement
that the animals will be returned after offspring are
obtained. In other
programs, animals are given to one
family that, in turn, gives a first-born young animal to new
participants.
MONITORING THE PROJECT
Plans for monitoring the project should be part of the
original design.
When project managers monitor results
systematically, they may find unexpected or negative impacts
and modifications of project design can be made.
Because environmental and human interactions are complex,
all project effects cannot be predicted and changes may not
be immediately apparent.
Therefore, it is important to
continue to monitor the project in operation to observe both
expected and unexpected results.
Planners may want to monitor effects on vegetation, water
quality, soil fertility, land use, diet and cultural
practices.
Such data also will help to identify maintenance
procedures that will ensure project continuation.
PROJECT EVALUATION
A project plan should outline the evaluation methods to be
used, and ensure that the evaluation is carried out.
Too
often this process is ignored, especially when the project
may not appear to be achieving its objectives.
However,
project evaluation is important for all who were involved in
a project. Every
project involves a certain amount of risk
for project participants.
In the event of project failure,
these participants must not be abandoned by planners or they
will hesitate to try any future projects.
Evaluation must be a joint effort of planners and community
members. Outside
evaluators may add fresh insight or see
solutions to problems overlooked by those close to the
project. However,
they also may judge the project from
their own value system that may not fit project purposes.
Evaluators observe and measure how well objectives have been
achieved. They
determine if there also have been other
expected or unexpected benefits.
They investigate the
causes of success and failure to help future planners
improve project designs.
Evaluations are especially helpful if the project methods
have been experimental, with no past history of success or
failure in a similar environment.
Also, planners and
project managers should exchange information with those in
nearby regions in order to compare methods and results.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
* Are project
objectives measurable and realistic?
* Are they
compatible with community needs?
* Were community
members involved in establishment of
project
objectives?
* Was a
cost-benefit analysis which includes an environmental
analysis used to
determine the best project
design to achieve
objectives?
* Is an effective
technical assistance and training
program
integrated into the project design?
* What assistance
can be provided by financial, governmental,
and other
institutions or groups?
* Is there a
reasonable plan to monitor and evaluate the
project?
APPENDIX A
ECOLOGICAL MINI-GUIDELINES FOR
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
The following short-form version of the CILSS/Club du Sahel
Ecologic Guidelines has been developed to meet the needs of
development workers at the community level.
The original
version is available at cost from the CODEL Office,
Environment,
and Development Program.
This paper is a response
prepared by Fred R. Weber as a result of discussions with
private development assistance agencies at CODEL workshops
on Environment and Development.
In its basic form, the guidelines presented will permit
analysis of proposed activities and a design that will
minimize
negative impacts. It
is designed for small-scale
projects under $250,000.
The Mini-Guidelines is being circulated
to PVOs to invite reaction and response.
It is
hoped agencies will try out the Mini-Guidelines in the field
and report back on the experience.
Responses should be
addressed to Mini-Guidelines, Environment and Development
Program, CODEL, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1842, New York,
New York 10115, U.S.S.
All communications will be forwarded
to Fred Weber.
The general approach is the same as for the complete
CILSS/Club
du Sahel Ecologic Guidelines.
Methods and procedure,
however, have been condensed in a form that is less time
consuming and can be carried out by project design personnel
not formally trained or experienced in environmental
analysis.
INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDELINES
Begin with any project in the community development area:
wells construction, school gardens, poultry raising, village
woodlots, access roads, and so forth.
Any community
activity will, in one form or another, affect the
environment
somehow. Especially
if "environment" is regarded in
its broadest form, not only the physical aspects are
affected but also health, economics, social and cultural
components.
The objective of this exercise is to try to predict as far
as possible, the various impacts the proposed activity will
have in both negative and positive terms.
A project
normally is designed with specific results in mind.
An
attempt is made to provide well-defined,
"targeted" inputs
to bring about some improvement to the people in the field.
What is less clear is the nature and extent of incidental
consequences these activities might bring about that are
less desirable, in fact often adverse or negative.
In reality, more often than not, the good will have to be
taken with some bad.
Choices often involve trade-offs.
The
trick then consists of developing a system where these
trade-offs ultimately are as favorable as possible in terms
of the people involved.
INSTRUCTIONS
To identify areas where possible adverse effects may occur,
the basic question that should always be asked, is:
How Will Proposed
Project Activities Affect ?
If we insert in this question the components that together
make up the environment, we will get answers (and possible
warning flags) for those situations where otherwise negative
consequences "inadvertently" may result.
Explanation of Columns
In the table on page 140, ask yourself the basic question
for each of the 18 lines (described below) and assign the
following values in Column 3.
Very positive,
clear and decisive positive impact +2
Some, but
limited positive impact
+1
No effect, not
applicable, no impact 0
Some definite,
but limited negative impact1 -1
Very specific or
extensive negative impact -2
A brief explanation of the factors in columns 1 and 2
follows:
Surface water --
runoff: peak and yields.
How does the
project activity
affect runoff? How does it affect the
peaks (flood
discharges)? How does it affect the
amount of water
that will flow (yield)?
Groundwater --
Its quantity, recharge rates, etc.
Also, does the
project alter its chemical composition?
Vegetation --
Accent on natural vegetation. Will
natural cover be
reduced (bad) or increased (good)?
How will natural
regeneration be affected? Will there
be additional
(or fewer) demands on trees, bushes,
grass, etc.?
]Soils -- Will
the project increase or drain soil
fertility?
Where land surfaces are affected by the
project, is
"optimal" land use affected favorably or
adversely?
Will erosion be more or less likely?
Other -- Basic
questions dealing with improvement or
deterioration of
factors such as wildlife, fisheries,
natural
features. Also does the project follow
some
existing overall
natural resource management plan?
Food -- Will
people have more food and/or a more
complete diet?
Disease vectors
-- A very important point and one that
is often overlooked:
Will the project create more
standing
water? Will the project increase (or
create)
fast flowing
water? How will it affect existing
water
courses?
Population
density -- How much will population density
increase as a
result of the activities? What
contamination
conditions will
be altered? How?
Will more
Health Care
Services be required?
Other -- Toxic
chemical, exposure to animal borne
diseases, etc.
Agricultural
productivity -- Per capita food production
(staples or cash
crops), yields.
Volume of goods
or services -- Will the project provide
more goods
(food, firewood, water, etc.) or less?
Common resources
-- (Water, pasture, trees, etc.) Will
the project
require people to use more or less water,
pastures,
etc.? Will it eliminate any of these
resources now
available? Will it restrict access to
these resources?
Project
equitability -- How are benefits distributed?
Who will profit
form these activities? Special
segments of the
population? How "fairly" will
the
benefits be
shared?
Government
services, administration -- Will the project
demand more
work, "coverage" of government services?
Will it cause an
additional load on the administration:
more people,
recurrent costs, etc.?
Education and
training -- How will it affect existing
education/training facilities?
Strain or support? Or
will it provide
alternatives? What about traditional
learning (bush
schools, etc.)?
Community
Development -- Will it encourage it, or will
it affect
already on-going efforts? If so, is
this
good or bad?
Traditional land
use -- Will it restrict existing use,
harvesting,
grazing patterns? Many projects promote
"better" land use but at the (social) cost of someone
or some group
being restricted from using land, vegetation,
water the way
they have been used to.
Energy -- How
will the project affect the demand for
(or supply of)
firewood? Will it increase the
dependency
on fossil fuels?
Column 4: The
content of this column is an arbitrary number
based on experience.
Column 5: Choose an
adjustment factor between 1.0 and 5.0
depending on whether a large number of people and/or large
areas are affected.
If a large segment of the population is
affected (say: over
1,000,people), use a factor of 2.5. If
1,000 ha or more are involved, use 2.5 also.
If both large
numbers of people and extensive area are affected, combine
the two: use up to
5.0. Never use a factor less than 1.0.
Column 6: Compute
the adjusted score by multiplying columns
3, 4, and 5. Enter
result in column 6. Make sure to carry
forward the positive and negative signs.
In Column 7: List
all impacts that are positive.
In Column 8: List
all impacts that are negative.
Now take another look at column 8.
Here you'll find a
summary of the negative aspects of your proposed activity.
Beginning with the largest values (scores), determine what
measures you can incorporate into your project, what
alternate
approaches can be followed to reduce these negative
values, one by one.
This may not always be possible, but
try to modify your plans so that the sum of all negative
impacts will be as small as possible.
(Tabulate the new, improved scores in Column 10.)
Modify, adjust, and redesign your project so that the total
of all "negative impacts" is as small as
possible. This is
the essence of "ecologically sound project
design."
<FIGURE>
04p140.gif (600x600)
APPENDIX B
SERVICES
AVAILABLE FROM HEIFER PROJECT INTERNATIONAL
AND WINROCK INTERNATIONAL
Heifer Project International provides the following
services:
* resources for
livestock projects
* technical
assistance
* training,
including the Institute on Livestock in
Development, a
week-long workshop
* information
including responses to particular
questions; a
newsletter with technical information; and
manuals Raising Goats for Milk and Meat and
a Planning
Guide for
Small-Scale Livestock Projects
Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development
provides:
* technical
expertise -- animal health, nutrition,
breeding,
management, facilities, marketing, forage
supplies,
production economics
* factsheets and
other publications on animal agriculture
* a bibliographic
database of over 15,000 entries in
eight categories
of animal agriculture
* an information service
to answer technical queries
about crop and
animal agriculture
* specialized
services in data collection, research
designs,
feasibility studies, germplasm evaluation,
mating system
design, designs for agroforestry, and
range management
programs
* technical
library services, commercial bibliographic
searches,
agricultural policy, and communication
networks
* short-term
applied training opportunities
* project proposal
development and project implementation
backstopping
APPENDIX C
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The last item in each entry indicates the source from which
each book and pamphlet may be ordered.
The address for each
source follows this listing.
GENERAL
Aaker, J. & A. Schmidt.
1981. Evaluation Manual for
Livestock
Projects, Heifer
Project International.
Breth, S. A. (ed.).
1985. Science and Farmers in the
Developing
World: Five Essays.
Winrock International.
Ensminger, M. E. 1978.
The Stockman's Handbook.
Interstate
Press.
Hayes, V. W.
1985. Antibiotics for
Animals. In:
Science
of Food and
Agriculture. Council for Agricultural
Science and
Technology.
McDowell, R. E., 1972, Improvement of Livestock Production
in Warm Climates.
Freeman.
Webster, C. C. and P. N. Wilson.
1980. Agriculture in the
Tropics (2nd
ed.). Longman Group, Ltd.
Williamson, G. and W. Payne.
1978. An Introduction to
Animal Husbandry
in the Tropics. (3rd ed.).
Longman
Group, Ltd.
ANIMAL POWER
Davis, R. and M. Charkroff.
1981. Animal Traction.
Manual
M-12. Peace Corps.
BEES
Clauss, B. n.d. Bee
Keepinq Handbook, Agricultural Information
Service
(Botswana).
Gentry, C. 19
.
Small Scale Beekeeping, Manual M-17.
Peace Corps.
Spense, J. D. n.d.
La Apicultura: Guia
Practica. Heifer
Project
International.
BIOGAS
van Buren, A. (ed.).
1979. A Chinese Biogas Manual.
Intermediate
Technology Publications.
CATTLE
Animal Production Research Unit.
1979. Beef Production and
Range Management
in Botswana. Botswana Agricultural
Information
Service.
Aagaard, S. E. 1978.
Utunzaji wa Ngombe wa Maziwa (Raising
Dairy
Cattle). Heifer Project International.
Gingerich, K. n.d.
Manual Practico de Ganaderia Tropical.
Heifer Project
International.
Ministry of Livestock Development.
1983. Zero Grazing, A
Guide to
Extension Workers. Kenya Agricultural
Information
Centre.
National Dairy Research Institute. n.d.
Dairy Handbook,
Vol. 1 -
Production; Vol. 2 - Processing. India
National Dairy
Research Institute.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
Rugh, J. 1985. Self
Evaluation: Ideas for Participatory
Evaluation of
Rural Development Projects. World
Neighbors.
Vukasin, H. 1985.
"People's Participation in Community
Development: Some Constraints
and Some Strategies with
Case
Examples." CODEL. (unpublished
paper)
FARMING SYSTEMS
Smith, J. R. 1950.
Tree Crops, A Permanent Agriculture.
Devin Adair
Publishers.
Whyte, W. F. and D. Boynton.
1983. Higher Yielding
Human
Systems for
Agriculture. Cornell University Press.
Harwood, R. R. 1979.
Small Farm Development:
Understanding
and Improving
Farming Systems in the Humid
Tropics.
Westview Press.
GOATS
Belanger, J. 1975.
Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way,
Garden Way.
Child, R. D., H. F. Heady, W. C. Hickey, R. A. Peterson, and
R. D.
Piper. 1984.
Arid and Semiarid Lands:
Sustainable
Use and
Management in Developing Countries.
Winrock
International .
FAO. 1983.
Self-Learning Manual in Dairy Goat
Production.
Food and
Agricultural Organization.
Guss, S. 1977.
Management and Diseases of Dairy Goats,
Dairy Goat
Journal.
Sands, M. and R. McDowell.
1978. The Potential of the Goat
for Milk
Production in the Tropics. Cornell
University.
Sinn, R. 1984.
Raising Goats for Milk and Meat.
Heifer
Project
International.
Thedford, T. R..
1983. Goat Health Handbook,
Winrock International.
PASTURE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT
Anon. 1975.
Better Pastures for the Tropics.
Arthur Yates
and Co.
Seeds.
Child, R. D. and E. Byington (eds.).
1981.
Potential of
the Worlds
Forages for Ruminant Animal Production (2nd
ed.).
Winrock International.
Humphreys, L. R.
1980. A Guide to Better Pastures
for the
Tropics and
Sub-Tropics. Wrigt Stephenson.
Humphreys, L. R. 1978.
Tropical Pastures and Fodder
Crops.
Longman Group, Ltd.
PIGS
Eusebio, J. A.
1980. Pig Production in the
Tropics,
Longman Group,
Ltd.
Family Farm Development Network.
1982. Swine Management
Calendar.
Heifer Project International.
Loon, D. V. 19
.
Small-Scale Pig Raising. Garden
Way.
POULTRY
French, K.
1982. Practical Poultry
Raising. Manual M-11.
Peace Corps.
Holderread, D.
1980. The Home Duck Flock, The
Hen House.
Mercia, L.
1975. Raising Poultry the Modern
Way, Garden
Way.
Agala, B. and J. E. Diamond.
1982. Poultry Production
Task
Sheets. Pennsylvania State University.
RABBITS
Attfield, H. D.
1977. Raising Rabbits.
VITA.
Bennett, B.
1975. Raising Rabbits the Modern
Way. Garden
Way.
Cheeke, P. et al.
1982. Rabbit Production.
Rabbit
Research Institute.
Oregon State University.
Sicwaten, J. and D. Stahl.
1982. A Complete Handbook on
Backyard and
Commercial Rabbit Production.
CARE-Philippines.
Peace Corp
Reprint R-41.
SHEEP
Bishop, J.
1983. Prolific Hair Sheep.
Heifer Project
International.
Devendra, C. and G. B. McLeroy.
1982. Goat and Sheep
Production in
the Tropics. Longman Group Ltd.
Diamond, J. E.
1980. Sheep Production Task
Instruction
Sheets.
Pennsylvania State University.
Family Farm Development Network.
1982. Sheep Management
Calendar, Heifer
Project International.
Fitzhugh, H. A. and G. E. Bradford (eds.).
Hair Sheep of
Western
Africa. Westview Press.
Simmons, P.
1976. Raising Sheep the Modern
Way. Garden
Way.
Thedford, T. R.
1984. Sheep Health
Handbook. Winrock
International.
SOILS
Anon. 1972.
Soils of the Humid Tropics.
National Academy
of Science.
TRAINING
Botham, C. N.
1967. Audio-Visual Aids for
Cooperative
Education and
Training. FAO.
Bradfield, D.J.
1966. Guide to Extension
Training. FAO.
Ridenour, H. E.
1985. Trainer's
Guide to Livestock
Training
Program. Winrock International.
Bunch, R. 1982.
Two Ears of Corn.
World Neighbors.
Pett, D. W.
Audiovisual Communication Handbook.
World
Neighbors.
VETERINARY CARE
Hagnes, N. B. 1978.
Keeping Livestock Healthy: A
Veterinary
Guide.
Garden Way.
Hall, H. T. B.
1977. Diseases and Parasites of
Livestock
in the Tropics,
Longman Group, Ltd.
APPENDIX D
ADDRESSES
FOR REFERENCES
Agricultural Information Centre
Box 14733
Nairobi, Kenya
Agriculture Information Service
Private Bag 003
Gaborone,
Botswana
CODEL (Coordination in Development)
475 Riverside
Drive, Room 1842
New York, NY
10115, USA
Cornell University Press
714 Cascadilla
St.
Ithaca, NY
14851, USA
Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
P.O. Box 1550
I.S.U. Station
Ames, Iowa 50010
Department of Agricultural and Extension Education
Pennsylvania
State University
University Park,
PA 16802, USA
Department of Animal Science
New York State
College of Agriculture
Cornell
University
Ithaca, NY
14851, USA
Dairy Goat Journal
14415 N. 73rd
St.
Scottsdale, AZ
85251 USA
Devin Adair
143 Sound Beach
Ave.
Old Greenwich,
CT 06870, USA
FAO
Distribution and
Sales Section
Via delle Terme
di Caracalla, 00100
Rome, Italy
(FAO has local
distributors in many countries)
Freeman, W.H.
4419 W. 1980 S.
Salt Lake City,
UT 84100, USA
Garden Way Publishing Co.
Schoolhouse Rd.
RD 1, Box 105
Pownal, VT
05261, USA
Heifer Project International
Program
Department
P.O. Box 808
Little Rock, AR
72203, USA
The Hen House
Box 492
Corvallis, OR
97330, USA
Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd.
9 King Street
London WC2E 8HN,
Great Britain
Interstate
Jackson St.
Danville, IL
61832-0594, USA
Longman, Inc.
19 West 44th St.
New York, NY
10036, USA
National Academy of Sciences
Office of
Publications
2101
Constitution Ave.
Washington, DC
20418, USA
National Dairy Research Institute
Karnal-132001,
India
Peace Corps
Information
Collection and Exchange
806 Connecticut
Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC,
20525 USA
Rabbit Research Center
Oregon State
University
Corvallis, OR
97331, USA
VITA Volunteers In Technical Assistance
1600 Wilson
Boulevard
Suite 500
Arlington.
Virginia 22209 USA
Westview Press
5500 Central
Avenue
Boulder, CO
80301
Winrock International
Information
Services
Route 3
Morrilton, AR
72110, USA
World Neighbors
Development
Communication
5116 N. Portland
Ave.
Oklahoma City,
OK 73112
Wright Stephenson & Co.
117 Silverwater
Road
Silverwater, New
South Wales
2141, Australia
Yates Seeds
Box 117
Rockhampton
Queensland,
Australia
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