Livestock Feed Resources within Integrated Farming Systems
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Dear Participant,
Here is the second paper of the conference from Lylian
Rodriguez and TR Preston. Questions that might stimulate
discussion on this topic include:
1. Are there more examples of where indigenous breeds are
better adapted to local feed resources?
2. Are there further models of local crop-livestock-energy
systems adapted to local conditions?
3. Are there further examples of participatory development
which have led to the development of such systems (rather than
proposals such as 'milk improvment'as here)?
4. Does the approach described consititute progress in
research and extension of sustainable systems?
CD. RS. AWS. (moderators)
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Local feed resources and indigenous breeds: fundamental
issues in integrated farming systems
Lylian Rodr=A1guez J and T R Preston, University of
Agriculture & Forestry, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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Abstract
The tropics present great opportunities for sustainable
development thanks to the enormous cultural and biological
riches of these regions. The rational exploitation of local
feeds and local breeds of livestock will support much more
sustainable production systems in the medium and long term.
These have received insufficient attention in the past and
have not been considered seriously because of the introduction
of "exotic" systems based on high inputs, high technology and
"breeds of high genetic merit". As a result, local breeds of
pigs and cattle in many tropical countries have disappeared or
their population is decreasing drastically.
On-farm research has shown that small scale farmers in Vietnam
and in many parts of the tropical world continue to work with
local breeds because of their good adaptation to the
prevailing conditions. A project was carried out in two
villages in a rainfed hilly region in Central Vietnam,
involving the use of local Mong Cai pigs, local feeds
supplemented with duckweed, and plastic biodigesters to
produce energy for cooking and the nitrogen-rich effluent as
fertilizer for the ponds in which the aquatic plants were
grown. A study of the nutrition of Mong Cai, Large White and
crossbred pigs showed that the indigenous breed would eat
greater quantities of duckweed and use it more efficiently
than the exotic breed. Local sows fed duckweed were also more
prolific than exotic breeds on small farms with feed resources
of low nutrient density.
The studies were carried out with a participatory approach
which identified the importance of the local pigs and feed
resources and the enthusiastic adoption of the biodigester
technology and the production of duckweed based on the
fertilized ponds. The priorities of the farmers were
identified and a proposed intervention based on restricted
milking of local cattle abandoned because it was considered
too long term.
Parallel studies in Cambodia led to the development of pig
feeding based on juice from the sugar palm (Borassus
flabillifer) supplemented with boiled soya bean seed and water
spinach. Biodigesters were also integrated into the farm.
The various studies demonstrate that the appropriate use of
local feed resources and indigenous livestock breeds requires
the close integration between crops and livestock within the
system. The excreta is recycled on the farm to produce energy
and effluent used for fertilizer to produce protein
supplements for the livestock.
Key words: Local feed resources, on farm research, recycling,
biodigesters, genotype-environment interactions, indigenous
knowledge, local breeds, integrated farming systems
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Feed supply and population growth
There is a growing disparity between the expanding world
population and the earth's food producing capacity, the rate
of increase of which is less than the rate of population
growth. As a result, food supplies per capita are decreasing
(Brown and Kane 1994). However, an important issue here is the
role of livestock. As living standards rise, so does
consumption of livestock products. But the feeding systems to
produce these products, especially in the industrial
countries, use the same feed resources as are eaten by humans,
namely cereal grains and soya bean meal. It is estimated that
almost 50 % of the world grain supply is consumed by livestock
(FAO, 1993). It has been argued (Preston 1995) that if all the
world's grain production was reserved for human consumption
then there would be enough to feed the 10 billion inhabitants
at which point the world population is expected to stabilize.
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Alternatives to cereals as livestock feed
The strategy that is proposed is that not only are there many
alternatives to cereal grains as the basis of feeding systems
for livestock production but that many of these systems result
in a more efficient and sustainable use of natural renewable
resources. The first step in this strategy is to recognize
that the production of cereal grains for livestock feed, as
practiced in the industrial countries, is not sustainable
because it depends on the inputs of massive amounts of energy
derived almost exclusively from fossil fuel. According to the
data from Pretty (1995), the production of rice in the USA
requires that some 65% of the energy value of the rice is
imported into the system in the form of fossil fuel derived
inputs. The energy need for maize is less (about 25%) but
still substantial.
The examples of alternative energy-rich crops proposed by
Preston (1995) include sugar cane, cassava, sugar palm, oil
palm and coconut palm. The yields of all these crops expressed
in terms of grain equivalent exceed what can be expected from
cereal grains. Moreover, many of them, for example the palm
trees, can be grown in association with other crops in multi-strata
systems and are much less demanding in terms of
energy input for cultivation. The limitations of all these
alternative crops, as sources of feed for livestock, are in
the imbalance of nutrients and specifically protein. On the
other hand, they are all low in fibre. In fact, the energy
from sugar cane, and the palm trees (oil and sugars) contains
no fibre at all.
The feeding systems designed so far, using these new
resources, have relied mainly on conventional sources of
protein such as soya beans, groundnuts and fish meals (Sarria
et al 1992; Ocampo et al 1994; Khieu Borin et al 1995). This
is obviously a major constraint as these conventional protein-rich
meals are relatively low yielding and soya beans, which is the
major protein crop, are not well adapted for growing in the tropics
where they yield much less than when grown in sub-tropical
regions.
Alternative sources of protein were also proposed by Preston
(1995). These include the leaves of many trees and shrubs and
several water plants as examples of truly tropical feed
resources capable of very much higher protein yields than soya
beans. The major nutritional limitation of these feed
resources is that they are relatively high in fibre,
especially the leaves and foliage from trees and shrubs which
puts a constraint on their digestibility, especially by
monogastric animal species. Thus the characteristics of these
alternative sources of energy and protein, when combined into
feeding systems, can be summarized as follows:
* High productivity and efficiency in use of natural
resources (eg: land, water and solar energy).
* Relatively low input needed for cultivation.
* Low nutrient density and low digestibility in the case of
tree leaves
* Limited shelf life in the fresh state (eg: juice from sugar
cane)
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Production systems from locally available resources
These features have important implications for the design of
livestock feeding systems. It means that:
* The feeds are not suitable for incorporation into the
conventional "balanced rations" in a feed mill, as is done
with cereal grains and protein meals
* For maximum economy, the livestock must be located close to
the source of the feed as the high volume and short shelf life
of the fresh product makes transport expensive
* The feeds are less suitable (compared with a conventional
maize-soya mixture) for livestock of high genetic potential in
view of the relatively low nutrient density and constraints
in protein supply
* More of the original feed will be excreted in the faeces
than in the case of cereal-protein meal feeds, because of the
lower digestibility (which may be an advantage when manure is
an essential component of the production system)
* Genotype-environment interactions will be accentuated
All of these features favour the use of these feed resources
in integrated farming systems where there is a close
association between crops and livestock. Small scale producers
who live on their farms will benefit more from these feeding
systems than "corporate" farmers. There will be opportunities
for self sufficiency in fuel (in the form of biogas) and
fertilizers because of the ready availability and relatively
larger amounts of manure. Local breeds and crossbreeds of
local with improved strains are likely to have comparative
advantages over "exotic" high performance genotypes.
It is evident from this analysis that the feeding and farming
systems that need to be developed in order to take advantage
of the opportunities offered by these alternative feed
resources will be quite different from those currently
practiced in most industrial countries. This in turn has
implications for research, training and acquisition and
transfer of knowledge. Appropriate knowledge will rarely be
found in the scientific publications emanating from
institutions in the "North". Farmers who over generations have
learned how to use the locally available resources will be
more valuable sources of information.
Similarly, appropriate germ plasm is more likely to be found
in local ecosystems than in the laboratories and experiment
stations of the animal and plant breeders in the industrial
countries. There are many examples of where indigenous breeds
and local feed resources prove more appropriate than exotic
types and imported technologies. Crossbred (F1) Holstein-Zebu
cattle were more efficient producers of milk and meat in a
tropical environment in Brazil (Madalena 1989) and in
Colombia (Rodriguez and Cuellar 1994) than the purebred
Holstein. Leaves from the Jack fruit tree (Artocarpus
heterophyllus) supported higher liveweight gains in indigenous
goats in Vietnam than the more digestible foliage from
Trichanthera gigantea (Keir et al 1997). Hybrid broiler
chickens quickly succumbed to disease and malnutrition when
they were put in an environment where "scavenging" local
chickens were able to produce normally (Preston T R 1995,
unpublished observations).
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Local Resources in Integrated Farming Systems in
Central Vietnam
A study was carried out in two villages (Binh Dien and Xuan
Loc) in a rainfed hilly region in Central Vietnam (Rodriguez
et al., 1996). The areas were visited in 1994 and the
researcher lived in the villages during 1995. Discussions were
held with the People's Committee and the Women's Union to
consider and develop the ideas. The priorities of the farmers
were identified and a proposed intervention based on
restricted milking of local cattle abandoned in the light of
the insistence of the farmers that the expected benefits were
too long term and they had more immediate needs. The
participatory approach identified the importance of the local
pigs and feed resources and the enthusiastic support for the
introduction of low-cost biodigesters and the production of
duckweed based in ponds fertilized with the nitrogen-rich
effluent.
As a result of the project activities in the village and
farmer expectations, research to document the local breeds
became a priority. A survey was done to get some baseline
data. Local pigs proved more prolific than "exotic" breeds in
the households of poor farmers in these areas where available
feed resources are of low nutrient density, and especially
low in protein (Nguyen Thi Loc et al 1997). The survey
demonstrated a mean weaning rate of 10.3 pigs per sow in Binh
Dien and 9.59 in Xuan Loc. The farrowing interval was 181
days. Mortality to weaning was less than 10%. These
observations at village level about the efficiency of the Mong
Cai breed in the use of local resources were the basis for
carrying out an on-station experiment.
The Mong Cai pig of Vietnam appears to have comparative
advantages over imported "exotic" strains when the need is to
be able to consume large quantities of a voluminous feed such
as duckweed (Rodriguez and Preston 1996). Nutritional studies
were carried out using a diet of sugar cane juice and duckweed
(grown in ponds fertilized with biodigester effluent) fed to
local (Mong Cai) pigs, Large White pigs and crossbreds. The
purebred exotic (Large White) pigs failed to adapt to the use
of duckweed and had to be eliminated from the experiment. In
that study, the nutritive value of duckweed was found to be
high when fed to indigenous pigs and their crosses. Half the
pigs were able to consume enough fresh duckweed to provide a
diet with more than 10 per cent protein. This local resource
was not useful with the poorly adapted exotic breed.
The excreta produced by the pigs was a valuable resource that
could be used in low-cost, plastic biodigesters. The potential
benefits of this technology were enthusiastically received,
especially by the women. It was calculated that at least
1000 T of firewood were used annually to cook feed for pigs and
678 T of firewood used to cook food for the 364 households in
Xuan Loc Village alone. As part of the project activities, more
than 50 biogas digesters were installed in Binh Dien and Xuan
Loc villages, with an average cost (for materials) of USD
29.00, including two burners. These provided biogas for
cooking of both human and pig food.
There was also a potential connection between the biodigesters
(being installed primarily as a source of fuel) and the need
to improve the diet of the pigs. Conventional protein
supplements are only available in the market in Hue City and
are expensive. The proposal was to grow duckweed in ponds
fertilized by the nitrogen-rich effluent produced from the
biodigesters. Duckweed can contain up to 40% protein in the
dry matter when raised in this way (Leng et al., 1995) and can
be grown almost anywhere in the tropics where there is water.
Farmers quickly learned to grow the plant and to keep it in
good condition, and they also learned that it could be used as
a high quality protein supplement not only for pigs, but also
for ducks and chickens. Common ducks in Vietnam also appear
to be able to eat greater quantities of this water plant than
do "improved" Muscovy ducks (Bui Xuan Men et al 1996).
The combined development of the pig, biodigester and duckweed
technologies led to an integrated approach which was adopted
and refined by the farmers. However, a negative' aspect of
the project was that original proposals to develop a milk
programme with the local cattle was abandoned because it was
not acceptable to the people and too many costs and
constraints were anticipated.
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Pig production from Sugar Palm in Cambodia
The use of the sap (or juice) from the sugar palm tree
(Borassus flabillifer) as feed for pigs is another excellent
example of a technology developed from indigenous knowledge
(Khieu Borin and Preston 1995). This tree grows wild in Asia
from the Persian Gulf to the Cambodia-Vietnam border and
cultivated in India, Malaysia and other countries.
It is used locally for sugar production from the
inflorescence and many byproducts from other parts of the
tree.
In the study cited above, the fresh juice was fed to crossbred
(Yorkshire x Duroc x Haiman) pigs in 14 farm households in a
village in the Takeo province of Cambodia. Each farmer had 6
pigs and access to at least 12 sugar palm trees; housing was
constructed from palm trunks with roofs thatched with palm
leaves and solid concrete floors. Each farm had a plastic
biogas digester installed to utilize the effluent.
The pig diet consisted of ad libitum sugar palm juice,
together with 400 g/day boiled whole soya bean seed with added
lime and salt and 500 g/day water spinach. Liveweight gains
ranged from 350-450 g/day. More importantly, the system was
more profitable than sugar production which needs much more
wood for concentrating the juice. The system was less labour-
intensive and the pigs produced effluent as fertilizer for
fish ponds, water plants or rice and fruit trees, with no
harmful effects on the environment.
The results will be reported more fully in a subsequent paper
in this Conference.
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Optimizing the total system
The farming system must be fully integrated in order to
optimize the use of locally available "alternative" resources.
Strategies for sustainable livestock production in the tropics
had been developed in Colombia and elsewhere (Preston and
Murgueitio, 1992). Integrated systems were originally based on
sugar cane and its byproducts as the source of energy, with
legume trees and water plants as sources of protein, for
feeding pigs, ducks, sheep, goats and cattle.
The simple biodigester technology had been developed and
refined at CIPAV and the principle of using the effluent as a
fertilizer for ponds and also in the production of earthworms
for compost and/or feed had also been applied.
The results reported here demonstrate that the basic model has
many variants but the principles are the same. It is important
to identify local feed resources and the preferences of local
people for different types of livestock. In all cases, there
should be minimum "waste" in the system. By-products and
residues originating in one component of the system become
inputs for another "productive" activity.
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The beneficiaries
The beneficiaries from a strategy based on local resource use
in integrated farming systems are many.
Women will benefit when there is close integration within the
farming system. Firewood, the collection and use of which is
done by women, can be replaced by biogas when livestock are
confined and the biodigester will be more productive when
local, less digestible (by the animal) feed resources are
used.
The existence of genotype-environment interactions will have
commercial significance when local feed resources are used.
They have significance in other ways. They certainly
contribute to biodiversity and have positive effects on the
environment. They give empowerment to farmers who may be
economically "poor" but who are "rich" in knowledge of local
resources.
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References
Brown L and Kane H 1994 Full house: a reassessment of the
earth's population carrying capacity. Earthscan Publications
Ltd: London
Bui Xuan Men, Ogle R B and Preston T R 1996 Use of
restricted broken rice in duckweed based diets for fattening
Common and Muscovy ducks. Livestock Research for Rural
Development. Volume 8, Number 3: 20-25
FAO 1993 Agriculture Towards 2000. Document C93/24. November
1993. FAO, Rome.
Khieu Borin and Preston T R 1995 Conserving biodiversity
and the environment and improving the wellbeing of poor
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Livestock Research for Rural Development. Volume 7, Number 2:
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Keir Brenda, Preston T R, Orskov E R, Nguyen Thi Duyen and
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jugo de cana y cachaza panelera en la alimentacion de cerdos.
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92-99
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