Joint African Feed Resources Network - 1991 workshop
The three networks engaged in animal feed resources collaborative research in sub-Saharan Africa, the African Research Network for Agricultural By-products (ARNAB), the Pasture Network for Eastern and Southern Africa (PANESA) and the West and Central African Forage Network (WECAFNET) will hold a joint workshop and biennial general meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe from 4 to 9 March 1991.
The theme of the workshop will be "Complementarily of feed resources in animal production". Papers will be on issues relating to the feed resources (planted forages, crop and agro-industrial by-products) for the development of feeding systems, management and utilization of feed resources by livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) at the smallholder level.
The workshop provides an opportunity for the exchange of technical information on topical issues related to animal feed resources.
Further information may be obtained from Dr Ben H. Dzowela, ILCA, PO Box 46&47, Nairobi, Kenya.
Calf raising by Korean village women
Mrs Jo Bong Hyan conceived a plan to generate income and improve the status of housewives in a Korean village of Kangwong Province. However, the idea of income for women through work outside the house did not meet with the approval of the older men of the village and the plan proposed was not at first accepted by the women who were intimidated by the hostility it might provoke.
Despite this opposition, in 1964 Mrs Jo Bong Hyan, with the support of her husband and more influential villagers, finally persuaded a group of some 16 women to participate in the plan.
Notwithstanding local ridicule, the women worked in the rice fields and when there was sufficient capital from their earnings they established a cooperative shop. They subsequently managed to obtain training services in support of their work and were able to set up a child-care centre which further facilitated their work. Group membership doubled. The women then participated in various courses provided by extension agents and by 1975 realized that through all their efforts they had accumulated the sum of 1 837 000 won (US$ 2 783).
In 1977 the women decided to invest these savings in cattle raising. Teams of five or six women visited the local cattle market to select and purchase animals using the criteria they had been taught by the livestock officer. In spite of their embarrassment and inexperience, they bought four or five calves on each visit at a price of approximately 60 000 won per head. This meant that families previously too poor to own even a dog now found themselves in possession of a calf to look after and fatten.
Again with the help of the livestock officer, adequate housing for the calves was arranged. The women began to learn modern management techniques and how to produce feed for the calves at home, including a synthetic milk feed. They also learned about animal health and nutrition, housing hygiene and protection from disease and parasites. After 13 months, the animals averaged 380-450 kg per head.
Market prices for cattle rose and the women sold their animals at approximately 550 000 won per head with which they bought more calves. The second batch was infinitely easier to rear as the women by then had proved to the villagers and the authorities alike that their project was feasible and profitable. The numbers of animals increased and with the profits the women were able to introduce more efficient husbandry techniques which reduced their workload. Their projects expanded and included replacing unsanitary wells with hygienic water supply, improving their roads and modernizing their kitchens. The village gained national recognition and with the prize money the women bought two pigs for another community project.
The women then began to extend their activities beyond their own village, bringing support to poor families in a neighbouring village and hospitality to military units posted locally.
Contributing to the success of this project were undoubtedly the determination and leadership of the originator, and her personal ability to win support at both village and official level.
(Summarized from A cattle project in Korea. Women and livestock production in Asia and the South Pacific, RAPA Publication 1990/5, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAPA), Bangkok.)
International Workshop on Rural Poultry in Africa
An International Workshop on Rural Poultry in Africa was held at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria from 13 to 16 November 1989. The workshop was organized by the Department of Animal Science of the University with financial assistance from FAO, Centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale (CTA) and the International Development and Research Centre (IDRC).
Researchers from nine countries actively involved in rural poultry development reported on current activities and strategies in this field. The experts prepared a list of recommendations for further action to promote rural poultry in Africa.
It was agreed to initiate an African Network on Rural Poultry to collect and distribute technical information and to coordinate research and development activities in this field. More detailed information on the network will be distributed by Dr E.B. Sonaiya, Department of Animal Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Eggs and blood cholesterol
Over the last 20 years or so, the public has been continuously informed that eggs contain high levels of cholesterol and that high blood cholesterol levels can lead to coronary heart disease (CHD). The syllogistic conclusion has been that eggs can cause heart disease.
This public awareness was brought about by media coverage of research carried out on rabbits that were fed diets highly concentrated in cholesterol. The rabbits subsequently developed atherosclerosis, where material containing cholesterol is deposited on the inner walls of the arteries. The resulting restriction of blood flow can lead to CHD or to a stroke.
However, it may not be widely appreciated that rabbits, unlike humans, are not provided with a mechanism of blood cholesterol control because their natural all-plant diet contains no cholesterol. This projection of research from rabbit to man can be questioned.
Eggs, not difficult to produce in developing countries, contain all the essential amino-acids required in the human diet. One large egg contains approximately 85 calories, the vitamins A, D, E and K as well as the B-complex vitamins, iron, phosphorous and selenium.
Whereas previously, cholesterol estimates were given as 550 mg per 100 g whole egg, with current methodology, present estimates are reduced to 400 mg per 100 g whole egg.
Another factor perhaps overlooked in the cholesterol question is that 70-80 percent of the body's cholesterol is produced by the liver and only approximately 20 percent is derived from dietary sources. The body's normal regulatory mechanism controls the cholesterol level and it has been found that large excesses of cholesterol intake raise the blood cholesterol level only slightly.
Total triglycerides (fat), particularly saturated fat, rather than cholesterol, is believed to be responsible for high blood cholesterol levels, and eggs, although containing cholesterol, do not contain high levels of saturated fats.
Of interest too to readers might be the fact that cholesterol is carried in the blood by lipoproteins which may be high density (HDL) or low density (LDL) and that the latter, if not removed by a normal mechanism, can cause build-up in the arteries of cholesterol and fat. It is then the ratio of HDL to LDL in the blood that holds more significance rather than the simple estimation of blood cholesterol.
Such foods as meat and milk, sometimes eliminated by the strictly diet-conscious individual, should not be avoided in the daily diet. The "maligned" egg should be recognized as a cheap form of protein and of vitamins and minerals, of such high quality that it is used by nutrition researchers as a quality protein standard. The hen's egg therefore is particularly important in developing countries where human food is deficient in these nutrients.
Apiculture development - The role of FAO
Beekeeping is an agricultural activity that is particularly suited to the agroclimatic conditions of developing countries and the introduction and promotion of beekeeping to many of these countries is one of the goals of FAO's Agricultural Services Division.
The practice of beekeeping in developing countries is recommended because:
· it creates part- or full-time rural employment and increases rural incomes, raises nutritional levels and increases agricultural production by crop pollination;· the space required for apiculture is minimal and beekeeping can even be practiced by landless people;
· minimal investment and imported equipment are required;
· it has a complementary rather than competitive role with other agricultural production;
· products of beekeeping (honey, beeswax and other by-products) are highly valued; and
· bees contribute to the conservation of the natural environment.
Surprisingly, however, in many developing countries, beekeeping has so far been non-existent and even where it is practiced the traditional methods used are still primitive and result in low productivity and quality.
To augment the introduction of more efficient but simple methods of beekeeping to the developing countries, FAO has expanded its programme to promote apiculture among rural communities in recent years.
FAO's current programme specifically emphasizes:
· training at all levels in the use of appropriate technology, bee species and processing methods;· establishment of beekeeping centres where extension staff, demonstrations, and research and teaching facilities are made available;
· creation of groups of apiculturists in the rural areas;
· feasibility of producing modern equipment locally;
· control measures necessary for bee diseases;
· organization of regional activities on apiculture; and
· integration of women into beekeeping and related activities.
This latter important item is being given particular recognition and promotion by FAO because beekeeping may be conveniently carried out close to the home on a part-time basis, and may easily and profitably be carried out by women. It is of value too in that village families directly benefit from improved levels of nutrition. An income is provided to the women who practice beekeeping, or other activities such as making protective clothing, thus contributing to the improvement of their status and independence.
Production of beeswax may also provide opportunities for developing handicrafts that utilize this by-product, such as candle-making and batik. Such handicrafts can, of course, raise local income levels further.
At present there are 20 FAO projects operating in developing countries in the regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East. One-third of these projects are located in Africa. The objective of the majority of these projects is to improve the production of honey through the introduction of more modern techniques to the rural areas. An example of such a project is one in Ghana where the services of apiculture experts and the training at home and abroad of extension staff and beekeepers, as well as the supply of equipment and materials, improve local apiculture and raise the living standards of rural families. This project also strengthens the training programme of the Apiculture Promotion Unit, attached to Kumasi University, extending its programme over a much wider rural area, thus bringing to many more isolated villages the simple but valuable techniques of modern beekeeping.
Livestock Research for Rural Development - A new computerized journal
Communication among scientists working in developing countries has always been difficult. This is because most international scientific journals are inaccessible to scientists of developing countries because of cost, the meeting of editorial standards and differences in policies relating to agricultural research.
This new research journal has been conceived to promote communication among scientists and decision-makers concerned with the role of livestock technologies in rural development in developing countries. Today this is made possible by computer technology which is becoming commonplace in the developing countries as well.
Papers for this journal are first of all refereed in the country of the author(s) by at least two scientists with postgraduate qualifications and proven experience. They are then submitted by the authors on floppy disks (3.5- or 5.25-inch) according to a standard specification format, to the regional language sub-editor, accompanied by a signed statement by the reviewers.
The four regional sub-editorial groups, Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, which cover the tour official languages of the journal, consist of ten contact points to which papers on floppy disk may be submitted:
Spanish
South America
Instituto de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Maracay
Central America
Dr Raúl Godoy, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad de Yucatán, Mérida, Apartado 116D, Yucatán, México
Caribbean
Instituto de Ciencia Animal e Instituto de Investigaciones Porcinas, Gaveta Postal 1, Punta Brava, La Habana, Cuba
English
Europe
Dr Andrew Speedy, Plant Sciences Department, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford 3PF, UKDr E. R. Orskov, Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB, UK
Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Dr R. A. Leng, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Caribbean
Dr Thomas R. Preston, CIPAV, Apartado Aéreo 7482, Cali, Colombia
North America
Dr Peter Cheeke, Department of Animal Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-6702, USA
French
Africa
Dr C. Kayouli, Institut national agronomique de Tunisie, 43 Avenue Charles-Nicole, 1002 Tunis-Belvédère, Tunisie
Portuguese
Brazil
Dr. Pablo Machado, Departamento de Zoologia, Fundação de Estudos Agrários "Lutz de Queiroz", Avenida Pádua Dias II, 13400 - Piracicaba (SP)
A paper originating, for example, from an African researcher and written in French should be submitted to the nearest French sub-editor (Dr C. Kayouli, Tunis) who will have the final responsibility for accepting or rejecting the paper. When accepted, the disk is then forwarded direct to the coordinating editor in Colombia. Papers accepted will undergo minimal editing and when ten papers are available, the table of contents and indices will be prepared. The journal will then be copied on to 3.5- and 5.25-inch disks and sent to the regional sub-editors, collaborating institutions and individuals, who in turn will copy and distribute the journal as disks to individual subscribers.
Subscriptions to the journal will be in the form of exchange (one floppy disk, or equivalent, for each issue).
To receive the journal, the subscriber sends two blank disks as well as a stamped (if possible), return addressed envelope to the nearest sub-editor or collaborator. The journal will be copied on to one disk and returned to the subscriber. The second disk will be retained in lieu of payment. These arrangements may be modified subsequently but initially the procedure will be along the lines that are described here.
This very welcome initiative, which includes such a novel bartering system of payment (or a modest equivalent fee), will indeed be an important and fast means of disseminating research results and information to workers in animal production in the developing countries.
Inquiries initially may be addressed to one of the sub-editorial groups listed above or to Dr T. R. Preston, Coordinating Editorial Centre, CIPAV, Edificio Cámara de Comercio, Apartado Aéreo 7482, Cali, Colombia. Fax: (923) 824627; Telex: 055724; Tel: (923) 823271.
Animal protection
FAO is taking the initiative in giving consideration to aspects of animal protection regarding unnecessary suffering. The Director-General has given approval for the collection and study of information so that full attention may be given to this matter.
For several years there has been an increasing awareness among the public, particularly in developed countries, of livestock treatment that causes unnecessary suffering. In principle, the causing of suffering is not a contentious issue for nearly everyone objects to the cruel practices that lead to this. However, a precise definition of what is cruel causes major disagreements.
Many of the developed countries have codes of practice and/or laws that cover malpractice - in particular, suffering either on farm, during transportation or at the slaughterhouse. Several countries have developed codes of practice covering management and housing practices although, in some instances, there may be no adequate scientific evidence to support the preferred practices (or to condemn the outlawed ones).
While developing countries have problems that are more pressing than those of animal protection, the subject cannot be ignored. Indeed there is good evidence that proper slaughter treatment, for instance, provides better-quality meat.
Attitudes of people will be based on their own traditions and practices, but there is little doubt that practices that deliberately cause suffering cannot be condoned. Public awareness on animal protection issues is becoming greater and FAO wishes to take the initiative in considering the issue and eventually developing a course of action in cooperation and consultation with its member countries. To argue that animal protection should take priority in a situation where there is a real shortage of protein for humans would be incorrect. Clearly any proposals need to create a balance between what is regarded as proper concern for animals and the need to feed people. One does not exclude the other
FAO is, at present, carrying out a survey among its member countries in an attempt to identify where laws and/or codes of practice exist and what they are, as well as a more general inquiry as to the perception of the general public. In addition, questions about the relative importance of different sources of information are being asked. No doubt there will be many and varied answers coming from all quarters of the globe and they will be important in trying to assess a total view as well as detailed considerations.
Any information that readers consider relevant, particularly information on research into "welfare" aspects of livestock production, will be welcome. This should be addressed to The Editor, World Animal Review, Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
International Camel Symposium
The First International Camel Symposium I was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 4 to 7 March 1991.
The programme included research and clinical communications, plenary papers and a poster session. The symposium covered all aspects of dromedary physiology, nutrition, medicine and surgery with an emphasis on clinical diseases, reproduction and obstetrics, anaesthesia and injury treatments, as well as physiology, nutrition and exercise.
For further information, please contact Dr A. M. Billah, PO Box 11808, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Tel: 9714-379375; Fax: 9714-379030.
New World screwworm in North Africa
The Twenty-fifth Session of the FAO Conference held in Rome in November 1989, gave its support to the control and eradication of the New World screwworm (NWS) fly in North Africa. Immediate steps for control were taken with the collaboration of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
To support the surveillance and control programmes, initiated by FAO in North Africa, slide sets with brochures, posters and information cards were distributed. The themes of these cards cover important activities such as reporting, sampling, treatment of animals and the necessity of controlling the movement of wounded or infected animals. FAO/TCP projects, "Screwworm surveillance, prevention and control", in Algeria, Chad, Egypt, the Niger, the Sudan and Tunisia provide screwworm control specialists, vehicles, trailer spray-rigs, laboratory material, insecticides and local training.
As at the end of July 1990, reports indicated that the extent of the New World screwworm infestation in North Africa still remained confined to some 20 000² km around Tripoli in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The intensive monitoring, treatment and prevention campaign by the Libyan Government and FAO continued. However, climatic conditions experienced in mid-1990 were conducive to an increase in screwworm population density which was observed some 60-70 km from the Tunisian border.
Egypt's surveillance operations continue particularly intensely along the Libyan border. In June 1990, for example, 123 683 animals with susceptible wounds were examined and 110 651 of them were treated with preventive insecticide. No positive cases, as at the end of July 1990, had been detected. Similar surveillance continues in Algeria where susceptible wounds-are treated with insecticide and no cases of screwworm myiasis had been reported by July 1990.
The Tunisia-Libya border was closed to the movement of animals and livestock although, in isolated sectors away from the controlled check points, illegal crossing of small ruminants from Libya to Tunisia has been suspected. An FAO mission visited the region in June 1990 and the local authorities were asked to strengthen their inspection operations.
In the Niger, surveillance in the north of the country was intensified by FAO/TCP assistance through the provision of transport, materials and laboratory equipment. By the end of July 1990, 1 341 000 cattle and 2 940 000 small ruminants had been inspected with no cases of screwworm myiasis detected.
In June 1990, the Director-General of FAO established the Screwworm Emergency Centre for North Africa (SECNA) to deal direct with donors, countries at risk and other organizations. Also in 1990, an FAO/IFAD preparatory phase pilot project was implemented by developing infrastructures and initiating the release/dispersal of sterile flies procured from the Mexico-USA Screwworm Commission for the eradication of screwworm.
An FAO Manual for the control of the screwwormfly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is available in English, French and Arabic. Requests for this publication should be made either to SECNA or to the Director, Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. Tel: 57973359/57975167. Fax: 57975271. Telex: 610181 FAO I.
FAO expert consultation on feeding dairy cows in the tropics
Twenty experts from 15 countries participated in the above consultation which took place in Bangkok, Thailand from 3 to 7 July 1989.
Recent FAO statistics have shown that, while milking the same number of cows (about 110 million head), the developing countries produce only 22 percent of the whole fresh milk equivalent produced by the developed countries and 18 percent of the total world production. Among numerous constraints limiting milk production in developing countries, which are mainly located in the tropical zone, appropriate nutrition is undoubtedly one of the first factors. There is increasing difficulty in providing the bulk of feed requirements for cattle through grazing, crop-by-products and fodder crops, in spite of recent advances in ruminant nutrition and feed utilization. The purpose of this Expert Consultation was, therefore, to:
· review the various milk production systems in the tropical areas (humid and dry) according to agroclimatic, technical, economical and sociological conditions, including special situations such as pert-urban production systems;· review new knowledge in ruminant digestion, nutrition and physiology and consider ways and means of implementing rational feeding systems that could overcome, at the lowest cost, the nutritional constraints that hamper milk production and herd productivity;
· match milk production systems to available and potential feed resources taking into account their nutritional characteristics and both subsistence and commercialized milk production systems;
· make recommendations for the development of sustainable milk production systems based on locally available feed resources.
Appropriate conclusions and recommendations were adopted by the Expert Consultation on the four main topics: management systems; feeding systems; pasture and grassland management; development and research issues.
FAO expert consultation on feeding for sustainable milk production
This consultation took place in Kingston, Jamaica from 11 to 13 June 1990 and was attended by 13 experts from 13 countries.
As far as production aspects are concerned, a great deal of attention has been paid in the past to dairy cattle breeding and to the development of milk processing plans. Today, expanding feed resources and developing appropriate feeding strategies should be a major component of dairy development. Through integrated systems and technologies employing multipurpose crops, multipurpose animals and the recycling of residues and by-products, such strategies could result in an adequate matching of milk production to available local feed resources. Essential first steps are the identification of needs and a careful study of available feed - both fibrous and concentrates - and animal resources, followed by the introduction of new technologies for expanding feed bases and developing feeding systems in a sustainable development context, without degrading the environment.
The consultation examined current important topics related to feed availability, feeding systems and technology development and made recommendations principally with regard to:
· the need for countries to take stock of their feed resources both with respect to land area utilized as well as the nature and provision of nutrients for sustainable dairy production. FAO was requested to assist in the development of appropriate methodologies for making inventories of such feed resources;· feed technology development problems such as those related to newly emerged concepts in ruminant nutrition and the lack of information on the real nutritive value of by-products and tropical feeds, particularly under pastoral conditions. It was recommended that a "regional cooperation network on dairy cattle feeding" be established with the assistance of FAO and other international organizations;
· the transfer of new technologies based on local feed resources that have been developed and tested in one or more countries in tropical Latin America, such as: sugar-cane-based feeding systems; supplementation to increase the intake and utilization of fibrous feeds (minerals, NPN, by-pass nutrients, separately or in the form of molasses blocks); forage conservation; and the use of fodder trees and shrubs in feeding systems. It was recommended that countries of the region establish the necessary programmes for the transfer of selected new technologies that would be profitable and acceptable to farmers.
The need for appropriate pasture seed production and methods of distribution was also discussed.
La production de lait UHT dans les pays en développement
Le fait a juste titre partie des produits de première nécessité dans de nombreux pays. Son prix de vente, souvent contrôle par l'Etat, doit être accessible a la plus grande couche possible de population et distribué partout dans le pays. Cet aspect de la distribution et de la conservation revêt une importance toute particulière pour les pays en développement. Le fait UHT ou de longue conservation devrait permettre de distribuer un produit, autrement très périssable, dans tout le pays et de le conserver très longtemps sans réfrigération. Passer d'une matière première périssable et quelquefois banalisée a un produit prestigieux et disponible partout est un souhait de beaucoup de gouvernements. La technologie mise au point dans les pays industrialises a nécessité auparavant une longue période d'amélioration de la qualité du fait, une formation très particulière du personnel pour la production d'un produit stérilisé et une infrastructure industrielle adéquate (source d'énergie régulière, volume important de fait a traiter, fiabilité des contrôles).
Toutes les contraintes techniques, économiques et personnelles ne vent pas toujours pleinement évaluées lorsqu'une décision, souvent de nature politique, est prise pour établir dans un pays en développement une usine de fait UHT. Afin de mieux prévenir les gouvernements des difficultés et des contraintes de la production de ce fait, le Groupe du développement laitier fera paraître prochainement un article sur ce sujet dans la Revue mondiale de zootechnie. Cet article devrait permettre aux décideurs gouvernementaux de mieux appréhender les contraintes techniques et économiques d'une telle production et de choisir en conséquence l'investissement le plus rationnel dans un contexte industriel, économique et social donne.
FAO expert consultation on waterfowl production in Africa
An FAO Expert Consultation on Waterfowl Production in Africa was held in Accra, Ghana from 2 to 5 July 1990. Experts from ten countries reported on present waterfowl production systems and discussed the prospects of waterfowl development in Africa.
The population growth in Africa together with the parallel need for increased food result in pressure on land and traditional feed resources. It is therefore necessary to diversify animal production in order to make use of all available natural resources.
Large areas of the African continent are rich in water resources. Waterfowl production could be an ideal means of producing cheap meat and eggs. In contrast to Asia, where with similar climatic conditions waterfowl play an important role in the farming systems, the raising of ducks and geese in Africa is not common.
The Expert Consultation identified the main constraints and drafted recommendations for the development of waterfowl production in Africa.
