Throughout this book information has been presented to indicate the potential for sustainable productivity improvement, environmental enhancement and socio-economic gain through addressing forage and non-forage limitations to profitable and sustainable livestock production. Many ruminant managing households have already invested heavily in stock and infrastructure. For comparatively minimal additional investment of time, labour and capital, major gains in total grazing system productivity from improved feeding and management can be achieved.
Failure to capitalise on previous investments by Southwest Pacific governments would constitute a major loss of opportunity for improvements in national and regional self-sufficiency in livestock products. The potential for annual foreign exchange savings and export earnings of between US$42 and $48 million is substantial, representing 27–30% of the value of 1994–1995 regional livestock product imports. There is also significant potential to benefit rural households from additional beef, pork, poultry and milk production and consumption, in terms of disposable cash savings, better human welfare through improved protein, mineral and essential fatty acid consumption, and increased income and financial independence for women.
Central to success is a functioning network of affordable development services, efficient marketing and better resourced extension delivery systems oriented toward effectively supporting rural communities and their livestock farming systems.
On the basis of previous project achievements, there are good reasons to be optimistic that dramatic improvements in grazing system performance can be achieved. Affordable technologies are available that usually offer at least 50% gains in productivity - a critical minimum threshold in farmer decision making for technological change. Many of the farmers who have had access to training and extension system support have continued with improvements in the feeding and management of their livestock. Examples exist across most countries of farmers doubling and tripling livestock production per hectare, from adopting on-farm proven technologies.
Feedback over the last ten years has been that rural communities will adopt convincingly demonstrated technologies that fall within their domain of resources. This has been particularly evident in Vanuatu and Samoa where training and extension efforts have been reinforced by support for the provision of affordable development services and more accessible and efficient marketing. The evidence suggests that between 30% and 60% of farmers will make significant technological changes within five to ten years. Over a 20 year period of sustained support for livestock farmers, it is suggested that about 50% of existing farmers and new industry entrants would adopt promoted technologies.
In 1993 AusAID funded a regional workshop in Vanuatu on the potential for sustainable livestock production in smallholder and plantation farming systems. This and the continuing output of described FAO and AusAID projects has heightened awareness of the potential for improvement.
Regional ministers of agriculture, development assistance agencies and government decision makers have consistently identified the need to create a critical mass of farmers who are achieving and sustaining their livestock system potential. So too have senior animal productionists, agribusiness representatives and, most importantly, leading farmers. Once a critical mass exists, there will be no requirement for external assistance.
The challenge is to create the environment for such a critical mass to develop.
