A look at the future

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The future does not look bright in light of the many constraints that will hinder progress. Some of the most outstanding ones follow, which are not listed in an order of importance.

1. Domestic livestock development in general and range livestock development in particular are given the lowest of priorities by national policy makers and planners and by bilateral and international assistance organizations and agencies. The value and importance of the rangeland resource is not fully realized and the range management science is relatively unknown.
2. No country has an agency with mandates and adequate qualified manpower and financial resources to carry out activities related to the care, development and improvement of rangelands.
3. There is an extreme shortage of trained and qualified personnel in the field of range management. Some of the countries have only one or two range professionals, some have none, and all need more. Many of those who have studied abroad are assigned to fields other than range management. In some cases, solutions to range problems are being prescribed by professionals of other disciplines (agriculturalists, veterinarians, foresters, etc.) and their prescriptions are too often incompatible with the ecological limitations of the land involved. Some prescriptions often lead to desertification.
4. Only a few universities offer degrees in animal husbandry and classes in this and related subjects are normally taught, if at all, in connection with veterinary medicine or agronomy curricula. Consequently, the subject is usually relegated to a secondary position. No university offers a B.Sc. degree in range management and only a few offer elective courses. A student can graduate with a degree in animal husbandry without having studied a single course in either range or cultivated pasture management or, for that matter, forage crop production.
5. There are no range management text books in Spanish.
6. Research in the countries is conducted by government agencies and universities, or both, and there are some examples of autonomous research stations. While national research programmes often place emphasis on crops, there is nearly always some animal production research. In general, emphasis is placed on beef, dairy and/or dual-purpose cattle research, especially in respect to genetics, breeding and adaptability. Less attention is paid to herd, pasture and range management systems.
7. Many of the research results do not reach other researchers in the same country because of the lack of publication media and coordinated programmes. It is even more serious that many results do not reach the producers because extension activities have not, on the whole, been really effective. Many programmes are oriented more towards the promotion of new technologies through the mass media and publications than through the establishment of demonstrations and field trials and provision of technical assistance at the producer level. This is partly due to an insufficient number of extension workers and supporting facilities, but also to the general lack of orientation of programme activities. Moreover, it has been noted that many extension personnel lack training in extension techniques and therefore are not in a position design and implement informative and easily understood demonstration and information dissemination programmes.
8. Inter-communication between research and extension institutions is limited, which reduces the effectivity of both. Nor are extension specialists adequately consulted by researchers on the kinds of investigations needed to provide information tailored to fit the conditions of the ranchers with which they work.
9. Many producers do not normally participate in policy formulation and execution. It is usually those producers who treat their properties as meat or milk enterprises who form associations or unions and act as speakers before the government in relation to policies to be adopted. The traditional ranchers and small farmers often do not participate in these associations, making it difficult for the government to mobilize the industry for the execution of effective campaigns.
10. Highways and rural roads are inadequate making on-the-ranch extension activities difficult.
11. Funds for agriculture development are limited and most are used for crop development.

These obstacles, except perhaps the latter one, are not insurmountable. They can be overcome with a concerted effort by all concerned, planners, policy makers, landowners, institutions, universities, bilateral and international organizations and the public. The effort must be made if people intend to live and depend on these lands forever.