Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-31T22:52:50.441Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The rôle of livestock in natural resources management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

P. J. Thome
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB
M. Herrero
Affiliation:
Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG
Get access

Abstract

This paper discusses some of the unique aspects of the interactions of livestock with the natural resources base. It argues the nature of these interactions make the use of a systems approach of particular importance when planning and executing livestock research if it is to be of any relevance to farmers in developing countries. The key issues are illustrated in two contrasting case studies.

In Nepal, shifts in land use patterns have led to marked changes in the availability and use of fodder resources. Farmers indicate that they are no longer able to use these optimally. Fodder from at least 90 different types of tree (some of which have yet to be properly classified botanically) are used to supplement the diets of buffalo, cattle and goats during dry seasons when food is in short supply. The nutritive value of each of these is affected by a wide range of management and environmental factors. Furthermore, diet selectivity means that fractions consumed differ markedly amongst both tree species and classes of livestock. It is clearly not feasible for researchers to evaluate this diversity using existing in vitro or in vivo indicators of nutritive value. Initial studies suggest that this variability is implicitly catered for in farmers' own assessments of relative nutritive values. A mechanistic understanding of this indigenous technical knowledge and the development of appropriate techniques for integrating it with models of the biological responses of animals to nutrients might, therefore, allow more effective assessment of strategies for tree fodder utilization.

Highland dairy systems in the humid tropics of Costa Rica (3000+ mm/year rainfall) could be very productive but suffer from a substantial dependence on imported inputs. Concentrate use is very high causing substantial underutilization of grazed pasture (the local resource), which is available year-round under these high-rainfall conditions. Over-supplementation with protein, which is the most expensive nutrient in the diet, at levels in excess of 200% of the requirement has been reported widely in these regions. Farmers want new strategies that enable them to manage their land and other resources in an alternative way, in order to be less dependent on grains and other imports. A decision-support system based on simulation and multiple criteria models representing a dairy farm has enabled the design and development of such strategies. Using this approach, farmers' objectives can be incorporated with a holistic understanding of the farming system in terms of management practices that will permit demand-driven animal production research at the farm level.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altieri, M. A. 1995. Agroecology. The science of sustainable agriculture, second edition. Intermediate Technology Publications. London.Google Scholar
Benavides, J. E. 1996. Research on fodder trees and shrubs. In Animal production in Central America: conservation and sustainable development. Ciencias Veterinarias (Costa Rica), special volume, pp. 3965.Google Scholar
Chambers, R., Pacey, A. and Thrupp, L. A. 1989. Farmer first: farmer innovation and agricultural research. Intermediate Technology Publications, London.Google Scholar
Herrero, M. 1996. Grassland modelling: a decision support tool. In Animal production in Central America: conservation and sustainable development. Ciencias Veterinarias (Costa Rica), special volume, pp. 7179.Google Scholar
Herrero, M, Dent, J. B. and Fawcett, R. H. 1998a. The plant/ animal interface in models of grazing systems. In Agricultural systems modelling and simulation, (ed. Peart, R. and Curry, B.), pp. 495542. Marcel Dekker, New York.Google Scholar
Herrero, M., Fawcett, R. H. and Dent, J. B. 1998b. Designing dairy grazing systems using integrated simulation and multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) models. Agricultural Systems In press.Google Scholar
Herrero, M., Fawcett, R. H., Pèrez, E. and Dent, J. B. 1997. The role of systems research in grazing management: applications to sustainable cattle production in Latin America. In Applications of systems approaches at thefarm and regional levels, (ed. Teng, P.S. et al), pp. 129136. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Jarrige, R. 1988. Alimentation des ovins, bovins et caprins. INRA, Paris.Google Scholar
Kang, B. T., Reynolds, L. and Atta-Krah, A. N. 1990. Alley farming. Advances in Agronomy 43: 315359.Google Scholar
Mclntire, J. Bourzat, D. and Pingali, P. 1992. Crop-livestock interaction in sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Panday, K. K. 1982. Fodder trees and tree fodder in Nepal. Swiss Development Cooperation, Berne, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Thapa, B. L., Walker, D. H. and Sinclair, F. L. 1997. Indigenous knowledge of the feeding value of tree fodder. Animal Feed Science and Technology 67: 97114.Google Scholar
Thome, P. J., Sinclair, F. L. and Walker, D. H. 1997a. Using local knowledge of the feeding value of tree fodder to predict the outcomes of different supplementation strategies. Agroforestry Forum 8: 4549 Google Scholar
Thome, P. J., Tanner, J. C. and Gurung, H. B. 1998. The characterisation of feed resources in crop-livestock systems and its implications for the development of improved feeding strategies - a case study from Nepal. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment In press.Google Scholar
Thome, P. J., Walker, D. H., Subba, D. B., Wood, C. D., Sinclair, F. L. and Thapa, B. 1997b. Predicting the nutritive value of tree fodder: consistency and complementarity between assessments made by Nepalese smallholder farmers and by laboratory techniques. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, 1997, p. 201 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Zadeh, L. A. 1965. Fuzzy sets. Information Control 8: 338353.Google Scholar