India’s northeast recommends a ‘mission on pig production’

Pigs at the Drestry Farm Industry commercial pig farm, in India’s northeast state of Assam (Sonapur, Karchia Village; photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).

In view of the pig production potential in . . . [India's] Northeast and eastern states, a mission on pig production with focus on strengthening large pig-breeding farms and other infrastructure, incentives for producing feed input materials, improved package of practices, vaccines and diagnostics, pork processing plants and linking of pig producers to markets should be initiated,” says a working group on animal husbandry set up by a government planning commission.

‘The country has 13.84 million pigs and the Northeast has 26 per cent of the population. . . .

Rameshwar Deka, scientist (livestock and livelihood) International Livestock Research Institute, Guwahati, said it would be ideal to establish medium to large pig-breeding farms in the region for their multiplication under the private sector with support from the government.

‘“The private sector will have to step into the pig sector in the region and there will have to be support from the government,” he said.

‘Deka said capacity building of all those who are involved in pig rearing and marketing is the need of the hour.

‘The group said protection of pigs from classical swine fever in particular is a must. . . .

‘The mortality rate in pigs because of classical swine fever varies from 60-80 per cent.

‘Nearly 80 per cent of the population in the Northeast are indigenous people and pig-keeping is an integral part of their life.

‘Swine fever, also known as hog cholera, is a highly contagious viral disease and is said to be the most serious threat to the pig population in the Northeast. . . .’

Read the whole article in The Telegraph (Calcutta): Panel stresses pig rearing: Working group stresses setting up of large breeding farms, 9 May 2012

 

Climate change expected to reduce Asia’s food production by as much as 50%

Indonesian village devastated by flooding; climate change will bring about more severe floods and droughts (photo on Flickr by International Rivers).

‘As Asia’s monsoon season begins, leading climate specialists and agricultural scientists warn that rapid climate change and its potential to intensify droughts and floods could end Southeast Asia’s global dominance in rice production and pose a significant threat to millions of people across the region.

“Climate change endangers crop and livestock yields and the health of fisheries and forests at the same time that surging populations worldwide are placing new demands on food production,” said Bruce Campbell of the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). “These clashing trends challenge us to transform our agriculture systems so they can sustainably deliver the food required to meet our nutritional needs and support economic development, despite rapidly shifting growing conditions.”

‘Southeast Asia has experienced dramatic meteorological swings, as last year’s record flooding was preceded by a record drought in 2010. These and many other extreme weather events around the world have hammered global food prices, stretching their impact beyond immediate personal and ecological tragedies.

‘In Thailand, a drought during the 2010 growing season caused US$450 million in crop damages. Massive flooding in 2011 caused $40 billion in damages that rippled through all sectors of Thailand’s economy.

‘”In the fields, there is no debate whether climate change is happening or not,” said Raj Paroda of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). “Now, we must think about what the research community can provide governments to guide effective action. Given the region’s current state of food insecurity, climate-smart agriculture has to become the central part of Asia’s adaptation strategy.”

‘South and Southeast Asia are home to more than one-third of the world’s population and half of the world’s poor and malnourished. Absent new approaches to food production, climate change in this region is expected to reduce agriculture productivity by as much as 50 per cent in the next three decades. And with agriculture serving as the backbone of most economies in the region, such plunging yields would shake countries to the core. . . .

‘Most Asian countries became food self-sufficient in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of investments made during the “Green Revolution” that ushered in new crop varieties, wider irrigation and better water management. Today, the mega-deltas of Asia’s major rivers are the rice bowls for the world and are crucial to meeting global grain demand.

‘But now, the growing variability between seasons has increased pressures on water supplies, while at the same time rising sea levels are tainting freshwater supplies with high levels of salinity. This troublesome combination is putting Asia’s global supremacy in rice production at risk. In Southeast Asia, for example, some of the major river basins—including the Chao Phraya in Thailand and the Red in Vietnam—are considered “closed” because all of the water flow has been claimed.

‘In South Asia, the Ganges and Indus river basins underpin the food security of well over a billion people. Yet danger signs are looming: 88 per cent of Indians live in river basins with some form of water scarcity or food deficit. In Southeast Asia, despite the wider use of irrigation, approximately 75 per cent of crops are still rain-fed and remain especially vulnerable to the vagaries of the climate. . . .

Crop production is not the only aspect of agriculture that needs to adapt. Livestock production systems, especially in developing countries, are changing rapidly in response to population growth, urbanisation and the growing demand for meat and milk. But current livestock production methods, for example, average about 900 litres of water just to create one litre of milk, according to Purvi Mehta-Bhatt, head of the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI’s) Asia region.

“It is important to consider livestock’s impact on climate change,” Mehta-Bhatt said, “But you also need to consider climate change’s impact on livestock, such as heat stress and the migration of disease.”

‘. . . The authors are members of Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), a strategic partnership of the CGIAR and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP).’

Read the whole article at The Nation (Thailand): Rapid climate change now threatens Asia’s rice bowl, 21 Apr 2012.

 

World Bank injects USD352 million into Indian dairy farming

Measuring milk for sale in India (photo credit: ILRI).

‘The World Bank signs an agreement with India to inject $352 million into the National Dairy Support Project, an initiative designed to revive the flagging fortunes of milk production in the country.

Other than being crucial to the nutritional security of the country’s population; dairy farming or dairying is also a major source of livelihood for 147 million rural households in India.

‘Spurred by the success of the White Revolution of the 1970s, milk and other dairy-products related production grew drastically over decades in the country. But of late, there has been a marked drop, with annual production decreasing to 3.8 per cent in the 2000s from 4.3 per cent in the 1990s. The Government’s latest initiative with the World Bank is meant to remedy this drop in production in anticipation of expected increase in demand.

‘India currently produces 120 million tons of milk per annum. By 2021-22, the demand is expected to be for 180 million tons, according to government estimates. This implies that for the next ten years from now, production would have to grow at 5.5 per cent year on year. To achieve this India would have to primarily find ways of boosting the productivity of its milk animals from a daily average of 3.4 kgs to 6.3 kgs, which is the global standard. . . .

‘The project will primarily focus on increasing milk production by improving the genetic quality of dairy herd and optimal use of feed and fodder. It will support long-term investments in animal breeding, extensive training of dairy farmers and doorstep delivery of artificial insemination. It will also aim at creating ration balancing advisory services, which will promote balanced animal feed and nutrition to not only increase milk yield and reduce productions costs, but also contribute to reduced methane emissions. . . .

The project will also raise farmers’ awareness about the importance of good quality milk and build their capacity for hygienic milk production, collection and sale,” said Deepak Ahluwalia, the Project’s Task Team Leader and Senior Economist, World Bank.

Read the whole article in OneWorld South Asia: A second White Revolution for India?, 16 Apr 2012.

Information on ILRI’s work in India

 

Dual-purpose groundnut, pigeonpea, millet and sorghum raise milk yields in dairy-intensive India

Groundnuts (photo on Flickr by Stephen Eustace).

Jerome Bossuet, of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in Pantancheru, India, has an interesting article in the New Agriculturist last month about fodder innovations helping Indian dairy farmers.

Feed matters are big matters in this intensive dairy-producing country, because ‘Feed represents around 70 per cent of the cost of milk production . . . .’ But with most farm plots now too small to sustain both fodder and food crops and with areas of common grazing lands shrinking, milk prices have been rising.

Research groups are coming to the rescue by developing ‘dual-purpose’ varieties of sorghum, millet, pigeonpea and groundnut whose straw, leaves and stalks that remain after the grain or legume has been harvested are of higher-than-normal quality for feeding to farm animals and whose yields of grain for human consumption are also good.

‘Crop residues . . . are already an important source of fodder in India, providing more than 40 per cent of the available dry matter for feeding livestock; some experts estimate this could rise to 70 per cent by 2020. But residues, especially from cereals, are often of low nutritional quality, which affects the productivity of cattle and buffalo.’

The new dual-purpose crops manage to produce both high grain yields for people and nutritionally rich residues for their animal stock.

‘Anantapur district, in Andhra Pradesh, is a key groundnut producing region and also one of the most drought-prone areas in India. Seventy per cent of the agricultural land is planted with groundnut, supporting over 300,000 smallholders, therefore crop residues are mainly composed of groundnut stems, known as haulm. “Groundnut haulm’s energy and protein content, and its palatability and digestibility can vary significantly from one variety to another,” says Dr Michael Blummel, a scientist from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

‘In 2002, ICRISAT introduced an early maturing, high yield and drought-tolerant groundnut variety (ICGV91114), which produced 15 per cent higher pod yields, 17 per cent more haulm and better quality fodder than the locally grown variety. After giving their cows and buffalo the improved fodder, dairy farmers noticed an immediate impact as their milk production increased by 11 per cent.

‘A recent participatory feeding trial found that 400 ml of extra milk was produced daily by animals that had been fed the improved variety. A separate impact study by ILRI also estimated that during the main growing season, adopters would earn about 48,000 rupees per hectare (US$970 from sales of groundnuts and milk)—four times more than from growing the local variety. . . .

‘Dual-purpose crops have also created new value chains for the animal feed sector. In Hyderabad, for example, sorghum stover-based feed blocks are being marketed by animal feed companies. One block feeds one dairy animal per day, ensuring a production level of eight to 12 litres of milk per day compared to an average of three to four. Traders are therefore beginning to pay sorghum farmers a premium for their crop residues.

‘Following on from ILRI and ICRISAT’s innovative crop breeding research, the IFAD-supported MilkIT project, led by ILRI, aims to improve access to animal feed for poor dairy farmers in India and Tanzania by using dual-purpose crops. The ILRI and ICRISAT researchers, and members of the CGIAR’s Systemwide Livestock Program, are also transferring the dual-purpose crop breeding approach to African countries, through improved sorghum varieties. They are also studying the trade-offs when crop residues are used to feed animals, including the consequences for soil fertility. . . .’

Read the whole article at the New Agriculturist: Fodder innovations to help Indian dairy farmers, Mar 2012.

For more information, visit the websites of ILRI and ICRISAT.

 

Scaling sustainable and equitable agri-food and livestock value chains

In April 2012, the ‘Seas of Change’ international learning workshop will be held in the Netherlands.To help guide the workshop, the organizers of the initiative have collated a number of case studies pointing to successes in scaling inclusive agri-food market development.

Several livestock and dairy examples are included in the case studies:

• Bangladesh, dairy and livestock
• Bangladesh, milk marketing
• India, dairy
• Kenya, livestock

“The Seas of Change Initiative is a learning and research initiative that has arisen from discussions between a group of business players, development agencies and researchers. The focus of the initiative is on how businesses with the right support from government, donors, NGOs and research can scale up inclusive agri-food market development to ensure food security for 9 billion people and help to tackle poverty.”

The initiative web site also has an Interview with Sonja Vermeulen from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

 

Climate models need to shift focus from global to regional

(Picture on Flickr by Zoriah.)

A new report focusing on eastern and western Africa and the South Asian Indo-Gangetic Plains, which span parts of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, on the ability of global climate models to predict regional climate events such as monsoon rains and temperatures—and found mixed results.

‘The models have a reasonable capability in terms of reproducing [trends in the] East African climate,’ said Richard Washington, professor of climate science at the University of Oxford.

‘But in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, the models predicted more monsoon rains, of different duration, to those that were actually observed.

‘Similar difficulties were encountered with India’s monsoons, the authors said. . . .

‘The authors said global models often failed to take account of complex regional climatic factors—making them less useful for policymakers.

‘For example, Asia’s monsoons are affected by many region-specific factors, such as El Niño events, atmospheric pressure over the North Atlantic Ocean, and Asia’s so-called ‘brown cloud’ air pollution. . . .

‘The authors suggested greater use of ‘ensemble’ models which combine results from several models to generate averages; and also the use of global models in conjunction with regional ones, to enable regional information to be factored in alongside larger-scale processes. . . .’

‘Philip Thornton, a senior scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute in Kenya and a modelling tools leader at CCAFS told SciDev.Net:

The more we understand [uncertainty in models], the better we can deal with it.’

Read the whole article at SciDev.Net: Global climate models ‘need regional sensitivity, 13 Mar 2012.

Read more about the report, developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), on the ILRI News Blog: New reports explore reliability of climate models at predicting impacts on agriculture, 21 Feb 2012.

 

Livestock reduce poverty in Asia – Stories from IFAD

TagCloud from the International Fund for Agricultural Research (image credit: IFAD).

An Asia and Pacific newsletter published by the International Fund for Agricultural Research (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to eradicate poverty and hunger in developing countries, has published a new edition, on the topic of livestock. IFAD projects supporting poultry mini-hatcheries in Bangladesh, biogas in China, native poultry breeds in India, microfinance in Mongolia, dairy cows in Pakistan, mohair production in Tajikistan, and cattle value chains in Viet Nam are described.

Livestock contribute 40 per cent of the global value of agricultural output, and support the livelihoods and food security of almost a billion people according to the 2009 report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)—The State of Food and Agriculture: Livestock in the Balance. It is one of the fastest growing sectors of the agricultural economy. The growth and transformation of the sector offer opportunities for agricultural development, poverty reduction and improved food security.

‘According to the IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2011, livestock are a valuable risk-mitigating and risk-management asset for poor families. They often serve as collateral for credit, a buffer against shocks and a safety net in times of crisis. Livestock can be sold when families need to cope with increased prices of food and other expenditures, and reduced incomes. Animal products, such as eggs and milk, can be produced, processed and sold throughout the year without seasonal restrictions.

‘In addition to being an important source of food energy and dietary protein, vitamins and micronutrients, livestock also play an important role in the environment. They consume waste products from crop and food production, help control insects and weeds, produce manure for fertilizing and conditioning fields, and provide draught power for ploughing and transport. Well managed livestock result in lower greenhouse gas emissions and impact on natural vegetative cover of grasslands, pastures and meadows. However, livestock are vulnerable to risks and shocks related to climate, environmental degradation, water scarcity and diseases.

‘Rural women play an important part in livestock management. However, both women and men face different livelihood opportunities and constraints in managing livestock. These constraints include: poor access to markets, goods, services and technical information; drought and disease; competing resource uses; policies that favour larger-scale producers or external markets; and weak institutions.

‘According to the IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2011, livestock production in developing countries has increased rapidly over the past 30 years. There has been substantial growth in the production of meat, eggs and milk. This has resulted from increased numbers of animals and increased yields, in Asia between 3 and 4 per cent per year. Today, production growth has been made possible by cheap inputs (including grains for feeds), technological change and gains in scale efficiency. This has resulted in lower prices for livestock products and stimulated rapidly growing demand among urban consumers.

To meet the growing demand for livestock products, the livestock sector requires appropriate institutions, research and technological innovations, development interventions and governance that reflect the diversity within the sector and the multiple demands placed upon it.

‘This newsletter provides a few interesting examples of how livestock is being managed in IFAD-supported projects and programmes in the Asia and the Pacific Region. . . .’

Read the whole article at Making a Difference in Asia and the Pacific, newsletter of the International Fund for Agricultural Research (IFAD), issue 38, Jul-Aug 2011.

 

ILRI finalizing action plan to curb classical swine fever in India’s northeast

A pig on a farm in Nikhekhu Village, Dimapur, Nagaland, India (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

‘The Nairobi-headquartered International Livestock Research Institute is undertaking a comprehensive study on the mortality of pigs in [India's] Northeast because of classical swine fever and will suggest effective mechanisms for its prevention and control.

‘The study will focus on Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram, which are known for their swine population in the region.

The mortality rate in pigs because of classical swine fever varies from 60–80 per cent. About 80 per cent of the population in the Northeast are indigenous people and pig-keeping is an integral part of their life.

‘Swine fever, also known as hog cholera, is a highly contagious viral disease and is said to be the most serious threat to the pig population in the Northeast. When the disease strikes, it destabilises the local rural economy.

‘The total pig population in Northeast is 3.8 million. “Death of pigs is not always recorded in the veterinary hospitals mainly because of lack of facilities.If we can control swine fever, we can solve most of the problems affecting the swine population,” said Rameshwar Deka, scientific officer at the Northeast office of the institute in Guwahati.

‘The results will be declared next month.

‘The study will look into the incidence and impact of classical swine fever on pig production and livelihood. It will also review the current status of the manufacture, availability and efficacy of swine fever vaccine and its import policy.

The study will assess both the incidence of the disease and its impact on the livelihood of poor pig keepers.

‘Discussions are being held with officials on the policy issues. . . . The study will finalise a collective action plan to address the technical, institutional and policy issues that constrain effective control of the disease in the Northeast . . . .

Though swine fever vaccine is produced in the country, it is not available in sufficient quantities and is not easy to import it either. There are also reports of vaccination failure but the reasons are not clear. Vaccine delivery mechanism is also reported to be very weak. All these issues will be looked into,” Deka said.’

Read the whole article at The Telegraph (Calcutta): Study to curb swine fever, 5 Aug 2011.

 

India-developed poultry breed increases incomes in the country’s northeast state of Nagaland

‘A Hyderabad-developed poultry breed has brought about a sea change in the lives of farmers in Mon district of Nagaland.

‘Reduced mortality rates of Vanaraja-bred birds, developed by the project directorate on poultry, Hyderabad, and increased income, has resulted in farmers asking for more supplies of the breed from the Nairobi-headquartered International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) which promoted the breed.

‘Rameshwar Deka, scientific officer ILRI and head of its Northeast centre said, “Looking at the success rate and profit earned from the Vanaraja birds, many more farmers are approaching the ILRI. Drawing encouragement from the ILRI’s promotion of a flock of 10 birds, some farmers in the villages have started rearing much bigger flocks with their own investment on a commercial basis.” The project was promoted in Lompongsheanghah and Longwa villages of Mon district under the World Bank-funded national agricultural innovation project initiative, led by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the project Livelihood improvement and empowerment of rural poor through sustainable farming systems in Northeast India.

‘Deka said prior to their intervention, they had found the poultry production system in the these villages traditional and poorly remunerative. “We had to look for dual purpose cross-bred birds, which can thrive well under poor feeding and management condition and can grow faster than indigenous birds, to improve the livelihood of the poor in the project villages. Finally, the Vanaraja bird was identified, since it had multiple colours, looked like indigenous birds and fetched better price in the market,” he said.

‘Before taking any decision, the community members were appraised about different aspects of Vanaraja bird production and marketing and their strength and weakness.

‘Deka said among the self-help groups interested in poultry production, the best poultry producers (having interest, skill and resources to rear birds) within a group were identified as first line beneficiaries, who would initially receive assistance from ILRI. The groups were informed that the remaining members would receive assistance after successful rearing of the birds by first line beneficiaries and the cycle would be rotated from their own investment.

‘This was done in order to build peer pressure within the group for self-sustenance of the activity and to utilise the best resourceful persons from the groups at the initial stage. . . .’

The Vanaraja variety, considered to be the best poultry breed, was studied and improved upon by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research centre in Hyderabad to boost rural poultry production. Now its being distributed for on-farm testing.

Read the whole article at the Telegraph (Calcutta): Vanaraja birds bring relief to Mon farmers, 18 Jul 2011.

 

Backyard poultry keeping and poverty reduction in South Asia: Good practices and good returns

A chicken forages beneath a farm cart in Brahampur (Arwa Village), in West Bengal, India, near drying patties of cow dung that will be used as cooking fuel (photo credit: ILRI/Mann).

A South Asia Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Programme, a joint initiative of the National Dairy Development Board of India and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, has identified and documented a range of good practices along the poultry supply chain in Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. These include interventions related to the provision of inputs, management and improved husbandry practices, health service delivery and the marketing of live birds and eggs.

This paper reviews and draws lessons out of 11 good practices on small‐scale poultry farming, documented by the programme in collaboration with a variety of public and private actors, including national and state governments, non-governmental organizations and private companies. The document attempts to identify gaps—in the current policy and institutional framework in Bangladesh, Bhutan and India—to enable improvements in smallholder poultry rearing.

The economics of South Asia’s backyard and small-scale poultry farming are interesting. Among other matters, we learn from this publication:

‘Returns on a one‐year investment in one single hen in scavenging and semi‐scavenging systems are handsome, averaging about 285 per cent and providing an average annual net income of about US$ 40 in India, that is, about 34 per cent of the national rural poverty threshold. These include eggs laid and consumed/sold, chicks hatched and birds consumed and sold.

‘In backyard production systems, investments in nondescript and indigenous birds, such as the Aseel and the Kadaknath, provide higher returns than investments in exotic ones, because of the high cost of feed for exotic birds (which are not good scavengers) and the lower market price of exotic meat and eggs (which are not preferred by rural consumers). . . .

‘The larger the flock size, the smaller the return on investments and the profit per bird, most likely because of the growing feed and animal health costs, which are minimal, if any, in backyard poultry farming system. In effect, commercial and semi‐commercial poultry enterprises are characterized by high‐volumes and low‐profit margins per bird. The implication is that backyard and small‐scale poultry farms are viable enterprises only as far as the scavenging base is sufficient to feed the birds.

‘Keeping a few exotic birds makes little economic sense because it is more profitable to raise a few nondescript or indigenous birds that can thrive almost on their own. At the same time, when the scavenging base is limited, it is sounder to keep just one or a few local birds rather than a flock of say ten local hens because the cost of additional feed will be higher than the returns from the hens. . . .’

Read the whole publication at the website of the South Asia Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Programme.