Development programs recommend fattening of pigs aged between 1 and 2 years by supplementing their local diet with industrial cereal bran, to improve womens' income. At the best moment to start this activity, just after the rainy season, high demand for these pigs induced higher prices and low margins. The start after the rainy season does not fit in the existing production system as farmers sell their surplus pigs before and during the rainy season. Traditional pig fattening lasts 3 years. About 60 women in 8 villages tested early fattening of young piglets. Piglets of the treatment were supplemented with a special concentrate and showed higher daily weight gains compared to the traditionally fed group. The gross margin of the early fattening was equal to the recommended pig fattening, but the first solved problems related to availability of piglets and thus fits better in the existing production system. Almost half of the early fattened pigs were sold within a year. Most of the women appreciated the experiment positively and suggested positive margins can be attained by selecting suitable piglets and rigorously respecting feeding and management schemes. Criteria were developed for selecting the most suitable piglets with a simple tailor tape. A projection on 3 years shows that the gross margin of early fattening is higher compared to traditional fattening and that it facilitates the production of more meat against lower cost.

A study was conducted to assess the productivity and reproductive performance of seven free-range local domestic fowl ecotypes in Tanzania named Ching'wekwe, Mbeya, Morogoro-medium, N'zenzegere, Pemba, Tanga and Unguja. Average weekly weight measurements and growth rates were evaluated for each ecotype and sex as was egg weight, fertility and hatchability. Significant differences existed between ecotypes in all the five parameters studied. Ching'wekwe showed consistently low mean weekly weights, daily growth rate and mean egg weight contrary to Morogoro-medium and Tanga ecotypes. Egg fertility was low with only N'zenzegere and Unguja ecotypes exceeding 75%. Hatchability was also low ranging from 55% (Ching'wekwe and Morogoro-medium) to 74% (Pemba). It was concluded that genetic and phenotypic diversity exists in the local domestic fowl ecotypes of Tanzania. The diversity constitutes a valuable resource for use in breeding programmes for improvement of the health and productivity of the local domestic fowls and in designing proper conservation strategies. Further studies are required to identify genetic markers associated with productivity and disease resistance within the local domestic fowl ecotypes. In depth studies on the performance of the Tanzanian medium ecotypes (Morogoro-medium and Tanga) is required to ascertain their suitability for promotion throughout the country.

On-host behaviour of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was studied in the field in Bungoma County in Kenya to evaluate the putative repellent effects of essential oils of Tagetes minuta and Tithonia diversifolia at its predilection feeding site. Oils of both plants caused a disruption of orientation, movement and attachment behaviour of ticks. More ticks dropped off in the treatments with the two essential oils than with the control. Treating the ear pinna with the essential oil of T. minuta caused the highest percentage of ticks to drop off the host body. No tick reached the ear pinna treated with the essential oil of T. minuta and up to 30% of ticks (from the forehead release site) reached the ear base. When the ear pinna was treated with the essential oil of T. diversifolia, one tick reached the ear pinna and up to 40% of ticks (from the dewlap release site) reached the ear base. The results show that T. minuta repels ticks more strongly than T. diversifolia. However, both essential oils offer possibilities for exploitation of potentially effective and environmentally acceptable tools for on-host tick control.

On-host behaviour of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was studied in the field in Bungoma County in Kenya to evaluate the putative repellent effects of essential oils of Tagetes minuta and Tithonia diversifolia at its predilection feeding site. Oils of both plants caused a disruption of orientation, movement and attachment behaviour of ticks. More ticks dropped off in the treatments with the two essential oils than with the control. Treating the ear pinna with the essential oil of T. minuta caused the highest percentage of ticks to drop off the host body. No tick reached the ear pinna treated with the essential oil of T. minuta and up to 30% of ticks (from the forehead release site) reached the ear base. When the ear pinna was treated with the essential oil of T. diversifolia, one tick reached the ear pinna and up to 40% of ticks (from the dewlap release site) reached the ear base. The results show that T. minuta repels ticks more strongly than T. diversifolia. However, both essential oils offer possibilities for exploitation of potentially effective and environmentally acceptable tools for on-host tick control.

Bhutan aims to intensify livestock production not only to improve livelihoods of farming households and to meet the increasing demands of livestock products, but also to sustainably use natural resources. This paper assesses the impact and trends of livestock intensification on the use of Common Property Resources (CPR), and how this affects the cattle numbers that can be maintained and the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) flows at the farm. Data on household, cropping and livestock activities were collected through interviewing 183 households in extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, and intensive peri-urban areas in the years 2000 and 2004. In the extensive and semi-intensive areas, CPR was the most important source of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) for cattle. In the intensive areas with a majority of crossbred cattle, the farmers relied less on CPR than in the other two areas, but still about one quarter of the TDN requirements were met by grazing CPR. Grazing in the CPR provided the highest proportion of NP inputs at farm level; without grazing on CPR all four areas would have had highly negative soil nutrient balances. Intensification of livestock production through crossbreeding has not resulted in major reductions in cattle numbers per farm, but it is contributing to reduced use of CPR by farmers. Intensification partly replaces farm nutrient flows from CPR with nutrient inputs through increased use of concentrates, conserved fodder, and fertilizers. More awareness of nutrient management is required among farmers coupled with more research on nutrient assessments.

A cross-sectional survey on fasciolosis was conducted in March 2009 in Taveta Division. Bura Ndogo, Challa, Kiwalwa, Kitogoto and Lake Jipe Gicheha settlements participated in the study. A total of 338 (197 cattle, 111 goats and 30 sheep) faecal samples from 42 herds were examined using the sedimentation technique. Similarly, husbandry practices and aspects of herd owner education in the same settlements were captured using a standard questionnaire. Selective deworming targeted at the sick and /or weak looking animals was done by some herd owners interviewed. Fasciolosis prevalence in cattle, goats and sheep was 25.9%, 23.4% and 33.3%, respectively. Extensive grazing and age stratum 7 - 12 months were identified as potential fasciolosis risk factors with the latter being significantly (p<0.05) associated with the disease. On the contrary, home watering, training on livestock husbandry practices and deworming were significant (p< 0.05) protective factors of fasciolosis. Improved husbandry practices assisted by the selective anthelmintic treatments targeting the young animals were identified as feasible fasciolosis control options for Taveta division. In conclusion, the results of the study have clearly shown that fasciolosis is widespread in Taveta Division making it necessary for further longitudinal studies on the disease for establishment of an effective control programme

The study was undertaken in the Ejura-Sekyedumasi District of Ghana to investigate how household headship characteristics and labour availability relate with the household’s decision to keep and spend time on small ruminants. Key informants were interviewed prior to a census of all the 407 households in two villages, to collect demographic, crop, and livestock data, which was used in bivariate and logistic regression analyses. A subsequent time use study involved a stratified sample of 24 households, and the t- test was used to compare households. In general, female-headed households (FHH) were of lower socio-economic status, and had fewer adult household members and less livestock, compared to male-headed households (MHH). The final logistic regression model had a 77.1% success rate in predicting households keeping small ruminants, with socio-economic status and sex of the household head, presence of poultry and the number of active adults as significant predictors. Characteristics of FHH that kept small ruminants were not significantly different from their male counterparts, but the former spent less time feeding their animals. The odds of keeping small ruminants were ultimately 2.1 times higher for male-headed households. The low socio-economic status of most FHH with less labour availability is a disincentive for small ruminant rearing

The growth response of Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus) to supplementation with fresh or dried leaves of a sweet variety of cassava was studied in 1 m deep ponds (each 4 m * 2.5 m * 1 m). Rice bran or rice bran mixed with cassava root meal was provided as the energy source (20-24% of feed DM), the mixed feed being given at the rate of 5% of fish LW. There were 30 fish per pond with average initial weight of 6 g per head. The treatments were arranged as a 2*2 factorial in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 replicates. The first factor was cassava leaf processing (sun-dried or fresh); the second factor was energy source (rice bran or rice bran mixed with cassava root meal). The cassava leaves and roots were from a local “sweet” variety traditionally planted by farmers for human consumption. The experiment was conducted for 100 days. Daily gain in weight and length, and the ratio weight: length after 100 days of growth, did not differ among treatments. All the fish survived and there was no evidence of HCN toxicity. Water quality parameters were not affected by the treatments. There were no interactions between sources of protein and of energy. It is concluded that the feeding of cassava leaves with rice bran can be readily adopted by small scale farmers as both these feed resources are readily available in rural areas.

A survey was conducted in Hamer and Benna-Tsemay districts of the South Omo zone of Ethiopia, with the objectives of assessing the range-livestock management practices and perceptions of the different pastoral groups (Hamer, Benna, and Tsemay) towards rangeland degradation. This information is considered to be vital to future pastoral development planning and interventions. The information was gathered through group discussions, personal observations, and using a structured questionnaire where each household was taken as a unit of analysis. The average family size per household was for Hamer = 7.05 for Benna = 7.93 and for Tsemay = 7 with nearly 98.1% of the respondents without any kind of education. All pastoral groups derived their main income from the sale of animals, which was followed by the sale of honey as in the case of Hamer and Tsemay pastoralists. The average livestock per household was 25.7, 10 and 2.8 tropical livestock unit (TLU) cattle, goat and sheep, respectively. The major livestock production constraints were drought, feed and water shortage and animal health problems. The different pastoral groups have the opinion that the condition of their rangeland is poor, mainly due to overgrazing, drought and increase in human population. Furthermore, there was also a problem of bush encroachment which is an indicator of rangeland degradation. There are no range improvement practices undertaken to improve the condition of the rangelands. Mobility is the first measure taken to solve shortage of livestock feed and water but many of the pastoralists replied that they face many problems during migrations. Because of the unfavorable climatic condition for cultivation, most of the respondents of Hamer and Tsemay pastoralists and about 35% from Benna still prefer communal land tenure, where resources are shared. In conclusion, the indigenous knowledge of the pastoralists about range-livestock management and their environment should be incorporated while planning range-livestock development projects for the study districts.

Data from the nucleus herd at the International Trypanotolerance Centre (ITC) in The Gambia were used to evaluate the current N'Dama cattle breeding scheme implemented in a low input production system. Opportunities were investigated to further improve the breeding scheme through a comparison of alternatives to the current selection strategy. A deterministic simulation model was used to demonstrate the genetic and economic benefits of the different schemes. The breeding goal consisted of daily weight gain (from 15 to 36 months of age under high tsetse challenge conditions, DWG, g/day) and milk yield (milk off-take in the first 100 days of lactation, MY, kg). Substantial genetic response per year of 3.40 kg in MY and 0.25 g/day in DWG could be achieved. Simulation results showed that early selection of nucleus sires resulted in relatively higher genetic and economic responses compared to all other schemes investigated. For a practical breeding scheme (low input system), the scheme based on early selection of nucleus sires should be recommended since this leads to the best improvements in the overall breeding goal