International audience | The existing Andean dairy production patterns are scarcely known and yet they play a major role in the household food security of many families. This study examines the consistency of forage management through the monitoring of 8 dairy farmers of a community living in the harsh conditions of the dry Peruvian Andes and the analysis of their production practices. The Sinto farmers are able to produce milk throughout the year despite the very dry climatic conditions by adjusting cattle groups, grazing rotationaly on irrigated alfalfa fields, farming large rangelands zones and exchanging standing forage with other farmers. Although the milk production per cow is low, the milk yield per hectare of alfalfa field is relatively high. This can be interpreted both as an optimisation of the system with regards to the restrictive factor which is the irrigated land and as a risk management, two components that may be considered to evaluate the sustainability of these livestock farming systems and to propose development options.

Article #83 | absent

International audience | Reproductive performances of the Creole goat, the meat breed of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, are described from a database generated for 15 years (1973 to 1988) at an experimental farm of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA, Guadeloupe, French West Indies). The data contain information on 599 females, 2259 attempted matings, 2135 achieved matings and 1904 kiddings. Animals were reared under semi-intensive management conditions (on the basis of feeding system, health and culling policy). Main sources of variation were analysed: mating type (buck in permanence or buck effect), mating season (dry, intermediate and humid season) and rank of kidding. The Creole goat is a continuous breeder. On average 94.5 percent of exposed females were mated (defined as mating rate) and 90.5 percent of exposed females achieved a kidding (fertility rate). Their prolificacy reached 1.98 kids/kidding, with only 3.9 percent of kids born dead. These reproductive parameters varied essentially with rank of kidding but very poorly with the mating season. Productivity of these females was regularly high during their whole lifetime production. From the results obtained, it is concluded that Creole goats have very high reproductive performances, provided that animal husbandry and nutrition are adequate.

A study was conducted to determine the factors influencing the supply of live indigenous (local) chickens in Kampala city markets in December 2008. A total of fifty local chicken traders were randomly selected from five markets to respond to a structured questionnaire. Chicken trade was generally informal. Local chickens were mainly marketed alive in Kampala markets and the main customers were piecemeal consumers. The majority of the traders (52.9%) obtained local chickens from Eastern Uganda. Chickens were transported to markets in passenger vehicles, on motorcycles and on lorry trucks that were carrying cattle and other agricultural produce. This mode of transport sometimes caused injuries and bird mortality. Fifty percent of the traders obtained the chickens from middlemen while 46% of the traders personally bought the birds from rural farm households. Chicken trade was the major source of household income to 72.7% of the chicken traders and many of the traders had secondary sources of income. During peak seasons, the traders could sell an average of 120 birds per week per person. Local chicken marketing involved traders of varying levels of education (with a mean of 9.5 years of formal education). The number of local chickens traded per week was positively correlated (P<0.01) with the level of education of the traders. The demand for these chickens was highest in the festive months of December and April; and lowest in February and March. The cost of local chickens was more than twice as much as that of exotic chickens. Most traders (56.7%) perceived taste to be the basis for consumers’ preferential demand for local chickens in preference to exotic chickens. The major constraints in the marketing of local chickens in Kampala city markets were identified as high mortality rates/chicken diseases (43.5%), costly transport (22.4%), and irregular demand (15.3%). The study revealed that there was a high potential for the development of local chicken trade in Uganda. Designing solutions for the constraints of local chicken marketing would act as a tool for poverty alleviation not only to the rural chicken farmers but also the traders.

A study was conducted to determine the productivity and management of indigenous chickens of Kumi district in Eastern Uganda. Eighty households were randomly selected to respond to a standard questionnaire. The average flock size per household was three cocks, six hens and four chicks. Sexual maturity is attained at 5.5 and 6.5 months among male and female chickens respectively, with age at first egg ranging between 5.5-7 months. Egg hatchability varied widely between farmers with an overall mean of 90%. Clutch sizes ranged between 4-19 eggs per clutch, with a mean of 13 eggs. Chickens were acquired through purchase (65.6%), gifts (26.3%), or in exchange for labour. Scavenging was the major feeding system, seasonally supplemented with cereal grain. The majority of the farmers (87.5%) provided birds with drinking water. Death of chicks was prevalent (73%) and was mainly attributed to Newcastle disease (70%), with most of the mortality being observed during the dry season (62%). Survival of chickens was significantly affected (P<0.001) by feeding level, and strongly correlated (r = 0.83) with the housing system. Housing and feeding had significant effects on duration between laying cycles (P<0.001), how chickens were acquired (P<0.01), and the uses to which the chickens were put (P<0.001). Chickens and eggs are mainly used to generate household income and for home consumption. In some households, chickens are exchanged for goats and subsequently, for cattle. Our findings indicate that the indigenous chicken is a major resource in Teso, Uganda. The performance of these indigenous chickens would significantly improve with better feeding, housing and health management. Chicken farmers should be empowered through training and provision of capital credit, the latter of which should be well informed by data on the chicken production cycle.

peer reviewed | The Algerian agricultural sector faces the challenge to meet the food needs of its population despite low agricultural capacity, resulting in increasing pressure on natural resources. This paper aims to inventory the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to livestock sector in the rural area of Chemini (province of Bejaia), taking into account the emissions due to enteric fermentation, in the form of methane, and manure management, in the form of methane and nitrous oxide. Emissions intensity, expressed in CO2- equivalents (CO2-eq) per kg of edible protein, was included in the study. Ruminants contribute to 94% of livestock GHG emissions and to 53% of protein production, with a large share due to cattle. The main part of emissions is related to enteric fermentation. High-producing cattle present the lowest emission intensity of the ruminant category with 24 kg CO2-eq per kg protein. Chickens produce 2.7% of livestock related emissions but provide 47% of animal protein. It results in low emission intensities whereas important difference is noticed between backyard and industrialized systems (around 21 versus 1 kg CO2-eq per kg protein, respectively). Improvement of animal performance should contribute to mitigate the environmental impact of livestock production in Algeria.

Field experiments were carried out at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University (54º52′ N, 23º49′ E) in Lithuania. Winter wheat was grown on the background of N150P90K90 mineral fertilization and was additionally foliar-fertilized with different concentrations of amino acid solutions (0.5-3.0%) at stem elongation and heading stages. The study was aimed to establish protein content as well as quantitative and qualitative distribution of amino acids in winter wheat grain as influenced by fertilization with different concentrations of amino acids. Experimental evidence showed that solutions with different concentrations of amino acids applied at winter wheat stem elongation and heading stages increased grain protein content and total amino acids contents. Plants, fertilized with amino acids solutions at stem elongation stage accumulated higher protein content by on average 4.8%, at heading stage by 4.5% compared with the grain protein content of plants that had not received amino acids fertilization. The total amino acids content in winter wheat grain in response to amino acids applied at stem elongation stage increased by on average 2.0 g kg-1, at heading stage by 5.3 g kg-1. Nonessential and essential amino acids content in winter wheat grain was significantly increased by 2.5 and 3.0% amino acids solutions, applied at stem elongation stage by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5% amino acids solutions applied at heading stage. Winter wheat fertilization with amino acids solutions at stem elongation stage mostly increased the content of glutamic acid, at heading stage mostly increased the contents of glutamic, aspartic, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, methionine, threonine and lysine acids.

Under rapid development of science and industry the industrial robots and robotic systems are more widely used in the field of industry. The robots and robotic systems help to manage and master new technological processes efficiently and effectively. In this article there was carried out the analysis of the two degree of freedom (DOF) robot arm, which is widely used in practice in order to reveal its functions and to identify its key dynamic parameters using fuzzy logic system. The mathematical model of robot arm dynamics is composed, which includes the mathematical models of the robot arm links twirling motors and the direct positions task model generating the end point of the robot. After the analysis of the robot model the expanded research was performed – after calculating the missing parameters of experimental 2DOF robot arm motors there was created the robot arm model with „V-REP“ and “MATLAB Simulink” software packages that allowed to set the control voltages and to observe the changing in time processes of link velocity trajectories. There is calculated designed planar robot end point trajectory deviation from the dynamic trajectory.

Awareness of the requirements of sustainable development has become increasingly important in terms of responsible consumption, respect for the environment and promotion of local economies. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of sustainable involvement and buying intentionof tourists on their socially responsible behavior. An empirical study was conducted with a sample of 113 tourists in Morocco. Validation of hypotheses through bi-varied analysis shows that sustainable involvement and intention have a positive impact on socially responsible behavior. In addition, the age, gender and marital status variables have a significant moderating effect on causality links between groups.

This paper presents formation of the first pop-up rural socially-innovative hubs in Croatia through the cooperation of higher education institutions, civil society organizations, students, alumni and local people in the specific rural communities of Međimurje and Split-Dalmatia County. The main purpose of the hubs is to develop, test and validate an inclusive and participative program of service learning in the field of sustainable rural development. Pop-up rural hubs are mobile model of service learning that functions as an occasional event in the local community, to which all interested initiators are invited to join. From the sociological perspective, the most important aim of this project is to strenghten rural local communities through the launch of socio-innovative sustainable micro-entrepreneurial activities by using local resources. Through pop-up rural hubs, business ideas and plans are tested, and through additional mentoring and business plan, initiators were able to send the product or service on the market. Although the project is not over yet, the preliminary results show that pop-up rural socially-innovative hubs, within a period of one year project duration, stress the differencies and similarities between local communities in different parts of rural Croatia, enhance human capital and have a social impact on higher education institutions, civil society organizations, students, alumni and local people.