International audience | A silvopastoral grazing system (SP) was compared with confinement (CF) to determine the growth and general performance of weaned Pelibuey lambs under experimental conditions. Animals were from the Experiment Station “Indio Hatuey” flock of Matanzas, Cuba. The trial began with weaning in March and April at 4 months after lambing, with the lambs weighing around 13 kg, and lasted for 125 days. After being drenched with Levamisol, 25 lambs were grown on the SP with 18 to 21 lambs/ha, and 25 lambs were grown in CF. A rustic shed was used for CF with 1.5 to 1.8 m2 per animal. The CF lambs were fed cut and carried chopped forage (60% Pennisetum purpureum, 40% Morus alba), and dehydrated citrus pulp at 0.8 to 1.0 kg/lamb per day was offered as supplement in both treatments. The nutritive value of the woody forage species established in both systems was determined with the French expression system. Data were analyzed by Proc Mixed procedure of SAS. For the whole experimental period differences (P< 0.001) were obtained for average daily gain and incidence of gastrointestinal parasitism, mainly from Haemonchus contortus (2117 vs. 144 EPG of faeces) for SP and CF feeding systems, respectively. Lambs from CF (88.5 vs. 48.2 g/d) and males (77.8 vs. 58.9 g/d) exceeded SP and females in daily weight gains. Morbidity rate was explicitly higher in SP, and consequently, the survival level was better under CF experimental conditions (8% mortality in SP vs. 0% in CF). Advantages of the CF feeding system were mainly related to the reduced helminthiasis, which influences feed intake and efficiency, morbidity, growth rate, and survival rate as well. Under the particular conditions of this experiment, these results suggest that CF of lambs, adopting integrative approach with rational use of natural and local resources, can be a good alternative for improving the growth and welfare of growing lambs in the tropics.

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.

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.

Introduction of cassava leaf silage making to smallholder farmers and its feeding to ruminants in cassava crop growing areas were investigated through laboratory and on-farm feeding trials, extension services and training. This with the aim to evaluate the response of the ruminants on cassava leaf silage feeding and the adoption of the technology by farmers. Fifteen male sheep aged 6-8 months with an initial body weight of 15.8 + 2.6 kg were used in a laboratory feeding trial and allotted to 3 treatments with 5 replications in a randomized block experiment design. The sheep were fed on chopped elephant grass and three different levels of cassava leaf silage as treatment. The three levels of supplementation of casava leaf silage (DM in % of body weight) were: 0, 0.75, and 1.5, which represented treatments A, B, and C, respectively, and the rest of the feed was elephant grass to reach a total DM intake in % of body weight of 5. The individual sheep was weighed every second week to measure their body weight changes. An on-farm feeding trial was conducted in collaboration with the farmers as target persons. The results showed that feeding increasing amounts of cassava leaf silage as a feed supplement for sheep significantly increased digestible crude protein (CP) intake and nitrogen retention, and this was also associated with an increase in average daily weight gain from 41.4 to 45.0 and 50.0 g/head/day, respectively, on treatments A, B and C. Cassava leaf has been commonly used as a feed for ruminant animals by smallholder farmers, but only during the cassava crop harvesting season, where the leaf was abundantly available. It was fed in fresh form, either as single or combined feed. Preservation of forages including cassava leaf in the form of hay or silage was not well known by the farmers in this study. The farmers showed good response on the introduced technology of cassava leaf silage making and feeding to their ruminant livestock. They noticed that cassava leaf silage showed higher palatability over the forages they have normally used to feed their livestock. The farmers have practiced the technology, but they lack equipments, especially chopping machine for a larger scale application of the technology.

This study aimed at better understanding of the characteristics of feeding and breeding practices smallholder farmers adopt in intensifying their dairy production. Use of hired labour for fodder gathering, growing of fodder crops and purchase of feeds increased with increasing intensification, but Bos taurus breeds did not respond to increasing feeding intensification while Bos indicus cattle responded, calving at earlier age and yielding more milk. Overall, first calving occurred at 32 months, but days open prolonged to 250 days with milk yield of 4 litres per day of calving interval. A principal component analysis extracted six feeding and breeding components, explaining 71.79% of the total variations in feeding and breeding practices for dairy intensification. The six components were labelled: non- intensified feeding and breeding; breeding decisions based-intensification; high external resource based-intensification; moderate resource based-intensification; resource poor based-intensification; and moderate external resource based-intensification. These characteristics points to some `evolutionary process¿ of intensification involving feeding and breeding decisions, depending on the risk-bearing capacity of the household. Intensification enhancing interventions for smallholders need be considered in the context of the household economy. Interventions on feeding and breeding have to be packaged together holistically if intensification is to enhance productivity. A selective intervention on only one of these is associated with low productivity levels, only contributing to sustaining family subsistence livelihoods

Given the high amounts of apple rejected for commercialization its use as alternative feed for ruminants should be considered. This study was designed to investigate the nutritive value of apple pulp-wheat straw mixtures. Chemical composition, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and gas production profiles of ensiled mixtures containing 85 (M85), 70 (M70), and 50% (M50) of apple pulp were studied at 0, 15, 30 and 45 days. Fermentation quality was assessed by pH, lactic acid, ethanol and acetate. The results showed that non fibre carbohydrates (NFC) decreased along the storage period while DM stabilized after 30 days. It was also shown that pH increased along the storage period and the highest values for ethanol and acetic acid concentrations were observed in the apple pulp mixtures (Apple). Within mixtures, IVOMD decreased along the storage period, being however similar across mixtures after long periods of storage. Gas production analysis indicated that easily fermentable components (VFA) and the less easily fermentable constituents (VFB) decreased along the storage period, but VFB showed no differences between mixtures for the first two storage periods. Results suggest the possibility of reducing ethanol concentration of apple pulp silages through the incorporation of fibrous components; however silage additives to limit fermentation of sugars into ethanol should be used to ensure the course of the conservation process.

Objectives of this study were to compare costs and expected benefits of feed supplementation in cattle with alternative shrub legumes during the dry season using as a case study the hillsides of Central Nicaragua. The information used was gathered in a survey of 32 farms in the states of Boaco and Chontales in Central Nicaragua. The survey was designed to determine herd structure, land use patterns, milk and beef production, and use of inputs for animal nutrition, in order to estimate production, reproductive parameters and employment of family/contracted labor, as well as indicators of profitability of the alternatives under study. To calculate the economic return to the investment in alternative forages, a simulation model that applies optimization techniques through linear programming, implemented as a spreadsheet, was used to perform an ex ante evaluation of the costs and benefits of different land use alternatives and of interactions between technological components and biological productivity. The model compares the costs and benefits of the traditional feeding system versus an improved feeding system. The traditional system consists of grazing naturalized pastures (Hyparrhenia rufa) during the rainy season. In the dry season producers supplement the herd with small areas of king grass (Pennisetum spp.). The improved feeding system consists of establishing forage legumes for dry season feeding as a supplement to replace king grass during the dry season. Supplements to evaluate are the shrub legume Calliandra calothyrsus as partial replacement of the herbaceous high quality legume Vigna unguiculata, commonly known as Cowpea. Under the new feeding system, herd size can be increased by 60% due in part to the increase in stocking rate as well as to the increase in the quality of the diet offered with higher protein content. This increase in herd size raises both milk and beef output that generates an increase in farm income by 1.8 times more (i.e., from $1,314/farm/yr to $2,386). The economic return to family labor is increased by 20% to $ 5.26/day equivalent to 2.3 times higher than the local wage rate. The adoption of Vigna (Cowpea) after the harvest of maize/beans and a shrub legume as Calliandra to replace king grass seem to have the potential to significantly improve the productivity in smallholder farms. with the resulting increase in the economic return to family labor.

With this issue of 2008, we bring 49 proceedings of the 85, which started life as presentations at the Annual 14th International Scientific Conference on Research for Rural Development 2008 held at the Latvia University of Agriculture, in Jelgava, on 21st to 23rd May 2008. In the retrospect of four month later, we can count the Conference as a great success. The theme - Research for Rural Development - attracted participation of 357 researches with very different backgrounds. There were 2 presentations from Czech Republic, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Poland, 1 from Sweden, 2 from Estonia, 13 from Lithuania and 65 from Latvia. Four independent reviewers estimated each report. The proceedings of the Conference is intended for academics, students and professionals researching in the area of crop production, animal breeding, agricultural engineering, agrarian and regional economics, food sciences, veterinary medicine, forestry, wood processing and water management.