ANIMAL AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIC BRADFORD
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Pastoral Systems

Livestock play a very important role in the agriculture of most developing countries, accounting on average for an estimated half of agricultural output through their direct and indirect contributions. Major functions include: production of human-edible food from human-inedible forages, crop residues and by-products; concentrating nutrients, thus increasing the quality of food and producing high-value products for sale; serving as a source of savings and income for producers who lack access to banks or credit; recycling plant nutrients and improving soil fertility; serving as a food reserve; and providing draft power. Crop-livestock systems are in general more stable and more productive than cropping systems alone. A perceived problem due to livestock is overgrazing and environmental degradation, but these are usually the result of human mismanagement of the animals. Traditional pastoral systems can be not only persistent, but ecologically sound. The currently observed problems associated with pastoral systems in arid and semi-arid lands are more likely to result from breakdown of traditional management practices due to human population increase and external intervention or social changes, or from abiotic factors such as climatic variation, than from flaws in the traditional system. Research and development programs can increase the contributions of animals to the well-being of their owners and to the economies of developing countries. Some areas with high potential include: evaluation of local genetic resources; assessment of feed resources and design of economical, efficient supplementation strategies; and reduction of costs of disease control by development of multivalent vaccines. There are opportunities for large increases in efficiency of resource utilization and animal productivity. However, a more thorough understanding of social and economic as well as biological aspects of production systems than has usually existed in development projects is essential for interventions, where they are indicated, to be effective. Key words: Food quality, efficiency, production systems, sustainability, genetic resources, animal traction

scholarly journals Pollination Potential in Portugal: Leveraging an Ecosystem Service for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Caroline Wentling ◽  
Felipe S. Campos ◽  
João David ◽  
Pedro Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Pollinator Abundance ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Administrative Boundary

As urbanization and agriculture increase worldwide, habitats and food sources for wild pollinators are often fragmented or destroyed. As wild pollinators contribute both resilience and variety to agricultural fields, it is desirable to implement land management practices that preserve their well-being and ability to contribute to food production systems. This study evaluates continental Portugal for its change in suitability to host bee’s pollinator species (Apis mellifera) from 1990 to 2018. It uses the InVEST crop pollination modeling tool and CORINE Land Cover, as well as parameterization to produce pollinator abundance and supply maps. These are generalized to municipality boundaries to provide actionable insights to farmers and policymakers and strengthen land management practices. It finds that the potential for pollination services is growing, with averages of both pollinator abundance and supply indices improving by 8.76% across the continental territory in 28 years. The study results are validated using another pollination index derived from a study that is based on expert opinion and field sampling in a sub-region of Portugal. This method of aggregation of model results and comparison of the percent difference by administrative boundary has the potential to better inform both policymakers and farmers about the pollination potential on a local level, as well as inspire interventions for future productivity.

Use of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products in ruminant production systems in developing countries

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. N. Jayasuriya
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Mixed System ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Cropping Patterns ◽  
By Products

AbstractRuminant production systems in developing countries could be classified into three categories: the extensive systems, systems incorporating arable cropping and systems integrated with tree cropping. Systems have evolved in response to the agro-ecological environment, the availability and type of land, nature of cropping patterns, frequency and intensity of cropping, area of uncultivated land and animal species and animal numbers.Smallholder livestock farmers in most developing countries appear to have adopted a mixed system that incorporates the traditional extensive system and the system that combines arable cropping with livestock. Both in Africa and in Asia, livestock production is an important component of traditional agriculture, complementing arable cropping. Livestock utilize existing food resources such as communal grazing lands which are marginal for arable cropping, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. Besides supplying meat and milk, organic manure and draft power, livestock are an investment and an insurance against crop failure.Crop residues and agro-industrial by-products are a major source of nutrients for ruminant livestock in developing countries, especially during periods of fodder shortage. Despite the large research effort on upgrading crop residues in recent years, there has been little improvement in the utilization of crop residues in developing countries. Reasons for this are many but include, the absence of detailed production patterns of crop residues within countries, including when and where they are produced, the difficulties of transporting and storing crop residues, inappropriate technology and the near absence of extension services.Both in the African and Asian continents, smallholder farmers who rear livestock for supplementary income are rather reluctant to change their traditional practices, when new technologies call for extra labour, time and capital, since the methods may be too demanding in relation to the benefit produced. The more likely application of any new technology will be with larger-scale operations where benefits are clearer and sufficiently large to warrant the extra efforts.

Blueprints for Tropical Dairy Farming

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Moran ◽  
Philip Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Tropics

Blueprints for Tropical Dairy Farming provides insight into the logistics, infrastructure and management required for the development of small and large dairy farms in tropical developing countries. Farmers will learn how to improve the welfare, milk quality and productivity of their dairy herds. This book complements author John Moran’s five previous books on the principles of tropical dairy farming. The manual covers a wide range of topics related to ensuring the sustainability of dairy production systems in tropical developing countries, such as South and East Asia, Africa and Central America. It also provides guidelines for the best management practices of large-scale, more intensive dairy systems. While smallholder farms are the major suppliers of milk in the tropics, many larger farms are becoming established throughout the tropics to satisfy the increasing demands for fresh milk. Blueprints for Tropical Dairy Farming will be a valuable resource for farmers and stockpeople who want to improve the productive performance of their dairy herds, farm advisers who can assist farmers to achieve this aim, educators who develop training programs for farmers or who train dairy advisers in the basics of dairy production technology, and other stakeholders in tropical dairy production, such as local agribusiness, policy makers and research scientists. National and international agencies will learn new insights into the required long-term logistics for regional dairy development, while potential investors will acquire knowledge into intensive tropical dairy farming.

scholarly journals 121 The impact of changing consumer preferences on production and management practices at cow-calf level

2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 49-49
Author(s):  
Robbi H Pritchard
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Cow Calf ◽  
Calving Season ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Changes in cow-calf operations and management need to be deliberate and focus on consumer preferences that are substantive and enduring. For the sake of argument these preference changes could include: 1) continued erosion of the image of the cattle industry; 2) growth in demand of high quality grade beef, likely branded, and available at an affordable price; 3) production systems that yield improvements in cattle health, have a lesser environmental impact, and demonstrate prudent animal care and well-being; 4) Specification systems that may or may not include stipulations such as grass fed or non-implanted. At the ranch level there will be continued pressure to pursue rapid, efficient growth, marbling, structural soundness, and immunocompetence via genetic selection. A major step to reduce health problems is to reduce co-mingling. To achieve this goal breeding programs will change to improve the genetic and phenotypic uniformity and possibly the heterosis of the calf crop on each ranch. The National calving season needs to be more uniformly distributed throughout the year. New, more relevant cattle performance metrics will be developed. Calves that fit a branded production stream will have more value. Production streams that require Verified processes will be inequitably distributed across herd size because of associated costs, forcing smaller herds to either coop, vertically integrate, or accept generic cattle prices. Because of the diversity of environments and corresponding compatible bio-types of cows, identifying the profitable combination of specific branded systems with the genetics, calving season, labor, resource management and nutrition program of the ranch is very complicated. It will be increasingly necessary to put incremental response assessments in the context of the greater production-product system. Successful adaptors will place a much greater reliance on strong technical support in the areas of genetics, nutrition, growth, animal handling, documentation, and branded production streams.

scholarly journals Classification and characterisation of livestock production systems in northern Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.A. de Glanville ◽  
A. Davis ◽  
K.J. Allan ◽  
J. Buza ◽  
J.R. Claxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
Crop Losses ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Pastoral Households

AbstractLivestock keepers in sub-Saharan Africa face a growing range of pressures, including climate change, land loss, restrictive policies, and population increase. Widespread adaptation in response to such pressures can lead to the emergence of new, non-traditional typologies of livestock production.We sought to characterise livestock production systems in northern Tanzania, a region undergoing rapid social, economic, and environmental change. Questionnaire and spatial data were collected from 404 livestock-keeping households in 21 villages in Arusha and Manyara Regions in 2016. Multiple factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to classify households into livestock production systems based on household-level characteristics. Indicators of vulnerability, including household-level reports of hunger, illness, livestock loss, land loss and crop losses were compared between production systems.Three distinct clusters emerged through this process. The ethnic, environmental and livestock management characteristics of households in each cluster broadly mapped onto traditional definitions of ‘pastoral’, ‘agro-pastoral’ and ‘smallholder’ livestock production in the region, suggesting that this quantitative classification system is complementary to more qualitative classification methods. Our findings also suggest that traditional systems of livestock production continue to persist in northern Tanzania. Nonetheless, we found indicators of substantial change within livestock production systems, most notably the adoption of crop agriculture in the majority of pastoral households. Smallholder households were less likely than either pastoral or agro-pastoral households to report hunger, illness, and livestock, land or crop losses.Livelihoods that rely solely on livestock are relatively rare in northern Tanzania, which represents an important shift in production in the region, particularly among pastoralists. Policy initiatives to improve household and community well-being should recognise the continuing distinctiveness of traditional livestock production systems in the region.

scholarly journals Classification and characterisation of livestock production systems in northern Tanzania

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0229478
Author(s):  
William A. de Glanville ◽  
Alicia Davis ◽  
Kathryn J. Allan ◽  
Joram Buza ◽  
John R. Claxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
System Level ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Pastoral Households

Livestock keepers in sub-Saharan Africa face a range of pressures, including climate change, land loss, restrictive policies, and population increase. Widespread adaptation in response can lead to the emergence of new, non-traditional typologies of livestock production. We sought to characterise livestock production systems in two administrative regions in northern Tanzania, an area undergoing rapid social, economic, and environmental change. Questionnaire and spatial data were collected from 404 livestock-keeping households in 21 villages in Arusha and Manyara Regions in 2016. Multiple factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to classify households into livestock production systems based on household-level characteristics. Adversity-based indicators of vulnerability, including reports of hunger, illness, and livestock, land and crop losses were compared between production systems. Three distinct clusters emerged through this process. The ethnic, environmental and livestock management characteristics of households in each cluster broadly mapped onto traditional definitions of ‘pastoral’, ‘agro-pastoral’ and ‘smallholder’ livestock production in the study area, suggesting that this quantitative classification system is complementary to more qualitative classification methods. Our approach allowed us to demonstrate a diversity in typologies of livestock production at small spatial scales, with almost half of study villages comprising more than one production system. We also found indicators of change within livestock production systems, most notably the adoption of crop agriculture in the majority of pastoral households. System-level heterogeneities in vulnerability were evident, with agro-pastoral households most likely to report hunger and pastoral households most likely to report illness in people and livestock, and livestock losses. We demonstrate that livestock production systems can provide context for assessing household vulnerability in northern Tanzania. Policy initiatives to improve household and community well-being should recognise the continuing diversity of traditional livestock production systems in northern Tanzania, including the diversity that can exist at small spatial scales.

scholarly journals Managing glyphosate-resistant weeds with cover crop associated with herbicide rotation and mixture

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aroldo Marochi ◽  
Antonio Ferreira ◽  
Hudson Kagueyama Takano ◽  
Rubem Silvério Oliveira Junior ◽  
Ramiro Fernando Lopez Ovejero
Keyword(s):  
Weed Management ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Weed Suppression ◽  
Suppression Effect ◽  
Herbicide Programs

ABSTRACT Herbicide resistance has become a major concern for agricultural systems, and integrating weed management practices seem to be the most promise way for its mitigation. The effects of cropping systems including ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis) associated with herbicide rotation programs were evaluated for the management of glyphosate resistant conyza (Conyza sumatrensis) and sourgrass (Digitaria insularis) in soybean and corn production systems. A 3x3 factorial was evaluated in four consecutive soybean (spring-summer) and corn (fall-winter) double cropping seasons. Factor A consisted of three combinations of cropping systems in the fall-winter: corn, corn plus ruzigrass, and ruzigrass alone. Factor B was based on increasing levels of diversity in herbicide mode of action over the four-year period (5, 8, and 11 MoAs). The results indicate that using ruzigrass significantly increased soil coverage by cover crop residues. In general, the cover crop was more efficient for conyza than for sourgrass control, whereas herbicide programs provided greater control on sourgrass than on conyza. Besides the weed suppression effect, the accumulation of ruzigrass biomass on the soil surface during the fall-winter also improved yield of soybean in the spring-summer. The integration of ruzigrass as a cover crop and the use of herbicide programs with multiple modes of action can provide efficient control of glyphosate-resistant conyza and sourgrass. The use of only one of these strategies was not effective in most cases, especially for the long term.

Preserving Yemeni Architecture in the Era of Civilization and Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Abobakr Al-Sakkaf
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Strategic Plan ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Modern Architecture ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Unique Nature ◽  
Developmental Policies

Population increase and accelerating growth of cities have led to several problems in developing countries. Developmental policies have been adopted to improve the economic and social well-being of the countries. Modern architecture in the cities and their civilized expansion are also examined in this study. In particular, the rise in modern architectural style and the changes that occurred due to the use of new building materials are discussed in detail. The scope of the study is Yemen and its important historical and architectural treasures in the heritage architectural field including the distinctive mud architecture in Hadramout Valley. Thus, Yemeni cities are classified in order to help architects and planners in the development of a strategic plan for these cities. The findings will also help to preserve the heritage and unique nature of Yemeni architecture in this era of development.

Grazing management: setting the table, designing the menu and influencing the diner

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Gregorini ◽  
Juan J. Villalba ◽  
Pablo Chilibroste ◽  
Frederick D. Provenza
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Pastoral Systems ◽  
Nutrient Excretion ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Wide Range

Pastoral livestock-production systems are under increasing environmental, social and consumer pressures to reduce environmental impacts and to enhance biodiversity and animal welfare. At the same time, farmers face the challenge of managing grazing, which is intimately linked with profitability. Recent advances in understanding grazing patterns and nutritional ecology may help alleviate such pressures. For instance, by managing grazing to (1) manipulate links between ingestive–digestive decisions and temporal patterns of nutrient excretion, (2) provide phytochemically diverse diets at appropriate temporal (the menu) and spatial (the table) scales and (3) influence the behaviour of animals (the diners) on the basis of their specific ‘personalities’ and needs, to overcome or enhance animal differences, thereby enhancing their and farm productivity and welfare, as well as our health. Under pastoral systems, synergies between animals’ and farmers’ grazing decisions have the potential to offer greater benefits to the animal, the environment and the farm than does simple and parsimonious grazing management based on a single component of the system. In the present review, we look at grazing and its management through an alternate lens, drawing ideas and hypotheses to stimulate thinking, dialogue and discussions that we anticipate will evolve into innovative research programs and grazing strategies. To do so, we combined experimental and observational studies from a wide range of disciplines with simulation-modelling exercises. We envisage a more holistic approach to manage grazing based on recent advances in the understanding of the nutritional ecology of grazing animals, and propose management practices that may enable pastoral livestock-production systems to evolve continually as complex creative systems.

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