The workshop papers deal with trends in smallholder livestock enterprises, research on smallholder dairy research programmes in subhumid areas, disease control approaches and production systems.
This annual report and programme highlights presents highlights of ILCA's work in 1992 under the seven programme themes in the medium-term plan for 1994-1998. The highlight for the theme mixed crop-livestock systems focuses on ILCA's work on nutrient cycling in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Sahelian region. Market-oriented smallholder dairying carries a report of results from ILCA's work at the Kenya coast, and outlines a framework for research on smallholder dairying that was developed during 1992.
This workshop was convened to help ILCA develop priorities and plan for research over the five year period, 1994-1998. The purpose of the workshop was to identify issues and priorities for research and training in the general areas of livestock and resource management policy, appropriate methodologies for research in these priorities, the role of ILCA in policy research and opportunities for collaboration with national and international institutes.
Animal agriculture can add to agricultural development through income generation, intensification, foreign exchange earnings and non-agricultural development. The primary justification for being concerned with animal agricultural in sub-Saharan Africa at present is the need to increase farmer incomes. Technological change is the primary means of raising farmer incomes. However, while new technology is a necessary ingredient in the process of agircultural development, it is not sufficient without conductive policy.
The report is divided in 12 sections. The first section is introductory. The second section presents research on animal health of working animals. Diversified uses of animal traction including animal-powered rice-huller, weed control are discussed in the 3rd section. The fourth section looks into harnessing and implements used in the different regions of West Africa. The management and nutrition of working animals is discussed in the fifth and sixth sections.
This chapter investigates the options for improving the performance of small ruminants interms of their contribution to household incomes. The characteristics of the existing production system are first sketched in order to identify the resource requirements and constraints of the system. Based on this imformation, a steady-state flock model is then developed and used to assess the impact of variation in growth, reproduction and mortality rates production.
This volume contains papers and abstracts of the Second Biennial Conference of the African Small Ruminant Network. In addition to the keynote address, there are nine papers on Small Ruminant Production Systems, Economics and Policy, nine papers on Small Ruminant Performance and Reproduction, ten papers on Small Ruminant Health and Reproductive Wastage, eight papers on Small Ruminant Feeds and Feeding Systems and eight papers on Small Ruminant Genetic Resources and Breeding. Ten poster abstracts covering the above topics add to the volume.
The Borana plateau of southern Ethiopia: synthesis of pastoral research, development and change, 1980-91 summarises results from work conducted by 40 people in the southern Ethiopian rangelands between 1980 and 1991. The first chapter reviews rangelands and rangeland development in Ethiopia. The second chapter is an introduction to the Borana plateau: natural resources and pastoral society. The next three chapters deals with vegetation dynamics and resoruce use, Borana household economy, and livestock husbandry and production.
This papers examines the trade and price trends for livestock products emerging for the 1990s in sub-Saharan Africa, the issues that these trends present for policy research, the potential impact of research that addresses the identified issues, and wheather ILCA have a comparative advantage in undertaking work on the identified issues and wheather there are potential collaborators to work with. The issues and areas identified constitute a modest set of suggestions for future research.