Livestock in south-east Asia are used for a wide variety of purposes. In many regions, there is an increasing demand for animal protein but, at the same time, increasing population pressure is pushing livestock on to more marginal lands. These marginal lands are generally uplands where soils are acid and infertile.

ILRI's mandate encompasses international livestock research through the developing world. This report makes the connection between research by ILRI and its partners and the needs of poor farmers in developing countries. The assessment of Asian animal agriculture indicates that the most significant and sustainable increases in livestock production are likely to come from mixed crop-livestock systems in rainfed and irrigated areas in South Asia.

The introduction of soybeans to the southern and eastern parts of Paraguay in the early 1970s, followed by wheat in the mid-1970s, using conventional mechanised soil preparation practices with disc ploughs and harrows, initiated a process of widespread soil degradation and erosion. The technique of no-tillage was first used in Paraguay in the late 1970s. Following a slow start, its adoption by Paraguayan farmers gathered momentum increasing from 20,000 ha in 1991/92 to an impressive 250,000 ha in 1995/96, accounting for about 19% of the land cultivated mechanically.

In preparing an investment project, development strategies and project components are defined and revisited during project formulation through a consultative process that often includes Socio-economic and Production Systems Studies. These studies are conducted to develop an appreciation of the situation in which the intended beneficiaries live, and their perceptions of their problems, needs and priorities.

In preparing an investment project, development strategies and project components are defined and revisited during project formulation through a consultative process that often includes Socio-economic and Production Systems Studies. These studies are conducted to develop an appreciation of the situation in which the intended beneficiaries live, and their perceptions of their problems, needs and priorities.