NORTH-SOUTH CENTRE - ETH - North-South Centre North-South ...

Improving small ruminant productivity
in dry areas
In many developing countries, food security is compromised
by recurrent and severe droughts coupled with the
still ongoing food crisis. Consequently, there is a need to
replace cereals with alternative feeds – including wastes
and by-products from agro-industry – in order to avoid competition
with human nutrition. This is especially true in a
country such as Syria where livestock is the main resource
for many small-scale farmers and an important element
in the country’s economy. While many studies have been
carried out proposing individual feeds as options for small
ruminants, comparisons in respect of their feeding value
and their effects on milk production and product quality
are still lacking.
Therefore, our project included several comparative experiments,
testing various options for forage and concentrate
substitutes. The aim was to determine the most promising
options in terms of availability on the feed markets, intake
and nutritional value. In the final period of the project, we
completed all laboratory and statistical analyses related to
two digestibility experiments and an in situ experiment. In
an on-station experiment with lactating ewes, five feed alternatives
were tested. Some analyses (for example, milk
fatty acid profiles) of the collected samples still need to
be completed.
Based on the results of these experiments, an on-farm
experiment involving six farmers was conducted. During
this experiment, the farmers observed that a balanced ration
including by-products from the food industry could ensure
the same milk production, or even result in better milk
production than the traditional feeds. After completing the
on-farm experiment, a closing participatory workshop was
organised. We presented weight development of the ewes,
milk yield and composition in relation to the feeding alternatives
and discussed the data with the farmers.
The analyses of both soil and plant experiments that complement
the experiments with sheep are in their final stage.
These experiments aim at assessing the effect of alternative
feeds on the fertiliser value and on nitrogen fluxes in
the soil-plant system. Incubation of soil with fresh or composted
manures from the experimental animals resulted
in clear differences in nitrogen mineralisation. Similarly,
the pot experiment with barley showed that fresh olive
cake and fresh manure from sheep fed with olive cake was
detrimental for biomass production, whereas composted
manure reduced this adverse effect.
Project leader
Michael Kreuzer
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Contact person
Souheila Abbeddou
Collaborators
Barbara Rischkowsky, Luis Iñíguez and Muhi El-Dine Hilali,
ICARDA, Syria;
Astrid Oberson, Christophe Lacroix and Bernard Lehmann,
ETH Zurich, Switzerland;
Hans Dieter Hess, ALP, Switzerland
Duration
October 2006 – March 2010
Thematic clusters
Fodder resources and feeding strategies,
Food quality and public health
Research collaboration
Livestock systems research
Response of barley plants to the different fertilisers