Improvement of Livestock Production in Crop-Animal Systems in ...

Presently, much of the vegetable protein meals are exported to Europe and North America, whilstthose remaining are fed to non-ruminants. Examples are palm kernel cake, fish meals and leaf-meals.Therefore, forage legumes are, potentially, the more important source of proteins for ruminants. The mainemphasis has been to provide protein from perennial herbaceous legumes in reinforced native grasslands,in mixed pastures, and in pure stands in fodder banks. Environmental adaptation, biomass yield and proteinproduction have been the main criteria for legume selection and improvement. With multipurpose trees,there has been an overemphasis on Leucaena leucocephala, and not enough attention has been given tothe wider use of other genera (e.g. Gliricidia, Erythrina, Calliandra) in crop–animal systems. Studies onmultipurpose trees were lacking especially in the Mekong countries. Accordingly, important opportunitiesexist for increased research on multipurpose trees, including their use for feed and enhancing soil fertility,and the identification of niches for establishment in smallholder systems. Much research has beenundertaken in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam on the development and use ofmultinutrient molasses-urea blocks in order to provide a better balance of nutrients, although availabilityand cost are often limitations to their increased use.In most of the countries visited, particularly in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam,component-technology interventions have tended to be mainly in the area of feed resources and nutrition. Inthe Philippines, for example, this is reflected in the research on crop–animal systems where 19 out of a totalof 24 studies were involved directly with feeds and nutrition, with generally beneficial and cost-effectiveresults (Appendix 1, the Philippines). However, what is not clear from these studies is the extent of theadoption of the improved technology.Considerable research has been conducted in all countries, notably China, Indonesia, the Philippines,Thailand and Vietnam, on the treatment of rice straw with urea or ammonia. A vast body of information hasbeen accumulated in the ASEAN sub-region and Vietnam on the improvement of digestibility and nutritivevalue for ruminants. However, the adoption of this technology at the farm level has been very poor for avariety of reasons, including economic and social relevance. Research on technology delivery at farm leveland on the assessment of social, economic and environmental impact is very weak. The participation offarmers in the development of appropriate research work cannot be over-emphasised.Feeding systemsRuminant feeding systems are based on unrestricted grazing, tethering or stall-feeding. Free grazing,sometimes under the control of herders, was common in countries with native grasslands and fallows.Tethering and stall-feeding were practised in areas where there was intensive cropping. Exceptions were theuse of electric fencing to control beef cattle rotationally grazing under oil palm in Malaysia, and dairy cowsgrazing improved grasses within small permanently-fenced paddocks in north-east Thailand. In manysituations, there appeared to be roughage limitations for animals in the stall-feeding and tethering systems.On dairy farms, particularly in north-east Thailand, concentrates were probably being fed in excess tocompensate for the relatively low intake of roughages.In all countries, the NARS and farmers agreed that the availability and utilisation of feed resources arethe major technical constraints on-farm. There has been a tradition in these countries of importingnutrient-demanding exotic breeds, when the full genetic potential of indigenous breeds (better adapted to thelocal environment) has been limited by feed intake. This is consistent with findings from recent ILRIconsultations (to define the global agenda for livestock research and that for South-East Asia) that feedresources and nutrition are the most important technical constraints to animal production.Animal health and diseasesDiseases are not regarded as the most important technical constraints to animal production in the ASEANsub-region. In the Mekong countries, animal health problems were more severe, due to poor veterinary inputsand services, and were important limitations to production. For each of the ruminant and non-ruminant speciesthe main diseases were essentially the same in all nine countries. For large ruminants, foot-and-mouthdisease and haemorrhagic septicaemia are the most prevalent. Island locations are advantageous for the