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

prevention, control and eradication of epidemic diseases, so Indonesia and the Visayas and Mindanao islandgroups in the Philippines are free from foot-and-mouth disease. Other diseases that have occurred in thesub-region include anthrax, trypanosomiasis, malignant catarrhal fever and those caused by various parasites.In small ruminants, gastrointestinal roundworms (nematodes) and flatworms (flukes) are the most importantcauses of health problems. Diseases recorded in the ASEAN sub-region and the Lao PDR are given byCampbell (1992).Swine fever is the most important disease for pigs and Newcastle disease for poultry. The latter is usuallymore of a problem in commercial flocks where large numbers of birds are kept in close proximity to eachother in intensive systems. Nevertheless, mortality rates can also be high in unvaccinated birds in scavengersystems, as was observed in the transmigration areas of south Sumatera, Indonesia.Access to available veterinary services by small farmers was relatively good in the four countries of theASEAN sub-region and in South China. On the other hand, as mentioned above, veterinary delivery systemsin the Mekong countries were poor and a major constraint to animal production. In Indonesia and thePhilippines, traditional medicines such as papaya products are sometimes used by smallholders for thetreatment of internal parasites in goats. In the Philippines some 35 plants have been used by farmers to treatsick animals in village situations.There is considerable evidence that indigenous animals are more resistant to diseases than exotic breeds,although poor nutrition and management may undermine this trait. For example, Malaysian Kedah-Kelantancattle and Yellow cattle (synonymous to the Kedah-Kelantan) are resistant to many tick-borne diseases, whilstIndonesian Thin-tailed sheep, Thai Longtail sheep and Malaysian Katjang goats are resistant to many internalparasites. Malaysian Kampong chicken are known to be resistant to Newcastle disease.Socio-economic aspects and policySocio-economic studies on mixed farming systems in the Mekong countries are essentially non-existent.Hence, experiences have been drawn primarily from the ASEAN sub-region where such studies exist. Table10 summarises the key socio-economic constraints affecting small farmers in the ASEAN sub-region, andgives an indication of commonalities as well as the differences between the countries.Labour and mechanisationThe opportunity cost of labour is increasing at a rapid rate in Malaysia and Thailand. This has affected andwill continue to affect crop–animal integration in these countries. In Malaysia, the most industrialised country,labour is a serious constraint to the promotion of animal production in rubber and oil palm plantations. Thisis particularly true in the corporate plantations which depend significantly on hired migrant labour from theIndian sub-continent. Thailand, because of its relatively high annual rate of economic growth (averagingclose to 8% during the last 10 years), is also experiencing labour shortages in the rural areas. This has resultedin a rapid increase in the mechanisation of farm operations, with a corresponding decline in the use of animalsfor draft purposes. The exception to this is in the north-east of the country, where the population of buffaloeshas remained relatively stable over the last 10 years.Land area and tenureLand area is a serious constraint in the Philippines because the country has the highest population density. Thereis also a high rate of land conversion from agriculture to non-agricultural activities. The result of this developmenthas been a decline in certain regions in the areas of grassland for large ruminants, e.g. in the industrialised partsof the Luzon island group. In the Mindanao island group, where population density is low, land area is not sucha serious problem. In the other countries limitations on land area are a less severe problem.In the Philippines, land tenure is also a major constraint and the land reform programme has not mademuch headway. This has curtailed the incentives for smallholders to introduce improvements into theirfarming operations (e.g. sowing of improved pastures under perennial tree crops). Often, tenants are preventedby the landowners from introducing such improvements since these could serve as legal bases for tenure