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

Table 11. Institutions and organisational structures in South-East Asia.Category † of institutionCountry 1 2 3 4 5 Livestock research capacity ‡Indonesia + + +++Malaysia + + ++++Philippines + + +++Thailand + + + +++Cambodia +Lao PDR +Myanmar +Vietnam + + +China + + ++++† 1. Ministry model, 2. Autonomous or semi-autonomous institutes, 3. Agricultural research councils, 4. University model and 5.Private sector research organisations.‡ +++++ Strong; ++++ Good; +++ Average; ++ Weak; + Minimal.milk and eggs. Of the two, research into veterinary inputs is widespread in all countries. Research into productionaspects is common in the Philippines with beef feedlots and, in Thailand, with pigs and poultry. These privateorganisations generate their own funds for research activities.Research capacityTable 11 also provides an assessment of research capacity based on several elements including the numberof publications, track-records on previous research activities, current research, generation ofimpact-orientated technologies, human resource availability and perceptions on natural resource managementand issues of sustainability. A notable conclusion from this assessment was that large differences existbetween the countries of the ASEAN sub-region and the Mekong countries. Research capacity in the latterwas weak and in some cases minimal. In Cambodia, the NARS are still to be developed. China has beenranked as good, partly because the delivery of technologies and utilisation of research results on-farm areespecially impressive. The very weak research capacity in the Mekong countries, due to the wars and politicalinstability of the past, emphasises a special and concerted need for more training and human resourcedevelopment. An exacerbating factor in the Mekong countries (especially Cambodia and Myanmar) is thefact that there are very limited resources for much needed infrastructural development. Also, there is little orno access to literature sources (outside the IRRI programmes) such as international journals, new books andproceedings from workshops and conferences. Research scientists are unaware of new developments inscience and technology unless they leave the country for postgraduate study or attend meetings. This is amajor constraint to the development of effective research and development programmes.Much of the research conducted by NARS in all countries is component-oriented and lacks a farmingsystemsfocus. In many institutions natural resource management issues are neglected and there existdisciplinary barriers between the soil, plant and animal sciences which preclude a holistic approach. Thereis a need for multidisciplinary, systems-orientated research to address the major constraints. For crop–animalsystems research to be applied more forcefully in the two production systems that have been identified, therewill be a need for considerable strengthening of research capacity in NARS. The following issues, inter alia,justify the need for a broader mix of disciplines (Devendra 1996c):• Characterisation of priority AEZs in the rainfed lowland and upland areas of South-East Asia.• Assessment of indigenous knowledge, local farming systems, farmer practices and attitudes.• Evaluation of prevailing production systems, the use of natural resources, the choice of relevanttechnologies, their limitations and potential value.• Identification of the major biological and socio-economic constraints affecting production and,therefore, the welfare of resource-poor farmers.