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

duck production systems. Most ducks are released on ponds during the day and penned at night, where theyare fed with limited amounts of concentrates. Ducks are kept for two laying seasons in which they produceabout 150–180 eggs.Feed resourcesThe feed resources in Cambodia include relatively small areas of native grasslands (about 315,000 ha);herbage from roadsides, wasteland and rice stubble; crop residues, broken rice and agro-industrialby-products (AIBP) (rice bran, soyabean and fish meals). The largest grasslands are found in Kompong ThomProvince (99,000 ha), where the carrying capacity is about 2.5 adult oxen per ha. Most of the AIBP areexported to neighbouring countries at the expense of pig and poultry production. The availability of rice strawis influenced by variety (IRRI cultivars are short-straw types unlike the traditional long-straw Cambodianvarieties), and by harvest method (straw is cut relatively close to ground level). In addition, hand-harvestingtakes place over a long period, so that some of the early material has decayed by the time animals are allowedto graze the stubble.Grazing for ruminants is severely limited in the dry season. The onset of the rains increases mortalitydue to the release of large numbers of nematode larvae. The onset of the wet season also floods much of thearea which, together with the areas brought under cultivation, reduces the availability of herbage. In the dryseason, both pasture and rice straw are of low nutritive value, particularly in terms of digestibility and protein.Mineral deficiencies, which have not been accurately assessed, may also be a constraint. Very littlesupplementation is practised although limited efforts have been made to treat rice straw with urea. Thecultivation and use of leguminous forages is minimal.Animal health and diseasesTable A1 summarises the most important diseases of animals already identified in Cambodia. The mostimportant diseases in large ruminants in smallholder systems are foot-and-mouth disease and haemorrhagicsepticaemia. These diseases are extremely important for farmers depending on draft animal power for landpreparation and haulage. The annual morbidity and mortality rates are very high in all species. Mortality ratesfor calves and adult large ruminants are 10–20% and 4–8%, respectively. Buffaloes generally show betterbody condition than cattle. Although buffaloes are better adapted to poor nutritional regimes, they are moresusceptible to haemorrhagic septicaemia and the mortality rates of their calves is thought to be higher thanof cattle, which may be a result of greater susceptibility to internal parasites particularly Neoascaris spp. Theloss of body weight and outbreaks of disease often occur during the late dry season and at the start of therains, when animals are required for land preparation. About 30–40% of pigs purchased at weaning fortethering die within six weeks. Some 80–90% of young chicken and 50% of adult birds die from diseasessuch as Newcastle disease.Currently, farmers have little access to veterinary inputs and services. Haemorrhagic septicaemiavaccine for large ruminants, which gives up to 12 months protection, is the only one produced locally by theDepartment of Animal Health and Production (DAHP) in Phnom Penh. This vaccine forms part of the regularvaccination programme of the DAHP. However, the majority of animals receive the vaccination only oncein a lifetime without any booster vaccinations. Another factor associated with the problem of diseases is theillegal movement of animals across the borders of the country. This movement is massive and uncontrolledand requires government intervention.Socio-economic aspectsFour socio-economic surveys of agriculture have been undertaken at different times by different agencies.These have been largely of a diagnostic nature, with limited follow-up interventions. Those with specificreference to animals have been undertaken mainly by NGOs and, to a lesser extent, by the German Agencyfor Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and IRRI. The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) isabout to initiate a six-month farming systems survey to include animals in the context of natural resourcemanagement, community-based management of animals and resource allocation. The contribution of animals