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

Women work 11.5 h/day on average compared to 10 h for men. In terms of time allocation, women devote 25%of their time to agriculture, 23% to household tasks and the rest to the other activities. Men contribute 38% oftheir time to agriculture, 5% to household tasks and the rest to other activities. The implication for agriculturaldevelopment is the need to include women in training and extension activities.Credit and savingsThere is difficulty in getting formal credit for animal agriculture. Many smallholders have insufficientcollateral because land ownership on densely populated islands such as Java may be as low as 0.25 ha.Government credit programmes (e.g. revolving funds in the Batumarta Dua, Tulang Bawang Tengah andAir Manganyau Transmigration Projects) are unsustainable, especially if there is no supervision. Thecoverage is limited, and the interest rate for commercial credit is high (16%). Furthermore, the ruralsavings of smallholders are often not mobilised due to a lack of financial intermediaries, and farmers areforced to use animals as their means of savings. This requires a micro-economic policy response wherebythe depositing of savings and the advancement of credit are combined in one institution. This may alsoincrease the market-orientation of farmers and encourage them to sell more animals, rather than keepingthem as savings.Extension and rural institutionsImproved crop–animal technology, developed from farming systems research, is not disseminated widely.The linkage between research and extension at the national policy-making level is weak. The Directorate forAgricultural Research is independent of the Directorate for Extension, and the priorities for each, especiallyin implementation, are often inconsistent. The development of rural institutions such as farmer co-operativesis slow. At best, established farmer-organisations dealing with animals are operating only informally. Thereis a need to strengthen, where necessary, established farmer-organisations with the aim of addressing thenumerous deficiencies faced by smallholders. Marketing, credit and other constraints are better addressedwith strong rural institutions such as peasant organisations.TrainingMany smallholders in the transmigration areas are reluctant to raise animals because they lack the necessaryexperience in taking care of the animals. In Air Mangangyau, for example, very few farmers raise goatsbecause of their lack of experience in handling the animals.Lao PDREnvironment and cropping systemsThe Lao PDR is a land-locked nation that lies within the watershed of the Mekong River. Some 80% of theland surface is made up of hills and mountains. There are three main AEZs (Bouahom 1995) consisting ofuplands, plateaux and lowlands. The uplands are mountainous regions from 1100–3000 m altitude, thatcomprise some 60% of the land area. The plateaux range from 800–1300 m, and the lowlands are plains lessthan 800 m above sea level. The government has given special priority to the province of Xieng Khouangfor the future development of ruminant production. In this province three AEZs have been identified byGibson (1996) as the pine-tree grassland savannah zone at 1100 m altitude, the fertile soils at high altitudeszone (1200–1500 m), and fertile soils at low altitudes zone (500–1000 m).The tropical monsoonal climate is characterised by alternating wet and dry seasons. In the uplands,rainfall is 1500–2000 mm annually. On the plateaux, annual rainfall varies from 2000–4000 mm, fallingmostly from May to October. Average annual temperatures range from 20–31°C, with the lowest temperature(15°C) in December and the highest (35°C) in April. In the lowlands, rainfall is 1300–1700 mm, with mostof the rain occurring from May to September. Average annual temperatures vary from 21–30°C. In thepine-tree savannah zone of Xieng Khouang Province, annual average rainfall is 1500 mm and average annualtemperature 20°C.