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

of the Ayeyarwady and Sittang rivers, and another 17% in the coastal zone. Average rice yields in the deltazones are 3.3 t/ha compared to the national average of 3 t/ha.In terms of sown area, the second most important crop in the country is sesame. Other crops ofimportance include peanut, sunflower, grambean, pigeon pea, chickpea, cowpea and maize. Of the industrialand plantation crops, cotton and fruit are the most important. Various vegetables are grown by smallholders.In the uplands, potato is grown as a cash crop. However, none of these crops individually exceeds more than12% of the planted area, which emphasises the importance of rice.Rice followed by fallow is the traditional cropping system, and rice is grown as a single wet seasoncrop. In the southern and central regions chili, mungbean, peanut or pigeon pea are often sown after the ricecrop. In certain areas, sesame is sown before the rice crop is planted.Shifting cultivation is practised in the north-east of Shan State. Fallow periods of up to seven years havebeen reduced to two years due to increases in human population pressure, with corresponding problems ofsoil erosion. There is no evidence that, as in Vietnam and the Lao PDR, the government is trying to eliminatethis system.IRRI opened an office in Myanmar in 1990, and has been involved in germplasm conservation, varietalimprovement, agricultural mechanisation, training and farming systems research. In addition, Myanmar hasbeen involved in the Asian Rice Farming Systems Network (ARFSN). Pre- and post-rice testing in the uplandshas led to the release of varieties of peanut, soyabean, rice, sorghum, mungbean and cowpea. Sesbaniarostrata has been tested as a green manure crop and rice-aquaculture systems are being developed.Animal resourcesThe animal resources include both ruminants (buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep) and non-ruminants (pigs,poultry and ducks). The most recent official statistics (1995–1996) indicate the presence of 10.1 million cattle,2.2 million buffaloes, 1.5 million goats and sheep, 2.9 million pigs, 30 million chicken and five million ducks(AHVD 1996). It is estimated that 95% of these resources are reared by smallholders. Currently, 75% of thetotal protein intake comes from fish compared to 20% from animals.Buffaloes are concentrated mainly in Shan and Sagaing states and in the Ayeyarwady, Bago and Rakhinedivisions. In the delta areas, they are used for land preparation in rice cultivation. Both swamp and river typesare found, the latter being introduced from India for milk production.Cattle are the most important ruminants and populations are concentrated in the rainfed lowlands and uplandsin Sagaing state, and in the Mandalay, Magway and Bajo divisions. Beef is unimportant in this Buddhist country,and is only a by-product when the animals are slaughtered at the end of their working lives at 16 years of age.About 58% of the national herd is used for draft power. Only males are used for land preparation as the femalesare kept for breeding. Approximately 60% of the beef cattle are considered indigenous (e.g. Pya Zeing and ShweNi), whilst the remaining animals are crossbreds based on imported Bos indicus blood from India.Indigenous cattle are preferred to crossbreds for draft power. Preliminary studies suggest that, althoughlocal breeds generate a relatively lower amount of draft power compared to crossbred cattle, they have morestamina and are able to provide power over a longer period of time. These animals are also adapted to localconditions. Extensive field visits in the Bago Division supported this conclusion. Farmers were observed usingindigenous cattle for land preparation for up to 10 hours a day in two shifts in the early morning and late afternoon.Dairy cattle production is increasing in importance, and several exotic breeds such as Holstein-Friesian,Jersey and Ayrshire have been imported from Australia, and the Sahiwal and Red Sindhi from the Indiansub-continent. In addition, frozen semen of improved breeds has been imported from North America andEurope. Two state farms currently supply breeding bulls to smallholders. Private farms also exist and varyfrom those with 30–100 animals to smallholder farms with 4–15 animals each.The National Planning and Economic Development Plan (1996–2001) aims to increase annually thenumbers of draft cattle by 100,000 and dairy cattle by 33,000. The plan also envisages increases in thepopulation for milk, meat and draft power.