Research Results - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

Research Results
Objectives
1. To characterize the nutritional value of locally
available feedstuffs for small ruminants.
2. To develop guidelines for formulation of
nutritionally and economically optimum diets,
especially at critical stages of the production
cycle.
3. To develop strategies for more efficient use of
the feed resources available within intensive
small farming systems.
Problem Statement and Approach
Sheep in Indonesia are integrated into
farming systems of smallholders and integrated
into plantation cropping. In highly populated
areas and in many villages, sheep are kept by
small farmers. In some cases they are allowed
limited grazing and in other cases are fed in
confinement, in a cut-and-carry system. In tree
crop plantations, sheep are becoming integrated
to utilize the forage under the tree canopy,
thereby reducing mowing and herbicide costs.
Lack of quantity and quality of feed is the major
problem in both systems. The research in Bogor
focused on summarizing and publishing the
nutrient requirements of sheep and goats and
the information feed quality and chemical
composition. In Sei Putih, North Sumatra,
research focused on the problems associated
with grazing sheep in rubber tree plantations
and concentrated on the agronomic and chemical
evaluation of native and introduced forage
grass and legume species, the nutritive value of
locally available supplemental feed, and supplementation
strategies for productive sheep. In
both Bogor and Sei Putih, new technologies
were tested with on-farm validation.
Justification
Bogor
a. Publication of nutrient requirements of
Indonesian sheep and goats
A significant number of feeding, digestibility,
and growth trials have been conducted in
Indonesia over the lifetime of the Small Ruminant
CRSP, as part of the BPT/NCSU collaborative
research. The objective of this activity was
to integrate data from all the trials and estimate
the nutrient requirements for Indonesian sheep
and goats. Their small mature size limits the
usefulness of nutrient requirement tables developed
in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Such a
publication should fill a knowledge gap and be
a significant contribution to developing feeding
programs to optimize production.
b. Summarizing chemical composition of
locally important feeds for small ruminants
The purposes of this activity were: 1) to
systematize the contribution of feed composition
data to the computerized data bank which
is maintained at BPT and 2) to facilitate publication
of data which can be usefu for persons
involved with ration formulation for small
ruminants throughout the humid tropics.
Nutrients included in the summaries were crude
protein, cell wall fiber components, and major
minerals, according to availability of data. In
addition, agronomic characteristics, feeding
strategies, potential problems, and information
on expected gain makes the information more
useful to the farmer.
c. Publication of small ruminant feed recoimendations
for village smallholders in the
humid tropics
The culmination of projects a and b
was the preparation of recommendations
(techpacks) which extension personnel can use
in their programs with farmers. Eventually,
with information from other discipline groups,
recommendations will be incorporated into a
unified "technology package" for smallholder
sheep and goat production systems in the
humid tropics.
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