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Reflections by Werner Stür
Barriers to uptake of improved feeding strategies
Africa-RISING Quick Feed Project Inception Workshop, Addis Ababa, 7-8 May 2012
Structure of presentation
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• An agronomist’s point of view• Why is it not so simple?• What approach should we take?• Which tools are available?• Conclusions
An agronomist’s point of view
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Current situation Production system (draught, capital preservation,
risk management, not used to regular income) Condition of animals (many are thin and in poor
body condition, poor reproductive performance, low milk yields)
Feeding systems inadequate for good animal growth (competition for scarce community grazing resources is getting stronger, stubble grazing, crop residues, general lack of feed and insufficient quality)
Potential for improvements
An agronomist’s point of view (# 2)
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Future scenario Urbanization and rising living standards will
increase demand for meat and milk Increasing labour cost will necessitate change to
less labour intensive practices Mechanization will reduce need for draught
animals Livestock prices are relatively stable compared to
crops Potential for increased livestock production
An agronomist’s point of view (# 3)
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There are technical solutions A little more feed per animal would go a long way
to improving animal productivity Options: Reduce the number of animals, improve
herd structure or grow additional feed Forages: Introduce forage legumes to improve
diet quality; or grasses to increase available feed quantity
Grow specific fodder crops Strategic feeding of available feed resources –
smarter use
Why is it not so simple?
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Technologies are seldom simple Need to identify suitable technologies (and
practices) for different situations Often there are additional conditions for success
e.g. seed supply, fertilizer inputs, labour requirements or the farmer needs special knowledge to be able to apply the technology successfully
Introduction of a technology leads to changes in the production system and leads to more innovation (and this process requires time)
Find robust entry technologies and then work with stakeholders to develop new, more efficient systems
Why is it not so simple? (# 2)
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Smallholder farming systems are diverse Variable soils, climate, water availability Range of crops and animals Different feeding and livestock management systems Technologies need to ‘robust’ to fit a wide range of
situations People and livelihoods differ
Households differ in term of labour, capital and land availability
People have different objectives, interests and willingness to take risks
Technologies need to be targeted Farmers (and other stakeholders) need to be really want to
improve animal production and are willing to invest effort into doing so
Why is it not so simple? (# 3)
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Incentives for increasing production Will the farmer get the benefit of producing a
fatter animal? Or can (s)he sell the additional milk for a good price?
Can the farmer access the required inputs easily and at reasonable prices?
It is not just productivity that matters, but there may be other important factors along the value chain that need to be considered
What approach should we take?
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Need systems-oriented innovation Production, marketing and input supply (value
chain) Work in partnership with key stakeholders Iterative, not one-off Build capacity of people involved (emphasis on
learning) Need to target interventions to particular
situations, farmers and livelihoods
Which tools are available?
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Farmer Participatory Research (FPR) Approach Working with farmers and other stakeholders to find
ways to improve livestock production Learning cycles over an extended period Livestock needs to be important to farmers’ livelihood
and farmers need to be really motivated! FEAST
A diagnostic tool to find out if there is an opportunity for feed interventions
If affirmative, the end point is an agreement to work farmers and other stakeholders to improve feeding systems
It does not come up with best-bet interventions to test
Which tools are available? (#2)
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Techfit Identify suitable technologies for evaluation Entry technologies – a starting point for innovation
that provide significant results to motivate farmers and other stakeholders (provide a vision)
Value chain analysis Market studies; e.g. Rapid Market Assessment
(RMA) Input supply analysis
Livelihood analysis
Conclusions
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One-size-fits all technologies don’t work
We need a systems-oriented innovation process that includes all relevant stakeholders takes account of the range of farming
system and livelihoods in the area places innovation in the context of
the value chain to ensure that farmers reap the benefits of innovations