1. The role of small ruminants as important utilizers of byproducts should be recognised. Account should also be taken of their selective nature.2. Caution should be exercised in extrapolating data from one species to the next, e.g. goats vs cattle, sheep vs cattle. It is recommended that more production studies involving the comparison of different species of equivalent physiological maturity be undertaken.
3. Development of simple machinery such as choppers or chaff-cutters would be beneficial in reducing byproduct particle size and assist in the harvesting process. Collaboration with agricultural engineers on the design and use of appropriate machinery is called for.
4. Transport is recognised as a major constraint, both on-farm and on a regional basis where by-products may be located in a different area to livestock. This question will need to be addressed and where applicable integration of crop and livestock systems is recommended using a systems approach. It is also recommended that more thought be given to the transference of technology to farmers and extension personnel.
5. The limitations of conventional statistical methods in the de sign, execution and interpretation of on-farm livestock experiments needs to be addressed in order to come up with appropriate solutions.
6. ARNAB members are urged to consult expert statisticians or biometricians for help in the design and analysis of experiments. Where expert advice is not available in national agricultural systems (NARS) researchers may like to send their research protocols/proposals to ILCA, through the ARNAB Co-ordinator for advice and possibly subsequent analysis of data.
7. The importance of standardising feed description through the use of the International Network of Feed Information Centres (INFIC) system would be desirable so that ARNAB members speak the same "language". This would help to unravel the causes of a lot of conflicting results on apparently similar materials. It is suggested that ILCA/ARNAB act as the coordinator for this excercise.
8. The need to collaborate with agronomists to get information on grain: stover ratios in order to obtain accurate inventories of by-products is stressed and to get information on the roles and effectiveness of multipurpose food crops. Available data from FAO and from NARS should be used.
9. Research on harvesting and storage of crop residues should be encouraged and researchers pay attention to the economic, labour and other logistical problems which are likely to arise.
10. Processing of crop residues can improve utilization and there is a need to consider appropriate methodologies and technologies for different situations and locations. Some of the processing methods considered should include ensiling, drying, alkali treatment if economical, and hydration.
11. Antiquality factors which may limit the utilization of otherwise nutritive by-products need to be specified and quantified to enable appropriate solutions to be found.
12. Supplementation of by-product with appropriate materials has long been accepted as a way of improving utilization of these residues. The materials which may be used include:
a) legume crop residuesb) browse legumes, e.g. gliricidia, sesbania and leucaena
c) forage legumes, e.g. lablab and others that may be appropriate in the mixed farming system
d) NPN and protein nitrogen
e) energy e.g. molasses, bran and other agricultural industrial by-products such as oil cakes
f) mineral supplements.
13. There is a need to study the possible anti-nutritional factors of some materials cited above; i.e. supplementation of by-product with appropriate materials.
14. The use of by-products in non-ruminant feeding systems should be encouraged, but consideration should be given to toxic substances which may be passed, through animal products, to human beings.
15. Alternative and competitive uses of by-products should be borne in mind so as to diversify research to other products which show more potential as livestock feeds.
16. Finally, there is a dire need to follow up recommendations of workshops through early implementation. It is recommended that ARNAB secretariat expedite the circulation of recommendations perhaps within two months of the Workshop, instead of waiting until the publication of the proceedings. It is also noted that in spite of reminders to the authors only a few papers were trimmed to the theme of the Workshop which was spelt out as "Overcoming constraints to the efficient utilization of agricultural by-products as animal feed". It is recommended that in future it is important to stick to the theme of the workshop to save time on editing.
