By E R Ørskov
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB, FAO representative at ARNAB meeting Malawi
Abstract
Introduction
Conclusions
Different aspects of rural development are discussed. It is emphasized that the most important single factor is the correct identification of constraint. It is further emphasized that this can only be done by understanding of and involvement with the target group otherwise the wrong constraints are often identified. Problems of risk factors play a very important role in whether new technologies are accepted. Cost of new technologies must be recovered in a guaranteed sale of the excess produced. Improvement in resources are most readily accepted by producers of milk when resources are limiting production and when a high and predictable price of milk can be obtained. Appropriate methods of improving resource utilization is discussed but it is emphasized that such technologies should only be attempted when resource utilization or availability is identified as the first constraint.
In almost all developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, there is a large rural population, sometimes up to 95% of the total. Common to most of the rural populations are very low incomes or subsistence-type farming, high birth rates and more often than not low literacy. Attention to their progress has often been neglected as governments have paid more attention to industrial development. Usually the rural populations have little or no political power and usually their voice is not heard, even in affairs dealing with their own development.
On the other hand problems of rural poverty and rural development are in many respects soluble and it is in the relief of rural rather than urban poverty that such agencies as the Food and Agriculture Organization can play a major role, because they have the technical expertise to assist in its amelioration.
Identification of target groups
It is relatively easy to identify target groups for development. They can be defined as communities below a certain income and subsistence communities producing little or no surplus and receiving few or no services.
Identification of constraints in target groups
Having identified the target groups for aid and development assistance, the next and by far the most difficult problem is that of identifying constraints, in particular of identifying which of the many constraints are the most important. It is in this process that most mistakes in development have been made.
In the identification there can be conflicting views. First of all, government officials may be biased somewhat by orientation towards increasing the supply which are limited in cities. The expatriate expert can be equally biased since his perception of constraints and indeed perception of normality is influenced by his background. The target group, having limited political power, is hardly ever consulted in the process of identifying the constraints.
From my limited experience in project identification work in rural communities, the target group rarely appears on the initial itinerary. Yet I have become firmly convinced that, in order to identify the correct constraints and the order of constraints, one must understand the target group, their social conditions, their perception of constraints and their perception of values, all of which are crucial to any success in development. While a specialist in animal breeding or feed resource utilization may feel tempted to identify constraints which come within his or her area of expertise, this temptation must be resisted at all costs. The sight of cows yielding 2 litres of milk/day should not necessarily lead to a recommended policy of crossbreeding and importation of exotic animals. Nor should the sight of poorly utilized resources necessarily lead to projects involving investments in methods of increasing resource utilization. Lack of concentrate in pelleted form should not lead to a recommendation for the erection of large feed mills.
While famine occurs in rural areas due to droughts, wars and other catastrophies, let us for the moment deal with rural communities in which it is desired to increase the production of food and, if possible, to produce an excess to supply food for the cities.
Consideration of risk
It is common to all subsistence farmers that investments involving perceived risk will not readily be made. There are good reasons for this; poor investments can have serious repercussions for subsistence farmers. Even long term reasonably safe investments are difficult, such as buying feeds for calves in which the investment may only be returned in 2 years time. Investments in fertilizer for crops, in anticipation of returns at harvest, are sometimes reluctantly made, particularly in drought prone regions. Sometimes the most serious constraint is simply risks and the solution simply the removal of risks.
Investment in feeds for dairy cows is on the whole more readily made if the milk can be sold at a high price, as the investment may be returned quickly in increased milk yield. A guaranteed price for products can greatly assist. Production of maize by communal farmers in Zimbabwe increased several fold when a fixed price was offered and the maize was collected. Farmers in a part of Bangladesh did not invest in high yielding varieties of rice. This was not due to lack of knowledge but to a high risk of damage from flooding. High yielding varieties also need higher investment in fertilizer than the indigenous varieties.
Constraints due to lack of infrastructure and land rights tenure
However high in demand a product may be in cities it is often too difficult to reach the markets because roads are inadequate. A constraint in a rural area can sometimes be removed simply by making the area accessible at all times of the year. Poor grassland management and overgrazing on communal land cannot be overcome without some legislation on the land rights or agreement among farmers using the communal land. The right to crop land which maybe withdrawn, can make life uncertain for pastoralists and thus make investments difficult. Secure investments in banks, rather than in cattle or other animals, could lift many constraints to production in Africa.
The examples mentioned above are but few. However, they serve to illustrate the difficulties in identifying constraints adequately, without which an aid development programme is unlikely to succeed.
Improving resource utilization
Let us assume that animal feed resource quantity and quality have been identified as major constraints in a given community and that prices of products are correct relative to input and that marketing of the product is possible and sustainable in the foreseeable future. It is then necessary to identify the most relevant principle of improvement in nutrient supply and the most important technology.
Sometimes an appropriate technology has to be developed. The methods chosen obviously depend on the type of resources locally available. There is little point in importing molasses in order to feed urea via molasses blocks. There is little point in recommending feeding of urea or treating straw with urea unless the supply of urea is secure and sustainable. There is no point in chopping straw for treatment if straw is normally handled in bundles. There is no point in using urea if the cost is prohibative relative to potential benefit. Nor is there any point in recommending schemes for breed improvement if the present constraint to production is nutrition. On the other hand improved resources can often be exploited better by crossbred animals.
It is important to discuss the technologies in detail with the rural community for which it is intended. Sometimes simple things which can make or break a new method have been overlooked. Adaption of technologies must be done in collaboration with village farmers before a large venture into a community development programme is undertaken. Useful technologies to increase resource utilization when this has been identified as a constraint to production.
Urea supplementation
Lack of degradable N in many fibrous residues can be corrected by supplementation with urea or a mixture of urea and sulphur. In some areas where molasses is available and underutilized, urea can be incorporated into blocks made from molasses and fibrous residues (bran, poultry manure, etc) and cement. This makes urea available for supplementing poor rangeland as the blocks can be transported with the animals. Urea-molasses blocks can also be used to supplement fibrous residues grazed in situ.
A relatively safe method for adding N to fibrous residues is to spray them with a solution of urea at feeding time. Here the concentration of urea involved is only about 1% whereas much higher concentrations are used for the ammonia treatment of straw. Simple addition of urea can lead to considerably greater intakes and increased digestibility.
Urea/ammonia treatment
While simple additions of urea ensure increased digestion of the feed, use of urea as a source of ammonia increases the potential digestion further by making more cellulose and hemicellulose available for digestion. The use of urea as the method of ammonia treatment has advantages over the use of anhydrous ammonia for small farmers in rural communities, particularly in areas where the mean daily temperature is 10 to 15° celsus or above since high temperature ensures a rapid hydrolysis of urea. The exact method adopted will depend on the harvesting procedure and the form in which stover/straw is gathered (chopped, bundles etc). It will also depend on the site of treatment (pit, stack etc) and that which is locally most appropriate.
Use of anhydrous ammonia requires relatively large scale production and a developed infrastructure for economy and may be used on farm co-operatives; making its use much less widespread than that of urea. Other alkalis such as calcium hydroxide, caustic soda or other locally available sources can also be used. However it must be remembered that the increasing availability of cellulose also increases the need for N supplementation and this is usually taken care of when ammonia is used.
Introduction of leguminous forages into straw
Planting legumes before maize, millet or sorghum is ripe is another method of improving utilization of straws which can be produced in many parts of Africa. Legumes provide N supplement for the straw as well as a highly digestible forage.
Supplementation
Rates of fermentation of fibrous residues can often be improved by feeding small amounts of highly digestible nutrients such as citrus residues, sugar beet pulp, green grass, leguminous forages or leaves/pods of trees or poultry manure. Production of milk and meat by the host animal is often limited by the supply of protein which escapes degradation in the rumen and research into methods for decreasing the rumen degradability of locally available protein supplements is needed.
Attention to recycling
It is possible in some areas to increase output of human food by greater attention to recycling. Thus it may be possible to recycle manure through feeding, biogas or aquaculture before it is returned to the soil.
Attention to water availability
It is well known that many rough grazing areas are underutilized due to limited access to water. Thus resource availability can be improved either by increasing watering points or by using a selection of animals with greater ability to conserve water, which can graze over wider orbits around existing watering points
Disease and pests
This is not the place to discuss aspects of disease, except to point out for completeness the resources in large areas of Africa are underutilized due to tsetse and tick infestations. Selection of animals tolerant to these pests and associated diseases can thus increase resource availability as, of course, can methods of controlling the pests themselves where practical and economical.
Separate feeding of the highest producing animals
Many small farmers in Africa, while keeping their animals in a kraal at night, make no attempt to feed milking or working animals differently from non-producing animals. A separate pen for milking animals, with preferential feeding, might help both to increase milk yield and to decrease calving interval.
Evaluation of technology introduced
It is sometimes difficult to predict the consequences of the introduction of a new technology such as improved resource distribution. FAO has increasingly encouraged the use of a system approach in which a survey of all aspects of the community's activities have been conducted. After introduction of the technology or new price system the resulting changes are monitored at regular intervals. This is for instance the case in the areas where integrated dairy development programmes have been introduced.
There are many principles for improving resource utilization. From the point of view of FAO it is important first of all to ensure that for example resource utilization is a major constraint, the removal of which could contribute to relieving rural poverty and increase surpluses for sale. Having ascertained that it is a major constraint, it is then important to identify the most appropriate method or methods for its removal and how best to adopt those most appropriate for the community. It is essential to consult the target group regarding all aspects since otherwise many projects can be wrongly conceived and doomed to failure, often creating more harm than good to the community it was designed to benefit.
