Improving Food Security in Myanmar
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There is increasing recognition of the role of livestock in sustaining and supporting poor peoples’ livelihoods and nutritional status, but the livestock sector in Myanmar is dominated by smallholder producers who keep few animals under traditional production and management systems. Husbandry practices for livestock are low input and fairly basic. The adoption of proper feeding and husbandry practices and utilization of locally available feed and fodder resources is crucial for ensuring the productivity of animals. This project was implemented to strengthen the technical, managerial and policy capacity of public and private stakeholders and overcome critical gaps in the ability to develop appropriate animal feeding strategies, so as to improve milk and meat production.
What did the project do
Guidance, training and technical support were provided to prepare and feed balanced diets to livestock and develop laboratory capacity for increasing feed quality and safety. This was achieved by introducing quality-control approaches and good-laboratory practices in the routine analysis of chemical composition and nutritional value of feed and feed ingredients, as well as the quantification of important mycotoxins. In order to enlarge the feed resource base for the dry season, the project identified feeding strategies based on locally available feed ingredients. It also developed a national feed database to provide information on feed resources and availability as well as the feeding strategies of farmers, and drafted the Myanmar feed quality standards, as per international requirements.Impact
The establishment of livestock feeding strategies resulted in decreased costs, increased livestock production and, as a consequence, improved food security and nutrition of rural households. Better feeding strategies will also work towards mitigating climate change, by reducing the pressure on natural resources through a more efficient use of local resources.Activities
- Capacity building courses were held in 48 villages to increase the productivity of livestock.
- Two laboratories were upgraded to improve feed quality and safety.
- Six feed databases were established for three regions over three seasons to enlarge the feed resource base for the dry season.
- The skills at two private-sector organizations, the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department and the University of Veterinary Science, were enhanced for producing feed and feed supplements.