Under existing management, the gross annual return from a single breeding female was about US$ 13; 12; 260; 14; and 10 for chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and guinea pigs respectively. The combined value of home consumption and sales of these animals was about 30% of the total income (cash and kind) of poor people, where families earned less than US$ 1,000 per annum. As prosperity increased, the absolute value of small animal production remained relatively constant, although its proportion of total income fell. Guinea pigs had few problems apart from theft by neighbours and predators but the other species showed high levels of mortality amongst young animals. The major problems of chickens were diseases, for which recommendations existed for either prevention or treatments. Duckling mortality was associated with cold and damp conditions, which could be overcome by the provision of rustic shelters. Pigs and sheep suffered from internal parasites, although lack of either feed quantity (pigs) or quality (sheep) sometimes presented problems which could be addressed by increased, on-farm production. Highland immigrants, (about half the population), are more market oriented and exploitative than the original lowland population, so it is likely that the two groups will require different extension messages and mechanisms to serve their needs.

Effective participatory research methods were developed and documented. Participants claimed that the project had reduced their need to hunt or to contemplate selling their land, demonstrating an immediate impact on natural resource conservation. Practical measures were developed to reduce mortality and increase productivity of small animal species, without diverting large amounts of capital or effort from other farm enterprises. These should improve both food security and family income in the poorest sector of the region. By addressing all aspects of the DFID capital asset pentagon (human, social, natural, physical and financial), better productivity of small animal species will contribute substantially to improved family livelihoods. The project attracted much attention, both in other areas of the Santa Cruz Department and elsewhere in the Bolivian tropics, because of its poverty focus and the effective methods which it developed to conduct participatory work with small-scale producers. By the end of the research, the counterpart organization had received a large number of requests from local government authorities for development activities with small animal species. These bodies were prepared to provide dedicated staff and financial assistance if CIAT could contribute technical support for the work.

The impact of the project has already been considerable, but is certain to grow over the course of the next few years. Amongst the most popular outputs of the project are three comprehensive field manuals that address common problems faced by keepers of goats, poultry, pigs and guinea pigs in an amusing yet informative way. For more information, see below (click on an image to open that manual).