Summary
This project investigates participatory techniques
for technology development and constraints to participation.
Using tree pods to improve reproductive performance of does
is examined. A thorough examination of constraints faced by
goat keepers is undertaken. Costs and benefits of rehabilitating
pasture through group action are studied. There is an analysis
of policy with case studies. There is a description and pictures
of feeding tree pods and deworming. Silvi-pastural development
initiatives are also assessed.
The project has developed two technologies that appear to have excellent prospects for widespread adoption in India .
- One involves the collection and storage of tree pods, from Prosopis juliflora (common name, Mesquite) , for use during times of acute feed scarcity. In Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, this resulted in significantly higher kidding rates for goats belonging to resource-poor people.
- The other involves the use of the trichomes of the pods of Mucuna pruriens, a leguminous creeper, as an anthelmintic. In Dharwad district, Karnataka, this was applied to pregnant females, and resulted in their kids growing more rapidly. There is also evidence that it may reduce the mortality rate of kids born in the rainy season.
The project's experiences showed that PTD can increase the probability of developing technologies that have a high chance of adoption by livestock-keepers.The project's findings regarding the use of participatory methods are contained in two guides published by the project, with a view to assisting livestock professionals in using participatory approaches in applied research. The project also studied silvipasture development on common lands and its effect on goats and other livestock. Case studies showed that harvested grass from sites that had been protected and rehabilitated can make an important contribution to alleviating seasonal feed scarcity for large ruminants. However, goats and sheep generally do not benefit and can even be negatively affected by the reduction in grazing area, since grazing is not normally permitted on the protected sites. |
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| Primary Relevance |
Low - High |
| Feeding and Nutrition |
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| Animal Health |
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| Commodities and Markets |
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| Other Husbandry |
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| Policy Relevance |
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Silvipasture development initiatives on common lands, including watershed development and joint forest management programmes, can have significant impacts on livestock feeding systems and on the types and numbers of livestock that people keep. The enclosure of large areas of common lands, and the switch from grazing to cut-and-carry systems, tends to go hand-in-hand with intensification of large ruminant production, and to undermine extensive small ruminant production. Development agencies need to anticipate the implications of their programmes for different groups of livestock-keepers, and design them in such a way that they do not penalise the poor.
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