Milk supply in Pakistan has increased by more than 5% pa over the past 15 years, but demand is anticipated to more than treble by 2020. An effective extension service can contribute to reform of the industry, but at present there are too few extension officers, and they typically receive inadequate training. This project, conducted under the auspices of the Australia/Pakistan Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (ASLP), is designed to demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improved extension services to smallholder dairy farmers. It will achieve this by enhancing the scope and quality of information used for training extension personnel and lifting the research capacity of Pakistani scientists to contribute to the development of the dairy sector.
In spite of the importance of the Pakistani dairy industry to the Pakistan's economy and food supply, the productivity of buffalo/ cows owned by small farmers dependent on an income from 3-10 head is poor by world standards. Much of the technology required to boost efficiency is available but not readily disseminated nor adopted by the farming community. Thus the program was designed to:
1. demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improved extension services to small holder dairy farmers;
2. capture, enhance and disseminate knowledge relevant to smallholder dairy systems.
To achieve the first objective a survey was designed to identify the key rate limiting elements for production on small farms in 2 disparate regions of Punjab. Approximately 100 farmers from Bhakkar in the Barani or arid region to the west and a similar number from the more advanced Okara region to the east are being studied with the assistance of staff from the National Rural Support Program, the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Department (LDDD) and the Halla cooperative respectively. The data being collected will cover all aspects of the farm operation including production, feeding, reproduction, animal health, and where possible, farm budgets over a 2 year period during which the impact of the project's extension advice will also be assessed. These studies will provide direction for the development of effective extension support for a sustainable model system for smallholder dairy production in the Punjab.
The approach involved the development of a herd recording booklet that could be readily used by dairy extensionists and farmers. The booklet was designed carefully ensure that comparable data could be obtained from each farm in each of the two regions. Farmer training days then were held to ensure that each producer was capable of recording the appropriate data accurately and that participants understood clearly the aims and the potential outcomes of the study that would be of benefit to them. The emphasis in training workshops has been to promote active participation of attendees. The benefits on offer were the provision of effective vaccines for Foot and Mouth Disease and reproductive services.
The initial survey of farmer needs also highlighted the importance of the provision of information on animal nutrition and health and reproductive management. This relates to the second objective of the project in which the project has been working towards the collation of the latest information available on these topics into a format readily understood by relatively untrained extension officers for implementation on farm. A series of workshops has been implemented in which the leading personnel in each area drawn from institutes across Pakistan have been brought to together to work cooperatively to collate ideas and information to meet the common goal of improving farmer productivity. The initial workshop was designed to take a systems approach to small holder dairy operations by establishing the relative importance of nutrition, health, reproduction and breeding and production and marketing and how best to integrate the information in these areas to advance whole farm productivity. Traditionally research in these areas has been conducted in isolation and the approach adopted here was designed to assimilate this information into a package that could be readily used by extension workers with a limited educational background.
The key determinants of nutritional status identified were production and distribution of improved forage seeds, factors that influenced fodder yield including irrigation and fertiliser needs, the measurement of feed values, and ration formulation together with water availability. The requirement for effective vaccines and vaccination schedules, adequate hygiene standards, anthelmintics, the availability of colostrum and appropriate concentrates for calves, dietary minerals and vitamins were seen as important for animal health. The quality of animal housing also influenced health and feed requirements while the provision of sufficient trained labour to implement contemporary management strategies to optimise farm profits were recognised. Ideal management of the above factors then was recognised as being important for improving the efficiency of reproduction in herds to decrease inter-calving intervals to a profitable level.
Following the success of this initial workshop a series of workshops is being designed and rolled out to cover the major topics in greater detail, using the expertise available in the major research and extension institutes across Pakistan. Topics include basic nutrition concepts, health, reproduction and breeding, cow comfort - housing and milk quality, fodders and forages and calf and heifer management. This approach has already led to the engagement and linkage of 17 different research organisations. Co-ordination of these efforts has provided the focus for Ms Saadia Hanif for the past 8 months.
In a separate task, vaccine production of the major pathogens compromising dairy production was reviewed through a consultant. The interactions between institutes promoted by his visit have been very encouraging.
The project team has worked continuously to develop linkages between the key stakeholders in the project. It is likely that the linkages formed at the initial workshops will result in long term cooperation between staff in research and extension institutes, non-government organisations and importantly the major government agencies (LDDD, Livestock and Dairy Development Board and Pakistan Dairy Development Corporation). The forage demonstration trials are now also being linked with an ACIAR funded project on the implementation of raised bed irrigation technology in Pakistan. The project will continue to forge similar cooperation with other organisations in order to promote the Pakistani dairy industry. This will include the presentation of initial survey results in an international forum at the conference of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production entitled "Animal Agriculture and the role of small holder farmers in a global economy" to be held in Hanoi in September 2008.
Links:
[1] http://www.aciar.gov.au/country/Pakistan
[2] http://www.aciar.gov.au/programarea/Livestock Production Systems