Overview
This project aimed to support the development of Central Dry Zone smallholder farmers in the Myanmar beef industry through improved forage-based feeding systems, animal health and animal management.
More than 80% of people in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone live in rural areas, with a large proportion of those reliant on smallholder agriculture to support their livelihoods. Cattle are used to provide draught power, transportation, and manure to fertilise crops, and around half of Myanmar’s 15 million cattle are located in the Central Dry Zone. A significant mechanisation transformation is occurring in Myanmar, it is predicted over the next decade tractors will overtake the role of cattle, whereby a huge opportunity lies with smallholder farmers to supply beef markets locally and internationally.
Project activities were implemented through a combination of desktop data collection and modelling, household surveys and focus group discussions, controlled forage and feeding trials, and farmer participatory research, including on-farm intervention studies to achieve the expected objectives.
Expected project outcomes
- Identifying the opportunities and constraints for smallholder farmers to develop a beef enterprise.
- Developing feeding systems to support breeding and growing cattle.
- Developing cattle health and management systems to meet farmer production goals.
- Using whole-farm modelling and participatory approaches to quantify potential impacts of improved forage and animal management packages on household livelihoods.
