Production and management options for improved smallholder goat profitability Report

Transcription

1 Production and management options for improved smallholder goat profitability Report Call For Report Call for final report Africa-Brazil Projects funded in the 2011/12 Report Status Submitted Title Production and management options for improved smallholder goat profitability ID 2883 Thematic Area Natural Resource Management Improvement Reporting period 07 Nov May 2015 Co-leader Institutions Embrapa Goats & Sheep & Université d'abomey Calavi Project Co-leaders Mr. VINICIUS GUIMARAES & Mr. Dossa Luc Hippolyte Type of African Co-leader Institution Academic, University Summary Lack of understanding of the production systems and dynamics are one of the major constraints affecting smallholder goat productivity in Benin. Goats, which are mainly kept in smallholdings by rural and urban people, represent tangible liquid assets and living accounts for the most vulnerable to poverty. To establish a more profitable goat production, there is an urgent need to better understand the current production systems and to develop and evaluate ex-ante appropriate improvement strategies that fit best to the socio-economic circumstances of the smallholder goat farmers. For this reason overall goal of this project is to improve food security, income and livelihoods of small-scale rural goat farmers in Benin. Our overall research hypothesis is that using a system dynamics approach that integrates feed and nutrients use efficiency, improved management options together with empowering goat farmers through training and creation of self-help groups will result in more viable and profitable goat enterprises. Country(ies) of Implementation BENIN Project Results - Methodologies, approaches and tools for engaging farmers for integrated goat, nutrient and crop management practices and collective actions developed and tested and disseminated to a wide range of stakeholders; - Public policy innovation: a Decision Support System to assist extension officers and farmers in optimizing rural smallholder goat production developed; - Technology transfer: Sixteen (16) self-help farmer groups have been formed and strengthened through training to develop skills in good goat farm management techniques for improved productivity. Trainings sessions included housing, feeding, health and marketing aspects and were held by experienced trainers from the National Agricultural Research Institute; - Locally available feed resources used for feeding goats were identified, their nutritive values determined so as to provide better recommendations to farmers on their efficient use; - Capacity building: in addition to farmers, three graduated students (01 female and 02 male) trained at the MSc level and 05 others at undergraduate (BSc. level) in smallholder goat production system analysis, as well as in integrated nutrient, crop and goat management practices; - Linkages among created farmer groups, National Agricultural Research Institutions which include the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Abomey-Calavi universities, extension services created and strengthened. - Two (2) technical project reports in form of illustrated booklets have been produced respectively for farmers and students and two (02) manuscripts in preparation. Scalability and replicability The most relevant result achieved in this two-year research project is the empowerment of local communities to undertake actions for improved goat productivity and improved livelihoods through the improvement of their analytical and technical skills. Further relevant and innovative result is the successful elaboration of a decision support tool that could help all the stakeholders to contribute to the improvement of smallholder goat farming systems in Benin. These two results are innovative in the smallholder goat sector in Benin. The applied methodology follows a truly participatory approach throughout its implementation and is developed as a general framework replicable in any other rural community in Benin, West Africa and beyond. Impacts of project results The main impacts expected from the results of this project are: - Increased value added to the contribution of goat to rural livelihoods - Increased smallholder

2 goat profitability through improved feed resources use efficiency, at least in the 480 participant goat farms; - Increased crop production through improved nutrient cycling by better goat manure management and use of crop residues to feeding; - National Agricultural Research Institutions have a better knowledge, information and tools for designing policies and programmes for sustainable smallholder goat development. - Newly created self-help groups will rapidly reach a level of organization adequate to establish the necessary linkages with livestock development and extension services, market institutions, NGOs, microfinance and credit institutions working in the region and elsewhere. - The success of the farmers groups created within the framework of this project will be an incentive to other farmers in other rural communities to initiate new groups. Sustainability of project This project has engaged researchers with the rural communities to help them to improve their livelihoods through the improvement of their goat enterprises. The approach used is a fully participatory one which empowered local goat farmers and fostered their full participation. As result, this project has shown the promising prospect of continuation and long-term implementation as illustrated by the considerable and inspiring commitment from participant farmers to push forward this initiative into stronger cooperation with the NARS. The project team already agreed on its continuation and is developing proposals aiming at supporting continued training and reinforcement of the organisational, managerial and technical skills of the project beneficiaries. Potentials national and international funding institutions will be approached. Issues in project implementation The major constraint is that farmers were not available for meetings and discussions during the cropping season which lasts 6 months. Most project activities were thus restricted to the dry season. This justified some delays in the execution of planned project activities. Lessons Learned - Giving smallholder goat farmers the opportunity to analyze their own management practices, to identify the main constraints to productivity and potentials solutions in a truly participatory way is critical to developing institutional and organizational arrangements for technical and managerial changes toward increased profitability. - Choosing the right project locations and participants is important - Local capacity-building is crucial but should be tailored and demand-driven Suggestions for improvement project duration (2 years) is too short to enable the development, testing and implementation of appropriate farmers led technologies and to measure results effectively. We advocate for a 4 year-term project. Publications DOSSA, L.H, GUIMARAES, V.P., et al Amélioration de l'élevage des caprins en milieu rural par l'approche communautaire. Guide destiné aux éleveurs. GUIMARAES, V.P, DOSSA, L.H, Management and Production Practices in Smallholder Goat Farms. A technical guide for students. HOUESSOU, O.S., Elevage villageois des caprins (Capra aegagrus hircus) au Bénin : Etat des lieux et typologie des systèmes de production. Mémoire DEA, Management des Ressources Animales. Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d'abomey-calavi, Bénin. ZOSSOU, O.W., L élevage des caprins au Bénin: pratiques d alimentation et gestion des ressources alimentaires locales disponibles, cas des communes de Glazoué et de Kpomassè. Mémoire Master, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d'abomey-calavi, Bénin. AMOUSSA, S., L élevage des caprins au Bénin: pratiques d alimentation et gestion des ressources alimentaires locales disponibles. Mémoire DEA, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d'abomey-calavi, Bénin. Quantitative Project Results Number of Key Project Outputs Training and Technical Visits Quantitative - Project Results Knowledge Generated Technologies Products Services One (01) smallholder goat system simulation model 2 technical booklets on good management practice of goat farm (1 for farmers and 1 for students); 6 BSc. thesis; 3 Msc thesis; 16 selfhelp farmer groups are created; 02 manuscripts in preparation; 1 abstract for the International Conference on Goats 2016 in preparation 500 copies of the technical booklet for farmers distributed to participant farmers Name Country/city Number of Days Gender Farmers Training sessions Benin/Project sites women & 267 men Technical visit Benin/Project sites 16 1 Technical visit Brazil/Sobral 18 1 Co-leader training in modeling Germany/Witzenhausen & Göttingen Events Organized Event Name Country/City 16 1 Event Type (workshop, forum, symposium, etc.) Year

3 Germplasm Exchange Fisrt Project stakeholder meeting Second Project stakeholder meeting-mid term evaluation Benin workshop 2013 Benin workshop 2014 Co-leader meeting and planning Germany meeting 2013 Co-leader meeting and planning Sobral/Brazil meeting 2015 Co-leader meeting and planning Germany meeting 2015 Species Number of Accessions Recipient Country none 0 none Number of Participating Professionals (in the project team as a whole) Female Male 3 12 Attachments (photos and other documents) Treinamento de comunidades em Toffo, Kpomassé, Glazoué, Tanguiéta e Kerou

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