Small animals - big value!
Small animals, such as sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits and chickens, are
popular with smallholder farmers, particularly women, because they are
easy to manage and provide a ready source of income. In addition,
small ruminants have the ability to eat a wide range of freely
available
low quality roughages and other feed materials, but the productivity
and profitablility of these animals can be greatly increased if they
are integrated into a sustainable mixed farming system.
In Gambia, a nation-wide project has helped to improve women's management skills and to add value to the animal products which the women then sell at local markets. One of the major impacts of the project has been the active involvement of livestock assistants. The livestock assistants have worked with the women farmers, introducing simple feeding and management strategies to discover the success of particular methods for the improvement in overall productivity of the livestock. Improved management has also brought about a decrease in the incidence of disease: in just over five years the incidence of serious diseases such as Newcastle Disease in poultry and PPR (peste des petits ruminants) has been reduced dramatically.
The increased numbers of small livestock which are now being produced by the smallholders are also increasingly sold or exchanged for larger stock (cattle). Through this process the value of stock in the household is steadily increased and more food is made available, both directly from livestock products such as milk and meat and indirectly from the extra income generated. Additional benefits are obtained from the extra manure produced by the livestock, which is incorporated into the fields. In addition, crop by-products are used to feed livestock, thus reducing waste.
The project has contributed considerably to improved marketing of small ruminants and poultry in Gambia by producing and marketing meat for religious feasts and by encouraging women to diversify into the dairy sector. Milk is bought from the men, who own the dairy cattle, processed and then sold as added value products at market. An increased uptake in the women's education has also been observed as they strive to learn more about livestock management and market gardening.
In Togo, an earlier project has also demonstrated that improved housing, feeding and healthcare of small ruminants and poultry greatly increases production and improves income resulting in better nutrition and food security for all. Juhani Mäki-Hokkonen of FAO stresses, "Greater integration and improved management of small animals are the key to sustained development in small-scale farming."
