Report "Assessing the Impact of the SASA/CASREN
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Report "Assessing the Impact of the SASA/CASREN Technology Interventions in the Sweet potato-Pig Production Systems in Zitong County (Sichuan, China)" Danilo A. Pezo July 2004 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract............................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 3 The use of sweet potatoes as animal feed in Sichuan Province: Some experiences before CASREN ........................................................................................................................... 4 The R&D process for Improving Sweet Potato - Pig Systems in Zitong County (Sichuan, China)................................................................................................................................ 5 Identification of Sites and Target Groups.................................................................................6 Organizing the CASREN Local Network in Sichuan ..................................................................7 Matching Farmer Needs with Technology Options ....................................................................8 Ex ante evaluation of technology options .................................................................................9 a) Evaluation of sweet potato varieties......................................................................9 b) Use of additives for ensiling sweet potato vines and roots: Silage preparation ....9 c) Supplementation of sweet potato-based diets for weaned piglets and growing pigs ...........................................................................................................................10 Piglets ...............................................................................................................12 On-farm Implementation....................................................................................................12 (a) Planting an improved (high yielding/starch-rich) sweet potato variety............12 (b) Conservation of sweet potato vines and roots as silages ..................................13 (c) Use of a premix or a protein-rich concentrates to supplement sweet potato diets .................................................................................................................................13 (d) Upgrading pigs using improved breed boars ....................................................14 (e) Simple preventive disease control plan.............................................................14 (f) Improved housing facilities for pigs ..................................................................14 Training of Researchers, Technicians and Farmers ..................................................................15 Assessing Impacts.............................................................................................................16 a) Some general concepts .......................................................................................16 b) Methodologies applied .......................................................................................17 c) Some results obtained..........................................................................................18 PLOT LEVEL.......................................................................................................18 - Use of improved sweet potato variety ................................................................18 - Conservation of sweet potato vines and roots as silage .......................................18 - Improved year-round feeding system for pigs .....................................................19 HOUSEHOLD LEVEL.........................................................................................19 - Increased income from pig production................................................................19 - Improved livelihoods .........................................................................................20 INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL .................................................................................21 Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................22 ANNEX 1………………………………………………………………………………23 3 Assessing Impacts of the SASA/CASREN Technology Interventions in the Sweet potato -Pig Production Systems in Zitong County (Sichuan, China) Abstract The present paper describes the processes applied by the Sichuan Animal Science Academy (SASA)/CASREN Team in Zitong County in order to improve the sweet potat o-based pig production systems that are predominantly present in that area, which is representative of the rainfed uplands of Sichuan Province (China). The methodology applied by the CASREN project to scale up promising technology interventions in crop- livestock systems is described. Some of the differences between the work in the benchmark site in Sichuan Province and other CASREN sites is also briefly described. The last part of the report contains a detailed description of the basket of technology op tions proposed by the SASA/CASREN Team, as well as some of the findings in the preliminary assessment of their impact. The technologies included in the basket of options are: improved sweet potato varieties (high yielding, starch-rich); conservation of sweet potato roots and vines as silages as a means to increase the efficiency of utilisation of sweet potatoes as animal feed; use of a premix or a protein-rich concentrate to supplement sweet potato-based diets; upgrading the local pig genotypes using improved breeds; implementation of a simple preventive disease control program; and improved housing. The report contains some of the preliminary results obtained applying a set of criteria for assessing the impacts at the plot and household level, after applying the technology interventions as proposed by the SASA/CASREN Team. Among those criteria are: increased sweet potato yield; larger area planted to the improved varieties; reduction of losses due spoilage when sweet potato roots and vines are ensiled; savings in fuel when silages are prepared instead of offering fresh roots; shorten the growing/fattening period; increased numbers of pigs marketed; increased income from pig; reduced costs of feeding; faster capital turnover in the pig enterprise; and final ly improved livelihood for household members. At the end of the report there is a brief section on institutional impacts. Introduction In January 2002, ILRI and its partners in South East Asia started the project entitled “Improving Crop-Livestock Production Systems in Rainfed Areas of South East Asia”, which followed a previous three-years long project entitled “Increasing Productivity of Crop-Livestock Systems in Asia” that was carried out from January 1999 to December 2002. Both are funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). All project partners constituted the Crop-Animal Systems Research Network (CASREN) as a mechanism to link research and development (R&D) activities among the five participating countries. Both projects have as their main components: technology development, policy research and training of researchers and extension workers of NARS. Regarding the technology development component, the project moved from its research emphasis in the first stage (Objective 1 was “to develop improved livestock feed production and utilization technologies that could help to improve the productivity of smallholder crop-livestock systems”) to a development-oriented approach (Objective 1 is now “to use participatory approaches to spread the application of appropriate technologies by farmers to enhance the productivity of crop- livestock systems”), and its ultimate goal is to reduce poverty among smallholder farmers in rainfed environments in South East Asia. The present report is an attempt to make a preliminary evaluation of the impact CASREN technology interventions have had on the sweet potato-pig production systems in Renhe Township (Zitong County), which are the focus of the Sichuan Animal Science Academy, who is the CASREN partner institution for the work in Sichuan Province (China). The present report is also an effort to illustrate the application of a general methodology to assess the impact of CASREN technology interventions, because we do recognize that there has not occurred wider adoption of the proposed interventions given the short duration of the project efforts in Sichuan 4 Province (less than three years). Also, the project did not include a massive extension and diffusion component (Figure 1); therefore, the real IMPACT of the project has been on strengthening the R&D capacity of national partners, which in turn would lead to have impact on the ultimate goal of the project which is to reduce poverty. Figure 1. Conceptual framework for assessing impact of CASREN R&D efforts The use of sweet potatoes as animal feed in Sichuan Province: Some experiences before CASREN Two survey studies conducted by the Feed Research Institute of the Sichuan Animal Sciences Academy in1988 and 1996 showed that smallholder pig producers commonly fed their animals with grains, green feeds (mainly leaves), and rice bran with hulls. In general, feeding systems used could be classified into four types: (1) Corn - green feed - rice bran with hulls (2) Sweet potatoes – corn - green feeds - rice bran with hulls (3) Corn – wheat - green feeds - rice bran with hulls (4) Corn – barley - green