Adoption of dairy-draught technology in a mixed crop/livestock farming system - A case study from Ethiopia

Larsen C.E.S., Kumsa T., Tegegne A.. 2003. Adoption of dairy-draught technology in a mixed crop/livestock farming system - A case study from Ethiopia. In : Working animals in agriculture and transport : a collection of some current research and development observations. Pearson R. Anne (ed.), Lhoste Philippe (ed.), Saastamoinen Markku (ed.), Martin Rosset William (ed.). EAAP, University of Edinburgh, CIRAD, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, INRA. Wageningen : Wageningen Academic Publishers, 51-61. (EAAP technical series, 6) ISBN 90-76998-25-6 EAAP Annual Conference. 53, Caire, Égypte, 1 Septembre 2002/4 Septembre 2002.

Résumé : Farming systems based on ox-cultivation are quite demanding for grazing land. They are normally situated in areas with favourable conditions for cropping as well as cattle holding. Such areas are often densely populated and characterised by high population growth and diminishing landholdings. On-station research conducted by ILRI and EARO have shown that using crossbred dairy cows for both milk production and draught work is a feasible technology as long as the increased energy requirement is met by adequate feeding. On-farm research conducted from 1995 - 1998 with 50 farmers stratified in three different resource endowment groups showed that adoption rate of the dairy-draught technology was low during the trial and halted completely shortly after the end of the trial. Milk yields differed significantly among resource endowment groups with cows from rich fanners performing best followed by cows from medium and poor farmers, respectively. Days to first post partum oestrus and calving interval were similar for the groups, but tended to increase over time. The reasons for low adoption of dairy-draught technology were numerous, the most important being: Unwillingness to use the cows for ploughing, inadequate feeding, no alternative investment opportunities, land scarcity not perceived as a prevailing problem in the area and the chosen research approach.

Auteurs et affiliations

• Larsen C.E.S., Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (DNK)
• Kumsa T., EARO (ETH)
• Tegegne A., ILRI (ETH)

Source : Cirad - Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/515980/)

Métriques

[ Page générée et mise en cache le 2019-10-12 ]