Progressing smallholder large-ruminant productivity to reduce rural poverty and address food security in upland northern Lao PDR

Applied participatory research on large-ruminant health and production was conducted in six villages in northern Lao PDR. Three villages were classified as 'high intervention' (HI) and the remaining three as 'low intervention' (LI) sites, with a suite of health and productivity interventions implemented in the HI sites enabling comparison of outcomes with the LI sites, where only a vaccination program was introduced. A 3-year longitudinal study to establish baseline production variables, including liveweight, average daily weight gain (ADG) and reproductive performance, was conducted. The study involved 1500 head of cattle and buffalo that were ear-tagged and weighed every 3-4 months between 2008 and 2011, producing 10 data-collection points. Significant differences in ADG of the cattle between the provinces (P<0.001), but not between HI and LI villages (P = 0.39), was observed. Low calving rates (51-75% and 41-52%) and inter-calving intervals (13.6-15.7 and 18.6-20.6 months) for cattle and buffalo, respectively, were observed. An on-farm large ruminant-fattening trial (n = 44) was conducted over a 4-month period to examine differences in productivity between cut-and-carry stall fattening (n = 26) and free-grazing (n = 18) systems. Cattle and buffalo in fattening stalls (320 and 217 g/day) had significantly greater ADG than those free-grazing (40 and 85 g/day) (P<0.001 and P = 0.001). The increase in sale value for fattened cattle and buffalo was US$78 and US$123, respectively. The longitudinal study indicated that if risks of important diseases such as foot and mouth disease and haemorrhagic septicaemia are controlled by vaccination and biosecurity, improved productivity outcomes in northern Lao PDR can be achieved by establishing forage plantations to better manage variations in seasonal availability of feed and enabling fattening. We conclude that improved large-ruminant productivity, by improving health and nutrition practices, offers opportunities for smallholder farmers to increase livestock income, alleviate rural poverty and improve regional food security in South-east Asia.