Formulation of goat feed

Feeding guide for goat

Source: A Textbook of Animal Husbandry,G.C Banerjee

Common milk adulterants in developing country Nepal: A short review

Abstract:

Milk adulteration is a serious concern in developing country Nepal and is at higher risk due to lack of government policies. Milk is almost a complete food containing essential nutrients required for growth and maintenance of the body. Milk is a high-risk commodity that can be adulterated in numerous ways and turn affects milk quality. The quality and safe milk production are one of the biggest problems faced by developing countries, and Nepal is one of them. The reason behind the milk adulteration is more for economic concerns, but the root cause of adulteration is to increase milk demand during the lean season in developing countries and the existing supply chain. Water being cheap is the most common adulterant added in the milk that decreases the nutrient content of milk. Milk producer also adds the preservatives to increase the shelf life of milk, caustic soda to reduce the milk acidity and materials like urea, starch, sugar and milk powder to increase SNF content. Such milk adulterants can possess serious health hazards to the public leading to fatal diseases. This review shows the common milk adulteration practices in-country Nepal and their impacts on food safety and human health and emphasize potential strategies for control of such adulteration practices. 

Further Reading: You can access the review article through following link;

Author:Dangi, Swotantra

Affiliation:Swotantra Dangi Forum for Rural Welfare and Agricultural Reform for Development, Bharatpur-2, Chitwan, Nepal. Dairy for Development in Nepal 

Publication:Aceh Journal of Animal Science, 2021, Vol 6, Issue 3, p91

ISSN:2502-9568

Publication type:Academic Journal

DOI:10.13170/ajas.6.3.20356

Rangeland and livestock production system in Nepal

Livestock Production system in high hills and Himalayas:

Cattles, Goat, Sheep, Chauries, and Yak were the main animal components raised by the farmers. Migratory pattern of animals follows the transhumance system. Animals graze from the lower altitude rangeland towards higher altitude rangeland depending upon the months and seasons of the year. Most of the chauri herders follow this transhumance practice of livestock management system.

Opportunities and Challenges:

Livestock rearing is the major occupation of the people living in the hills and mountain region of the country. Majority of the people in these areas rear Yaks, Chauries, Cattle, Sheep and Goat for income generation to meet their family needs. The existing rangeland and pastureland and the forest resources are the major animal feed resources. The existing pastureland and rangeland have low productivity due to presence of the dominating weeds/shrubs and under degradation due to high grazing pressure. Thus, there is ample opportunity to increase and expand the pasture improvement and development works in the future.

Opportunities for the pasture and livestock development based on the information from key informants and farmers group discussion summarized as:

Livestock and pasture resources are potential source of income generation through livestock products    such as milk, wool, cheese production, as well the source of tourism and herbal medicines.

Product diversification such as making cheese, ghee, churpi and other related products from yak and chauri milk have great scope in the international markets. Yak cheese is very popular in many countries   like Europe, Australia and America. Yak cheese from Nepal is especially very popular in European country Netherlands. This is linked with the pasture improvement and making availability of    lush of pasture for grazing.

·  Disasters: Natural disaster such as landslides, rainfall, snowing in these areas can adversely affect the productivity and livestock population in the rangelands. 

·   Rangelands in the higher hills and the alpines region are mostly dominated by the unwanted weeds, shrubs and bushes that inhibit the growth and development of the nutritious grasses, and legumes in the pasture.

·     Change in the government policies:

Despite of the fact that indigenous practices, knowledge and strategies are vital to sustainable development of rangeland resources and ecosystems, changes in forest policies and land-tenure can cause detrimental interference to the rangeland management

 Absence of basic information on rangelands:

The basic information such as altitudes, aspects, area, vegetation composition, biomass production, seasonality of growth and utilization is lacking and this in turn have hampered the formulation and implementation of rangeland improvement activities at field level. Similarly, the feed value of the native pastures and browse foliage is also lacking.

 Overgrazing:

Most of the herders keep large number of the animals, the average herd size in migratory system ranges from 200-300 heads of animals comprising 4-6 farmers/households. Large herds are unmanageable and grazing could be fatal. Therefore, this is another example restricting the effective management of rangeland.

Inadequate research and extension:

Research works on native pasture production and management especially in the northern region is inadequate. Awareness programs towards improved forage cultivation practices has been made however, due to shortage pf budget development, implementation of program on larger scale has not occurred. Most of the herders have little access to veterinary services, credit facilities and chilling centers. Farmers and government staff lack proper training in pasture production and livestock management.

Following recommendations have been made with an objective to improve the existing situation of the rangeland in Nepal:

Pasture/vegetation improvement:

• Identification and elimination of unwanted and toxic weeds, shrubs and bushes    from the grazing lands   should be prioritized.
•  Conservation of the potential native vegetation should be practiced by adopting       proper grazing management practices.
•  It is necessary to minimize the grazing pressure on the rangelands.
•   Improvement of the soil integrity and fertility is must for high herbage mass production.
•  Introduction of new potential herbage species in the rangeland without replacing the other key species.

Policy issues:

· Policy formulation on rangeland management and improvement, livestock production and management system with emphasis on Yak, Chauri, Cattles sheep and goat would be more practical to address the pasture productivity increment and utilization issues.
· Conservation of the genetic resources of the rangeland ecosystem for biodiversity conservation. 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview of Livestock Insurance in Nepal

Summary & recommendations: 

Despite livestock insurance being quite successful, there are some shortcomings. Livestock enterprise is most vulnerable to risks such as disease, lack of veterinary services, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and landslides. So, livestock insurance is an effective risk-bearing mechanism. However, due to the lack of price-fixing mechanisms for dairy cattle, buffaloes and other livestock by the government, the insured farmers are not satisfied with the valuation and loss assessment. The reason is the sum insured of particular livestock species such as dairy cattle, buffaloes and goats is determined by the mutual understanding of the insurance company, farmers and service provider(technician).

Poultry Insurance

Cattle Insurance

Goat Insurance

The challenge the livestock insurance in Nepal could be addressed by raising awareness among the farmers about the benefits of insurance and relevant procedures during insurance is very crucial to increasing insurance adoption. Public awareness campaigns should be intensified through the combined efforts of all the stakeholders including local government authorities, media, insurance companies, and farmers or cooperatives. Accessibility of the insurance services even in the rural areas should be enhanced by increasing the number of insurance or extension agents. Furthermore, the insurance agents should be provided with the appropriate training and insurance procedure guidelines in the local language so that they can approach and convince farmers to insure their livestock. In addition to it, the livestock insurance adoption in rural areas would further be enhanced by executing the standard guidelines for the determination of the sum insured number of dairy animals by the Nepal government. This step would certainly benefit the smallholder farmers by ensuring their livestock can get the real valuation of what they have invested during animal purchase. The effectiveness of the insurance program can also be increased by simplifying the procedure of issuing the insurance policy and claim reimbursement process. 

You can access this article on Academia Letters at https://doi.org/10.20935/AL5977 

Corresponding Author: Dr. Swotantra Dangi, cswotantra@gmail.com 

Citation: Dangi, D. (2022). Overview of Livestock Insurance in Nepal. Academia Letters, Article 5977. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL5977

Fodder/forage listed in SQCC Nepa, their production potential and recommended areas(English version)

1.  Oat

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended Area
Kamdhenu Oat	51-72	Terai & Mid Hill
Netra	32-91	Terai & Mid Hill
Ganesh	48-50	Terai & Mid Hill
Parbati	61-70	Terai & High Hill
Amritdhara	36	Terai & Mid Hill
Nandini	32-38	Terai & inner Madhesh
Swan	30-35	up to 2000 m.a.s.l in Terai, mid-hills & High hills

2. Berseem

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended Area
Berseem Green Gold	72-78	Terai & inner Terai
Mescavi	75-85	up to 1200 m.a.s.l in terai & mid-hills

3. Teosinte

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Makaichari-1	35-45	up to 1500 m.a.s.l in terai & mid-hills

4.White Clover

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Pyauli White clover	30-45	mid-hill to high hills

5. Rye grass

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Dhunche Ryegrass	30-40	mid-hill to high hills

6.Common Vetch

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Kutil Kosha 1	35-40	up to 2000 m.a.s.l terai, mid-hills and high-hills

7.Stylo

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Palpa Stylo	72-80	up to 1600 m.a.s.l in terain& mid-hills.

8. Cocksfoot

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Rasuwa Cocksfoot	30-40	up to 1600 m.a.s.l in mid-hills & high hills

9.Napier

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Elephant grass-1	60-80	up to 1500 m.a.s.l in terai & mid-hills

10.Setaria

Fodder Variety	Production(M Ton/Hectare)	Recommended area
Khumal Banso	60-80	up to 2000 m.a.s.l  in terai, mid-hills & high hills

Breeds of the goat in Nepal and criteria for their selection in productivity

Abstract

Goat rearing is an important part of the mixed farming system that significantly contributes to food, the nutritional, and economic security of the marginalised farmers creating employment opportunities in the country. This chapter has tried to review the indigenous goat breeds of Nepal, and the criteria for selection to enhance the production and productivity of goats. Four indigenous goat breeds are Terai, Khari, Sinhal, and Chyangra. The most common exotic goat breeds used for crossbreeding and upgrading indigenous breeds of goats are Boer, Jamunapari, and Barbara, Beetal, Sirohi, Saanen, Toggenburg, Damascus, and Kiko. The breeding of goats in Nepal is mainly based on selection, pure breeding, and crossbreeding with exotic breeds. As the goat farming business can be operated through a low investment, it has given the opportunity for employment and income generation to marginalised farmers and women. Thus, goat farming has played a crucial role in poverty alleviation and could be an important source for the national economy if improved husbandry and breeding practices are followed.

Conclusion:

It is found that in general the performances of indigenous goats are poor in terms of daily live weight gain, most of the breeds have poor kidding rates, kid survival, and disease resistance. There are several factors that impede the production, productivity, and profitability of goat keeping. It is anticipated that the huge internal demand for goats can be full- filled by transforming the existing subsistence husbandry into enterprise level. Various transformational processes like initiatives on goat artificial insemination technology, pasture management, introduction, and cross-breeding of new breeds. Apart from this selecting best of the best and mating within the breed and addressing the diseases like PPR and Bluetongue is a must for better production and productivity.

In addition to this, the introduction and evaluation of promising exotic goat breeds together with resource centre establishment are necessary. Further, attempts are needed to be directed to reduce the production cost and address the communal grazing issue in the forestland. Low-interest rates on loans for goat business, assurance of health delivery, and technical backstopping are the areas that need adequate consideration for enhancing goat farming in Nepal.

***This is part of my contribution to the chapter Breeds of the goat in Nepal and criteria for their selection in productivity In book: Trends in Clinical Diseases, Production and Management of Goats published in Elsevier.

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