A. Overview of the livestock training component

The technical content of livestock training has been organized into 5 skill groups in this manual. They are:

1.	Livestock Development
2.	Swine
3.	Rabbits
4.	Poultry
5.	Goats

 

The technical training goals, the guidelines, and the curriculum (lesson plans) are all structured around these 5 skill groups.

Livestock training is designed to establish a basis for making the management decisions called for in the development of livestock operations. These are skills the volunteer will need if he or she is to work with small farmers. Because there are no absolutes in animal husbandry, our first goal is for the trainee to learn that in a complex system based on locally available resources there are very few instant technological innovations that are truly effective. For this reason the training is developed with a framework or continuum of development reaching from the high technical levels of production to the free range, survival level. Within this developmental continuum, training focuses on the five principal categories of livestock development. They are:

1.	Nutrition
2.	Management
3.	Diseases and Parasites
4.	Genetics
5.	Housing

 

Primary emphasis is placed on nutrition. This is the beginning and end of all livestock development. It has been simply stated that you cannot keep animals that you cannot feed. Furthermore, 75% to 90% of the cost of raising animals can be feed. The health of the herd and the profit or loss for the farmer are all directly controlled by the nutrition and feeding of the animals. Nutrition is the most limiting factor in livestock development and therefore is the area that volunteers must develop before changing breeding stock or management levels.

The training manual and guidelines take the approach that in order to develop a profitable livestock operation all five of the categories must be balanced on the same level of the continuum. This balancing point on the developmental continuum is determined by a host of factors including:

.Markets

.Pricing of feeds and meat

.Local infrastructure

.Water quality

.Cultural tastes in meat

.Credit

.Agricultural extension

.Government policies

.Management levels

.Diseases

.Vaccines

.Antibiotics

.Parasites

.Locally grown small feeds

Therefore, when trainees learn the mechanics of a given technique (such as wing clipping), they also must consider the context in which the practice will be employed. To determine the appropriateness of a given practice or technique, trainees should constantly ask:

- Is this practice consistent with local management levels and resources?

- What are the potential risks for the farmer?

- Will it increase profit?

- Are the risks for potential loss too great to Justify the potential gain?

- What short and long term effects will it have on the livestock operation?

The training manual/guidelines provide an integrated approach to technical information and ability as well as agriculture extension worker skills. The lesson plans reflect integration of these skills through an experiential training methodology implemented through intensive "hands-on" learning. 60% of the technical training time is spent working with the animals and 40% in the classroom. The trainees are responsible for the daily feeding, watering, and caring for the animals. Training is done primarily through readings and dialogue - not through lecture.