Chapter I: Orientation to the livestock component of agricultural training

 

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.

 

 

B. Preparing the livestock component of agricultural training

1. TASK LIST

You should complete the following tasks and get answers to these questions before training starts.

a.	Order the books listed in the bibliography 2 or 3 weeks before training starts. They will be needed for training. The bibliography list is in the appendix.
b.	Purchase and borrow (if possible) the animals to be used during training and have them housed near your classroom.
c.	Arrange for credit at the local feedstore or mill and have an adequate supply of animal feed on hand to start training.
d.	Either scrounge or buy the materials listed on the Livestock Supply List that are needed for your training. The supply list is in the appendix.
e.	Visit the local extension office and get to know the Ag. Extension agent who works in your area. He or she can be invaluable in assisting you with the farm visits and with information about the community.
f.	Work with the local extension agent to meet some of the local farmers who are working with the same animals used in training (and at a similar level of production). Arrange for farm visits to their farms. Make sure that the visit will give the trainee the chance to work with some of the skills that he or she has gained-both technical and Ag Extension skills. The farm visit should be an opportunity to use observational as well as practical skills.
g.	Ensure that transportation will be available when you need it.
h.	Have all reference materials and guidelines printed and ready to be given to the trainees by the first day of training.
i.	Review the lesson plans contained in Chapter II and adapt them to the conditions of your training program. They are the key to a smoothly run training.
j.	Know, exactly, how much money you have in your budget so that you can plan for all needed materials without overspending.
k.	Know how many trainees will be arriving. Read over their Pre-Training Questionaires in order to become familiar with their backgrounds.
1. Study the TAC sheets for their program.
m.	Gather as much information as possible on specific host country conditions concerning diseases, parasites, nutrition, climate, management practices, and local infrastructure.
n.	Become acquainted with the other staff members and build a team that is responsive to training demands.
o.	Do you have classroom space reserved for all of your sessions?
p.	Do you have enough animals on hand for the field sessions? Will all the trainees be able to participate?
q.	Spend time sharing your work plans with the rest of the staff (crops, administration, extension).
r.	Have your training schedule complete for the entire training.
s.	Delegate work to the other livestock trainers and training assistants. Decide on responsibilities within the livestock component. Make sure that your staff is clear about their own roles and responsibilities. Do not allow the gopher work to drive you crazy.
t.	Decide which staff member will be responsible for each session in the schedule so that they can begin to prepare early.

 

2. SITE PREPARATION

As much as is possible try to have all the animals housed in a central location. This will save class time later since the trainees will have less distance to walk. Try and replicate the conditions that animals are typically raised under in-country. Do not spend a lot of money on housing and equipment. Use what is available locally at little or no cost. You should, as a matter of practicality and as an example to the trainees, scrounge and recycle as much as possible. The convenience and expediency that training often demands should be balanced with practicality and appropriateness (compared to in-country situations) that make training realistic.

3. PREPARING THE LIVESTOCK STAFF

The issues of staff training and team building were addressed in Volume I. However, within the livestock component there will be decisions to be made concerning training styles, work loads, and responsibilities. The questions below should help in making these decisions.

- How many livestock trainers are on the staff?

- Which animals will be covered in the training?

- How many hours does the livestock component have?

- Which livestock trainer will take responsibility for which classes?

- Will one trainer be responsible for one animal only?

- Which trainers are qualified to train on more than one animal?

- Will classes be taught individually or will you team teach?

- If you train as a team in a given session, then who will take the lead and assume primary responsibility?

- During field sessions what ratio do you wish to maintain (number of trainees to trainer)?

- How will changes in the schedule and other decisions be made within the livestock component? By the coordinator? Informally? In weekly staff meetings? By consensus?

- Will the coordinator be responsible for the livestock component budget?

The answers to these questions should provide the information needed to make decisions about how the livestock training is to be run. The combination of a staffs' technical skill and training skills needs to be examined closely in making decisions concerning these issues.

4. PRE-TRAINING RESEARCH

The important point here is to gather as much relevant information as possible about both the country in which the trainees will serve, the agricultural environment of the country, and the requirements and focus of the program. One source of information is the pretraining research trip which is discussed in Volume 1. Additional sources of information might be country staff (send cables before training), RPCV training assistants from the country, the desk officer, TAC sheets, and other staff. Specific information about livestock production in country is essential to the decision about which animals to cover during training. The farmer livestock survey included in the technical guidelines details the type of information needed.

5. CURRICULUM DESIGN

The 5 skill groups and the list of sessions included in Chapter 2 will assist the livestock staff in designing their curriculum. The design as presented in chapter 2 is only a resource and not a blueprint of a training that can be repeated without variation. It is important to adapt the curriculum into each new training design. The order and content of the classes will vary depending on the training site, climate, and the environment of the host country. Do not allow a rigid schedule to so restrict training that you are not able to take advantage of training options and opportunities as they arise. Listed below are some of the variables you will need to consider in designing the curriculum.

- Number of hours for livestock training

- Number of trainees

- Number of skills of the staff

- Host country information

- Emphasis of the program

- Which training goals and sessions are appropriate?

- Management levels of farmers in country

- Which animals are covered in the training and how many of them do you have for the trainees to work with?

- How many money do you have in your budget?

- How much space do you have for housing the animals?

6. THE LIVESTOCK SCHEDULE

Information that affects the livestock portion of the schedule will be discussed here. For more information on the scheduling process refer to Volume I. Once the livestock staff has agreed on which sessions are to be taught and their prospective order during training then entire staff (Crops, Language, Extension, and Administrative) can meet to draw up the final schedule. Listed below are some chronological steps to be completed in preparing a schedule.

a.	Determine which animals will be covered during training and which will be excluded of the 4 covered in this manual.
b.	Meet with the other trainers (language, crops, extension, and administration) to determine exactly how many hours livestock will have.
c.	Set aside the times in the training that will not be available for sessions (meals, shots, etc.) Also establish the general time parameters of the training.
d.	Decide how much time is to be used for each animal. If you are to cover swine, poultry, and rabbits during the training, do you divide the time equally between them or does one require additional time?
e.	Examine areas of individual staff expertise. How many trainers are there? Which trainer will work with which animal? Will there be areas where the staff overlaps or team teaches? Assign primary responsibility for each of the livestock development sessions to one trainer who will then take the lead in that session.
f.	Draw up a list of the sessions to be taught for each animal and decide how much time each session will take.
g.	Divide the total number of hours for livestock by the number of weeks during training. Try to maintain that average number of hours each week.
h.	Meet again with the rest of the staff to draw up the schedule.
When working through the above scheduling process consider the following points:
a.	Maintain at least a 60/40% ratio between field and class sessions.
b.	Remember that trainees will need time to feed and water the animals.
c.	Try to schedule your classroom sessions first thing in the morning; avoid the last 2 hours of the day.
d.	Try to maintain this general sequence:
-Overviews
-Construction
-Nutrition and feeds
-Diseases and parasites
-Management
-Genetics (breeds and reproduction)
However, take full advantage of unplanned opportunities as they occur.
e.	Do not include too much information. Limit the choice of animals and topics to those that are essential.
f.	Schedule 2 hour blocks of training time, as a general rule.
g.	Provide time for breaks between classes.
h.	Set aside time for the trainees to get from one place to another.
i.	Set aside 2 hours each week for reviews (1 hour before the exam and 1 hour after). Allocate 1 hour of exam time weekly for each animal.
j.	Try to match weekly theme in livestock to those going on in other components.

 

C. Carrying out the livestock component

1. INTEGRATED DESIGN

It should be remembered that livestock training as described in this manual is not designed to stand alone. It and the other components combine to make an integrated Agricultural Extension training for the volunteer. For more information on this integrated design refer to Volume 1 of this manual.

2. TRAINER'S ROLE

The trainer will be seen by trainees as an 'expert in his or her field during the early days of training. However, it is the work of the trainer to eliminate the barriers created by being viewed as an "expert and strive to remain a facilitator. The trainer's Job is to create experiences and sessions that place the trainee in an active role of learning and allow the energy of the group to create a constructive learning environment. The trainer should not provide easy answers, but should assist the trainees in becoming knowledgeable through the use of continued questions, group problem solving and reference to appropriate readings.

3. TRAINEE'S ROLE

Trainees take responsibility for the daily feeding, watering, and caring for the animals, keeping field notebooks, making daily observations on the health of the animals, and keeping daily feed consumption records. Trainees take an active, responsible role in their learning. These activities serve to increase the confidence and credibility of the volunteer as he or she masters new technical skills. The time spent observing the animals allows the trainee to learn what is normal, healthy animal behavior and to distinguish it from the behavior of a diseased or abnormal animal. Ability to distinguish between the two is critical to disease diagnosis and making management decisions. Watering and feeding is normally done on a rotating basis during training with 3 or 4 trainees responsible each day (this number will vary depending on the size of the group and the number of animals).

4. TRAINING FEATURES

There are several aspects of the livestock training program that should be highlighted.

Class and Field Sessions

As mentioned earlier livestock training should have approximately a 60/40% ratio between field and class sessions. The sessions should be designed to complement one another. In other words, the field sessions can be used as the experience step of the experiential learning cycle and the class can serve as a tool in the reflection and generalization stages. It is important that the skill be learned first and then be placed in the context of livestock management and development work. In both the class and the field, the trainer should assist the trainee to learning but should not do the work for the trainee. Each trainee should demonstrate that they have learned the skill. The application stage of the experiential learning cycle for each skill learned comes when the trainee begins to train a counterpart in the skill he or she has learned.

Farm Visits

Farm visits can be valuable for the trainee to begin to use the skills learned. Ideally, the farm visit should be conducted under the following conditions. First, the farmer should be working with the same animals and at a similar production level to those that the trainee will be working with in-country. Second, the farmer must be receptive to having trainees on his or her farm and willing to both answer their questions and allow them to work with his or her animals. Third, trainees can practice some of their organizational skills in setting up the farm visit and demonstrating their extension skills during the actual visit. Finally, trainees should not be asked by trainers to demonstrate a technique that he or she is not yet comfortable with. To do so would run the risk of injuring the animal and damaging the confidence and credibility of the trainee.

Technical Training Goals

The trainer should refer to the technical training goals included in the Technical Guidelines, Chapter III. The purpose of the goals is to allow a trainee and the staff to easily assess progress of each trainee and to narrowly define tasks so that they can be completed in steps. Not all of the goals will apply in all training programs. Depending upon which animals are to be used in training, the overall length of the training, local conditions, the type of work the trainee will do as a volunteer, staffing patterns, and the skill levels of the trainees when they start training, these objectives will need to be altered. We have presented a full range of training objectives for 4 animals. The trainer will have to adjust these to fit each different training situation.

Examinations

Exams should be used as a learning tool to enable the trainee, as well as the staff, to assess their progress on a weekly basis. The material to be included in an exam should be made clear to each trainee prior to the exam. The way to do this is to schedule a review session and then remind the group of the specific training goals which will be addressed on that week's exam. The results of the exam should be discussed with the trainee in the weekly feedback session. Exams should challenge the trainee to think and use the knowledge they have gained. Rote memorization makes for a poor exam and learning tool. They should help to point out the trainees determine whether they have mastered the skill called for in a particular goal. There is a sample exam in the appendix.

The Development Continuum

The 5 components of livestock development (Nutrition, Management, Diseases & Parasites, Genetics, and Housing) and the developmental continuum of high to survival production levels should be the hallmarks of training. Each of the "hands-on" skills taught should be examined in light of these factors to determine the appropriateness of each practice in the individual environment where the trainee will work. It is the ability to analyze and problem solve that will take each of these skills and make them sound for application in the various settings where trainees will serve. To learn a skill and not the implications of its use in the local environment may cause a volunteer to impede rather than furthering it.

Scenarios in Livestock Management Planning

The livestock management planning exercises contained in the guidelines are designed to have the trainees examine a livestock operation (either real or fictional) and then make management decisions based on local conditions, resources, and priorities (usually making more money and working less). They are used at the end of training when trainees can begin to evaluate the skills they have learned and make sense of them as they apply to development. In these sessions it is critical for the trainer to be a facilitator/questioner and to have the ideas flow from the trainees. It is best to use actual livestock operations that the trainees have visited as examples. If this is not possible then the trainer can draw up scenarios that are typical of the type of livestock operations that the trainee will encounter in-country.