Planned

Achieved

To support the establishment of PMOs at provincial, prefecture, county and township levels.

To establish 106 livestock service centres in the project area at the township level.

To support training of project staff, including specialist training for senior officers in breed improvement techniques, pasture and forage development, credit operations and project analysis.

To support rehabilitation and re-equipment of the Ya’an Training Centre, and training for individual farmers in production technology and groups of farmers in processing and grading procedures.

To finance studies and surveys including:

• a technical and financial feasibility and design study for renovation and expansion of Bazhong tannery;
• a marketing study to investigate demand for and supply of rabbit meat in different forms in Sichuan and China in general; and
• a study of organizational possibilities for small-scale processing facilities to determine the optimal type of cooperative association, its responsibilities and its legal and financial position.

To provide technical assistance in field testing and recording systems, Angora wool grading and marketing, breed improvement and forage research.

At closure, the project had established:

• 1 PMO at the provincial level;
• 3 PMOs at the prefecture level;
• 7 PMOs at the county level; and
• 106 PMOs at the township level.

The PMOs are operational and continue follow-up on the use of revolving funds.

All 106 livestock centres were established at the township level, including 47 in three northern counties to provide technical services for ruminant husbandry, 13 in Ya’an prefecture to support ruminant and rabbit husbandry and 46 to support rabbit development. Almost all project farmers signed technical service contracts with the centres, which provided extension inputs for beneficiaries. Technicians made routine farm visits and provided animal health services; farmers paid an annual fee.

Training for project staff covered selection, examination and approval of applicants, technical service skills, financial management and monitoring. Study tours were organized for 69 project management staff at all levels, on topics including:

• management of livestock development projects; Thailand, 7 staff;
• goat breed improvement and product processing techniques; Turkey and Cyprus, 6 staff;
• dairy cow production management, breeding improvement and milk product processing techniques; Canada, 6 staff;
• rabbit meat production management, breeding improvement and product processing techniques; France, 6 staff;
• project management; USA and Australia, 5 staff;
• annual work plan and budget; Philippines, 19 staff; and
• dairy production and processing; Australia, 20 staff.

Training for beneficiaries included procedures and criteria for participation in project activities, feeding and management of animals, stock selection, breeding technology, prevention and treatment of common diseases, milking, rabbit shearing, shed building and forage planting.

Studies included marketing rabbit meat, insuring dairy cattle and the proposed regulation of credit to joint households.

Local short-term technical assistance included livestock specialists, researchers and a livestock and veterinary specialist.

A major constraint on livestock development in China was identified as peasant farmers’ limited access to credit in the absence of savings and shortage of development finance, particularly for small farmers. The target group is largely located in mountainous and hilly areas that offer little potential for development of cropland. Development of ruminants through utilization of existing hillsides was considered a realistic choice for poor marginal farmers.

Planned

Achieved

To provide individual credit, or shared credit to small groups of farmers for joint enterprises, for the establishment and development of small-farm livestock enterprises to:

• 11 650 cow’s milk producers;
• 6 500 goat milk producers;
• 14 000 goat meat producers;
• 7 500 rabbit wool producers;
• 8 700 rabbit meat producers; and
• 198 rabbit multipliers.

The project was to offer primary loans financed directly from initial disbursement, and secondary loans financed from revolving funds. Repayments and interest were to be paid into revolving funds, from which additional credit could be made available for livestock development. (See Livestock Enterprise Models below.)

At completion, individual credit had been provided to:

• 13 734 cow’s milk producers;
• 7 744 goat milk producers;
• 15 345 goat meat producers;
• 19 325 rabbit wool producers;
• 11 433 rabbit meat producers; and
• 241 rabbit multipliers.

Revolving funds continue to be operated by the PMOs.

No shared credit was disbursed, because farmers showed little interest. This was attributed to reluctance to undertake joint production activities with non-family members, recent emergence from an enforced collective system and the problem of handling default.

To provide credit for township/community processing facilities, to be owned by cooperatives of livestock producers, including:

• 11 milk-powder plants;
• 22 chilling centres;
• 11 feed mills (7 to be associated with the milk powder centres), with a truck each;
• 1 rabbit meat processing plant at Cangxi;
• facilities for storage and distribution of concentrated feed; and
• modernization and expansion of Bazhong tannery, with machinery and equipment for leather processing.

To support the formation of village-level producer associations of a few households, with the objective of involving them in simple processing and marketing of their goods. Credit would be provided for the establishment of small-scale commercial enterprises for marketing, grading Angora wool and smoking and preparation of rabbit meat.

To establish a cattle-insurance fund, to be operated by the Bureau of Animal Husbandry (BAH), to replace losses that could not be ascribed to negligence. Farmers were to pay an annual premium of 2.5% of the market value of lactating cows.

Processing facilities established in the project area included:

• 4 milk-powder plants;
• 4 milk collection centres;
• 10 feed mills;
• 1 rabbit meat processing plant; and
• 2 goat meat processing plants.

These facilities marketed much of the milk and meat produced by local beneficiaries.

A rabbit-wool grading plant was established at Cangxi, using the revolving funds and self-financing funds. It sold wool to the provincial foreign-trade corporation through the livestock centres, which purchased the ungraded wool from project farmers. All the processing facilities were established by local animal-husbandry bureaux; none were run by the farmer associations.

Almost all dairy farmers participated in the insurance scheme.

Poor animal-husbandry practices are among the major causes of low livestock performance in the project area. Livestock sheds are often poorly ventilated, lack exercise areas and in many cases flooring is of poor quality. Hygiene is poor because animals are housed so that manure could be collected. Care of animals is generally poor. There are five breeding stations and five breeding farms in the project area, but their contribution to increasing the supply of improved livestock breeds is minimal.

The main sources of livestock fodder include natural vegetation, crop by-products such as stover, halms, chaffs or uneaten vegetables and low levels of concentrates. The quantity of feed is adequate but quality is poor, particularly in winter when animals are fed on crop residues. The nutritive levels of these residues are too low to maintain animals, resulting in poor yields of milk, meat and wool. Major constraints on forage and fodder development include:

• lack of a proven technology for improved forage production; and
• lack of trained and experienced staff to assist farmers in developing and maintaining sustainable forage and fodder resources.

The project therefore supported forage and fodder development, with the aim of meeting the seasonal livestock demand by planting good-quality grass on cultivated and uncultivated land.

To finance research into breed improvement.

To provide artificial insemination equipment, including two liquid nitrogen containers, for 34 centres involved in cattle programmes.

To provide support for pasture development research programmes, including:

• introduction and testing of new species and varieties;
• trials of annual fodder for use on agricultural land; and
• forage development trials to investigate fertilizers, seed multiplication and importation of seeds and inoculants.

Studies were carried out on techniques of maintaining dairy animals, development of standardized animal sheds and design of rabbit hutches. The Animal Breeding Research Institute in Chengdu multiplied improved strains of meat rabbits and evaluated the breeds and their crosses for meat production, providing improved breeding stock to rabbit multipliers. Research into breed improvement, however, was largely restricted to creation of a computer data bank. Data collection was limited to large governmental breeding stations, excluding small farmers; no evaluation of the data was attempted in terms of selecting improved breeding animals.

The Sichuan Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Research Institute in Chengdu undertook the following:

• Research Programme for Extension of Ammoniated Fodder; and
• Study and Extension of the Ensilage of Maize Stalks for Project Farmers.

Development of pasture in marginal areas was in general unsuccessful. Forage development was restricted to trials with varieties of ryegrass and strains of white clover. The two forages were found to be unsuitable for marginal areas.

Failure to implement forage research has been attributed to lack of technical knowledge, inadequate technical assistance and farmers’ unwillingness to commit resources to this type of development, where benefits are uncertain.