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Objectives
The objectives of the project were to improve household food security
and increase the incomes of farm families with below-average productive
assets, and to promote elimination of opium poppy cultivation in Xieng
Khouang province. This was to be achieved by providing alternative livelihoods.
The livestock component was intended to increase the number of productive
animals controlled by small farmers.
Activities
 The
project aimed to support livestock development by:
- establishing cattle banks to distribute heifers;
- distributing yearling bulls for fattening;
- providing cold-chain facilities for vaccine supply;
- supporting cattle vaccination and disseminating information;
- supporting pasture and forage development;
- providing formal credit facilities for raising cattle and draught
buffalo in lowland areas;
- providing technical assistance and training; and
- supporting institutional capacity-building.
Outcome
At
project closure, the impact on beneficiaries was negligible. Reproductive
performance and calf survival among cattle-bank animals were low, although
vaccinations had reduced animal mortality and increased farmer awareness.
Vaccination of small livestock and attempts to privatize vaccine sales
proved unsuccessful, however. Use of anthelmintics increased as a result
of encouragement in the project; some research into animal health and
nutrition was carried out.
Cattle manure distributed by the project made a major contribution to
agricultural production. Extension activities generated few identifiable
benefits, however, because the technologies introduced have not been
generally adopted.
Cattle-bank schemes experienced poor repayment rates, mainly because
of the long period before loans could be reimbursed with animals, and
especially because productivity parameters and their implications were
not fully understood. Farmers who obtained formal credit made more profit
than those using the cattle banks, because the terms of repayment were
clearly understood. They managed their livestock better and were able
to refund loans by raising money through other activities.
Organizations
and people
| Agricultural
institutions were constrained by:
- budget limitations, resulting in an inability to provide support
facilities and equipment, delayed staff payment and difficulties
recruiting personnel;
- lack of a research and extension system; and
- inadequate training in livestock production techniques and extension
systems.
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| Planned |
|
Achieved |
| To provide training for farmers and project staff in livestock
management, health and nutrition.
To provide support facilities aimed at institutional strengthening.
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Twenty-one project staff were trained in subjects related to livestock
production. About 500 farmers received training in vaccination,
deworming and urea treatment of straw.
A livestock specialist was employed between 1992 and 1995, conducting
some fieldwork and supporting the mineral-block programmes. Technical
assistance was provided in pasture development, trials of new
pasture species, cattle procurement and extension.
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Access
to inputs and infrastructure
| Livestock
is a major economic activity in the province recovering after
that traditional cattle raising was wiped out by the war (Viet
Nam war, 1965-1975).
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| Planned |
|
Achieved |
| To
establish a cattle bank to distribute 3 000 heifers and redistribute
their offspring for breeding and fattening under a Credit
scheme.
To distribute 500 grower steers for fattening, the sale proceeds
of finished animals to be shared between the project and beneficiaries.
To
provide formal credit for raising cattle and small stock, and
for draught animals. |
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In
1997, 2 769 cows, 376 calves and 107 bulls for breeding purposes
had been distributed through 39 cattle banks to 863 farm families.
The cattle-bank scheme was popular but expensive to operate; the
productivity of the animals was low, causing repayment difficulties.
No steers were allocated to the fattening programme, because there
was no local market demand for finished beef and because few calves
were produced by cattle-bank cows. Cattle-bank animals from which
fattener steers were to have been produced were located in the
savannah area, where grain was scarce; surplus grain in the lowlands
was being used as pig and poultry feed.
Formal
credit was obtained by 146 households for cattle raising and draught
animals; 55 households benefited from credit for pig and turkey
raising. Farmers agreed that formal livestock was a better option
than receiving animals from cattle banks, but this may have been
a function of selection. |
Livestock feeding
There
is a severe shortage of forage. Grass cover in upland areas is
reduced by grazing, and the savannah grazing land in the western
part of the province is deficient in phosphorus. |
Planned |
|
Achieved |
| To
finance production of about 1.5 tonnes (t) of mineral blocks for
demonstration purposes, with the objective of encouraging villagers
to contribute to a fund that would enable cattle banks to continue
to manufacture and use them.
To establish grass and legume plots at three district training,
trials and demonstration centres, and facilitate forage production
trials at all six centres; to establish six village trial/demonstration
plots for forage crops, grass and legumes; and to carry out upgrading-by-oversowing
trials in savannah areas to determine whether the pastures could
be improved.
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Urea
treatment of straw and manufacture and use of mineral blocks and
bone meal as phosphorus supplements for cattle, buffalo and pigs
were shown in village trials and training in pasture establishment
in 1994. Few villages made mineral blocks or bone meal after the
demonstrations, however; none have adopted the technology for
urea treatment of straw. The Laet Saen government farm bought
5 t of the 5.6 t of mineral blocks produced in 1995; livestock
raisers bought only the remaining half ton.
During 1993-1994, 66 pasture varieties including 12 cool-season
varieties were tested in two training centres and 25 locations
in six districts; several species suitable for distribution were
identified. Pasture demonstration plots were established in six
cattle-bank villages in 1996. Pasture species were distributed
to 35 farmers in Pek, Phaxay and Phoukout districts; 12 farmers
in three villages were provided with elephant grass cuttings to
establish 400 m2 fenced plots.
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Livestock health
| Planned |
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Achieved |
| To
establish an animal health service with cold-chain facilities
for supplying drugs.
To
carry out vaccinations of cattle, pigs and poultry.
To
support the dissemination of information on animal health and
production.
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Refrigerators, vaccination equipment and transport containers
were provided to provincial and district offices to facilitate
greater vaccination coverage, primarily in cattle-bank villages.
Revolving funds were established for vaccine procurement in six
cattle-bank villages. Attempts to privatize vaccine sales were
unsuccessful because:
- refrigerator operators were inadequately trained: freeze-dried
vaccines were stored at room temperature and sold after their
expiry dates; and
- there was no regulatory framework governing delivery of drugs
and vaccines by the private sector.
Training in vaccination and animal health and production subjects
was provided to 305 village veterinary workers; they were supplied
with vaccination equipment and extension manuals. They received
support in administering vaccinations at cattle banks, which reduced
animal mortality and increased farmer awareness of the advantages
of regular vaccination. The veterinary workers vaccinated cattle
and buffalo against haemorrhagic septicaemia and black quarter,
and pigs and poultry against other diseases. By 1993, only 273
chickens had been vaccinated. In Nong Het district alone, however,
1 870 birds were vaccinated in 1994 and 1 588 in 1995. Vaccination
of small livestock was unfortunately not particularly successful:
there was no in-depth study of existing diseases, so birds vaccinated
against Newcastle disease still died from fowl cholera.
The project successfully promoted the use of anthelmintics (piperazine
treatment) for calves. Although not envisaged at appraisal, a
diagnostic laboratory was established at Phonsavanh to support
an investigation into the causes of cattle under-performance.
The investigation was instrumental in identifying the causes of
lameness and reproductive disorders and developing techniques
of nutritional supplementation.
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Lessons learned
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Free-ranging
animals, the cost of fences, control of common pastures and farmers’
preferences for herd size over production efficiency were significant
constraints on effective pasture management and establishment of
dry-season grazing reserves.
- It
is important to ensure that project beneficiaries perceive group participation
as a permanent process that will support other development activities,
not merely as a means of obtaining assistance.
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The poorest rural households should be given priority in targeting
criteria for livestock credit.
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Targeted cash credit accompanied by full explanation of repayment
terms would be a more appropriate method of financing livestock
in future projects.
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Focusing on improved production of small stock such as poultry and
pigs, which are owned by almost all households, would generate broader
benefits than focusing on cattle.
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Per-head performance should be improved to increase long-term productivity.
Raising large numbers of animals is unlikely to improve production
where animal health services and feed resources are limited and
animal husbandry practices are poor.
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Privatization
of veterinary services should be a coordinated and gradual process,
complemented by full government commitment and pioneered in areas
where there are maximum opportunities for success.
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Adoption
of new livestock technologies depends on the appropriateness of
the technologies and adequate technical assistance, extension support
and follow-up by field staff.
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Factors such as market demand, availability of feed and sources
of animals should be analysed before project components are designed.
Credit schemes
Cattle-bank
scheme (credit-in-kind). The intended beneficiaries were families
without cattle living in savannah areas and families with no animals
living in lowland rice-growing areas. The cattle banks were to provide
heifers to a small group of farmers who would rear them for about five
years and then return them. Male calves produced during the five years
would be kept for 18-24 months and then given to the project; the farmers
would keep female calves. Farmers without animals would receive the
first calves. Participation in the scheme would be conditional on vaccination
of the cattle and in some areas on the establishment of pasture or legume
plots. The scheme was intended to be self-financing: the sale of returned
cattle would cover the cost of the heifers and operation of the cattle
banks.
The
cattle banks were also to distribute 500 yearling bulls to families
for fattening. These animals, which would be given to families for one
year, would come from the return of bulls in the main operation. After
fattening, the animals would be sold; the family would retain 60% of
the sale price and the cattle bank 40%.
Summary
of appraisal and actual cattle- banks’ dstribution and performance:
appraisal targets and actual performance
| |
Appraisal
targets |
Actual
performance |
| Cows
distributed |
|
|
| Pek
and phoukout |
2 700 |
2 769 |
| Other
districts |
1 092 |
|
| Calves
surviving |
6 164 |
2 899 |
| Calf
mortality (%) |
8 |
20 |
| Adult
mortality (%) |
3 |
10 |
| Cattle-bank
groups |
452 |
39 |
| Households
in cattle-bank groups |
4 250 |
863 |
Livestock
credit provided by the Agricultural Promotion Bank
The
project provided credit for livestock through the Agricultural Promotion
Bank. Short- to medium-term loans were to be provided for cattle, draught
buffalo, pigs and turkeys. Loans were to be made only to groups because
individuals, particularly the IFAD target group, did not have the collateral
required by the bank. The bank financed cattle raising and draught buffalo
in lowland areas where livestock feed is more readily available. Credit
was also provided for pig and turkey raising.
| Loan
purpose |
Total
number of loans |
| Cattle
raising |
68 |
| Draught
animals |
78 |
| Pig
rRaising |
46 |
| Turkey
raising |
6 |
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| Project information |
Total cost: USD 8.4 million.
Duration:
The project was approved in April 1990 and is now closed.
Area:
The project covered the whole of Xieng Khouang province, a mountainous
region in north-eastern Laos.
Beneficiaries: project beneficiaries were defined as households that were unable to
produce sufficient food for family consumption, had below-average productive
assets and produced opium. They constituted approximately 13 000 families,
half the households in the province. The livestock components were intended
to assist about 5 600 beneficiaries. |
| References |
Project
Appraisal Report, Vols. I, II &and III, December 1990.
Report
and Recommendation of the President to the Executive Board.
Project
Performance Evaluation Report, 1994.
Mid-Term
Review Report, June 1995.
Interim
Evaluation Report, Vols. I &and II, March 1998. |
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