Volume 12, Number 4, 2000 |
Welcome to Volume 12, Number 4 of Livestock Research for Rural
Development, the thirty-eighth issue of the journal and the fourth of the new Millennium
The considerable increase in the number of papers submitted to LRRD has encouraged us to modify the editorial policy in order to speed up publication. As soon as papers are received they are submitted to one or two reviewers who are requested to respond within the space of 1-2 weeks with comments as to the suitability of the article and, where appropriate, to suggest changes. The comments of the reviewers are then sent by the editors to authors and as soon as their responses are obtained the papers are edited in HTML format and posted on the Web.
- T R Preston (Senior Editor: trpreston@email.com)
- Rene Sansoucy, France (Assistant Editor: rene_sansoucy@compuserve.com)
- Mauricio Rosales, Colombia (mauricio.rosales@fao.org)
- Andrew Speedy, UK (andrew.speedy@fao.org)
- Hanne Hansen, Denmark (hanne.hansen@ihh.kvl.dk
- Jorge Combellas, Venezuela (jcombell@telcel.net.ve)
- Frands Dolberg, Denmark (frands@mail1.stofanet.dk)
- Christophe Dalibard, France (dalibard@eti.net.gn)
- Steven Lukefahr, USA (s-lukefahr@tamuk.edu)
- Enrique Murgueitio, Colombia (enrique@cipav.org.co)
| Hans Jensen Askov | Denmark | askov@ibm.net |
| Chedley Kayouli | Tunisia | chedly.kayouli@gnet.tn |
| Jian-Xin Liu | China | jxliu@email.com |
| JuanCarlos Chirgwin | Canada | JuanCarlos.Chirgwin@fao.org |
| Jiaqi Wang | China | wangjiaq@public3.bta.net.cn |
| Julio Ly | Cuba | julio@uta.edu.kh |
| Jurjen Draayer | Netherlands | Jurjen.Draayer@fao.org |
| Niels Kyvsgaard | Denmark | Niels.C.Kyvsgaard@vetmi.kvl.dk |
| Rena Perez | Cuba | renap@infomed.sld.cu |
| Simon Anderson | UK | SiAnderson@compuserve.com |
| Alessandro Finzi | Italy | finzi@unitus.it |
| Thomas Bernet | Switzerland | lbernet@bluewin.ch |
| Stephen Slippers | South Africa | SlippersS@nu.ac.za |
| Bill Thorpe | Kenya | w.thorpe@cgnet.com |
Responsibility for posting the papers on the Home Page of LRRD is with CIPAV (Nick Waltham and Hector Osorio)
It appears that at present there are no defined standards for citing papers published electronically. Obviously it is an advantage for such citations to include the "URL" which will take the reader direct to the paper in question. In this and future issues of LRRD the correct citation will appear in the "Heading" of each paper.
The editorial strategy of Livestock Research for Rural Development is to promote the distribution of ideas and hypotheses as well as the documentation of relevant research findings in sustainable use of natural renewable resources. The medium for the former (ideas and hypotheses) traditionally has been through the presentation of short research communications usually at a conference, seminar, workshop or a meeting of members of a scientific association. At such meetings, when many short papers are submitted, these may be accommodated in simultaneous sessions for oral presentation or increasingly in the form of posters. The latter procedure is proving to be the more attractive as it facilitates the dissemination of information by having it available on a continuous basis throughout a meeting rather than at selected times as is the case with theatre presentations.
In the same way that the "tele-conference", employing E-mail and Web communication, is emerging as a cost-effective alternative to the localised (in time and place) scientific gathering, so the "electronic journal" can become a medium for the "poster" presentations. The editors of LRRD are encouraging this approach by means of a section in the journal devoted exclusively to "poster" presentations. It is hoped that by creating a medium for presenting ideas based on preliminary observations, readers interested in the data will be encouraged to enter into a dialogue with the authors. Details for the submission of the posters are given in "guides to authors".
HTML is the native language for publishing documents on the World Wide Web and is understood by all Web browsing software. The journal, as the principal means of publication of developing world sustainable agriculture, needs to be easily available to the widest possible audience of interested people. Using HTML as the on online publishing format has three principal advantages. The first is that everybody who finds the journal can read it with their Internet browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape are amongst the most common). Secondly, the Internet search engines such as Alta Vista, Infoseek and others will index the pages. Thirdly, articles can be posted on the Web as soon as they are reviewed and edited, thus increasing tremendously the speed of communication of information.
The trend in "visits" to the LRRD Web site, over the two years since records were kept, is shown in Figure 1. Over 20 persons are now visiting the Home Page daily, up from 6 persons per day when the Journal was first posted.
All previous issues of the journal have now been converted to HTML format (thanks to CIPAV staff in Colombia), thus there is available on the Internet through the CIPAV web pages a library of 11 years of research in the field of developing world sustainable agriculture.
Figure 1: Visits to LRRD since posting it on the Web in May 1997
The HTML version of LRRD is available on the Web at:
http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrdhome.html
and
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/lrrd.htm
trpreston@email.com in Cambodia
rene_sansoucy@compuserve.com in France
Volumes 1 to 9 of LRRD are now available in HTML format on a CD ROM disk. Readers who wish to receive copies should send their requests to;
UTA has now moved the base of its activities to the Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A new Home page has been created which provides details of past and present activities. The new URL is:
http://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/uta
In line with the move of UTA to Cambodia, a new Ecological Farm has been set up on the campus of the Royal University of Agriculture, in Chamcar Daung, Dangkor District, Phnom Penh. A new Home page for the Ecological farm is in construction. The previous URL
http://www.hcm.fpt.vn/inet/~ecofarm
is now discontinued.
Much interest has been generated in the low-cost plastic biodigesters and the duckweed ponds which are an integral feature of ecological farming. A manual giving practical details of these technologies has been prepared for FAO and is available at:
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/recycle/index.htm
In addition to this manual which uses "still" pictures, more detailed guides on the Biodigesters and the Duckweed ponds are available on CD-ROMs in combined Video and Text format:
1. Productive use of livestock wastes: a manual for installation of low-cost plastic biodigesters
2. Productive use of livestock wastes: a manual for the use of biodigester effluent and ponds for duckweed production
Prices are USD10.00 for each CD-ROM disk plus freight. Details can be had from Lylian Rodriguez at:
lylianr@email.com
This is an electronic edition of the book `Tropical Feeds', originally written by Dr Bo Göhl, and published by FAO in 1971. The database (program prepared by Dr A W Speedy and Nick Waltham) is available on CD-ROM from: The Senior Officer (Feed Resources), Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Via della terme di Caracalla, 00100-Rome, Italy. The most recent version (version 8) is now available in English, Spanish and French, at:
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/
No 126, Tropical animal feeding: A manual for research workers (Thomas R Preston) 1995, pp 305 (English)
No 132, Feeding pigs in the tropics (Rena Perez) 1997, pp 185 (English)
No 134, Tratamiento y utilización de residuos de origen animal, pesquero y alimenticio en la alimentación animal (Editors: Vilda Figueroa y Manuel Sánchez) 1997, pp 255 (Castellano)
No 135, Roughage utilization in warm climates (Michel Chenost and Chedly Kayouli) 1997, pp 226 (English et Français)
No 139, Tree foliage in ruminant nutrition (Ronald A Leng) 1997, pp 100 (English)
Duckweed; a tiny aquatic plant with enormous potential for agriculture and environment (Ronald A Leng) 1999, pp 108 (English)
No 42, Using fodder from trees and shrubs to feed livestock in the tropics (O B Smith), pp 52 (English, Français, Castellano)
No 43, Feeding animals on straw (F Dolberg), pp30 (English)
No 44, Processing of cassava and sweet potatoes for animal feeding (V Ravindran), pp 49 (English)
No 45, Multinutrient block handbook (L O Garcia and J I Restrepo), pp 28 (English)
No 46, Use of cassava and sweet potatoes in animal feeding (V Ravindran), pp 47 (English)
Copies can be obtained from: The Senior Officer, Feed Resources Group, AGA, FAO, 00100 Rome Italy