Citation of this paper |
Mini-livestock encompasses small indigenous vertebrates and invertebrates which can be
produced on a sustainable basis for food, animal feed and as a source of
income. It includes bush rodents, guinea-pigs, frogs, giant snails, manure
worms, insects and many other small
species. Mini-livestock
production is suitable
for backyard family production and can contribute to increased food security.
Extension and research are still lacking in many countries due to a traditional emphasis on
large domestic animals and a lack of related training
and education. However, whilst promoting
mini-livestock it should be noted that
some of these small animals can represent a serious threat as crop pests. Any zoonotic implications also need to be identified.
Mini-livestock
development is associated with the desirable long-term preservation of biodiversity. Given the need, awareness and
increasing information now available on mini-livestock species it is
time for increased investment in this form of sustainable production.
Over the years many
large-scale/intensive government and donor-sponsored animal production projects
in the tropics have proved to be unsustainable. Around 1985 in part response to
this situation a
new approach, ‘mini-livestock’, was initiated. Instead of species such as
cattle, sheep, pigs, etc., ‘mini-livestock’ involves a wide range of small,
indigenous, land animals that have been used for centuries in the tropics
through gathering, hunting and sometimes poaching (Hardouin 1995).
‘Mini-livestock’ has also been referred to as ‘micro-livestock’ or ‘unconventional livestock’. Following exchanges of views, especially with colleagues from developing countries, the interested scientific community decided in 1992 that only the term ‘Mini-livestock’ (‘mini-élevage’, in French) should be used when speaking of animals such as edible rodents, guinea-pigs for meat, giant snails, frogs, manure worms, insects, and similar animals when used for food, as animal feed or as a source of income (Hardouin and Stiévenart 1993). FAO Animal Production and Health Division has now included mini-livestock amongst the animal systems that fall within its remit, thus showing the validity of this approach (Branckaert et al 1992; Branckaert 1995).
The objectives of this paper are to explain the concept of mini-livestock, to describe the advantages and limitations of mini-livestock and to indicate the action required to progress this new emphasis in livestock development in the tropics.
Any species living permanently or temporarily
on the ground can be considered as mini-livestock provided that:
·
it has
potential benefits for humans, nutritional and/or economic,
·
it is well
known in its area of natural dispersion,
·
it is not usually obtained by controlled
breeding, although this may be possible.
Amongst the vertebrates an important actual and
potential source of meat is the edible bush rodents: in Africa Thryonomys (cane
rat), Cricetomys (giant rat), Atherurus (brush-tailed porcupine); in the Mascareignes Tenrec (tangue); in Latin America Hydrochoerus (capybara), Dasyprocta (agoutis), Myocastor (coypu), Agouti
(pacas) and Cavia
porcellus (guinea-pig) which is
widely bred and
eaten in South America. Other mini-livestock include edible frogs, which are
found in almost every humid tropical climate. Reptiles, snakes and birds have
more recently been considered as eligible for mini-livestock status.
Some invertebrates can also be considered as
mini-livestock. Giant snails like Archachatina and Achatina are certainly in high demand in Africa and many
snail farms exist. Manure worms like Eudrilus, Perionyx and Dendrobaena can be fed alive to birds
and fish. Their faeces provide vermicompost,
an excellent organic fertiliser. Maggots represent an
excellent source of protein for monogastric species. Caterpillars are produced
for food in some countries with the best quality caterpillars being exported
all over the world.
Most
mini-livestock
breeding normally takes place in the area of endemicity, which means that
appropriate feed is available, or can be produced locally. Materials for
housing or enclosures are usually readily available or can be manufactured by
the breeder, which means that
backyard production is appropriate for mini-livestock. However, in Latin America there
are guinea-pig ranches with more than 20,000 animals. Selection for
increased growth rate has led to increases in adult live weight from 800g to
2000g in some populations.
Such progress reflects the increased selection intensities and shorter generation intervals that can be exploited in small species.
The small size of
mini-livestock animals means a
small amount of input per unit, which in turn means more flexible production. The small
size of the breeding unit normally results in greater productivity in terms of
the live weight produced per reproductive female per year. On this basis the
productivity index is 6-10 for guinea-pigs, 6 for the sow, 2 for the ewe and 0.4
for the beef cow (Cicogna 2000).
Over ten years ago, Hardouin and Stiévenart
(1993), at an international seminar on mini-livestock farming, made the
recommendation "to integrate mini-livestock into the curricula of the education
system ...(and)...to provide appropriate mini-livestock training for lecturers
and trainers in mainstream animal production in order to disseminate
information on mini-livestock". At the same time, the international
association Bureau for
Exchange and Distribution of Information on mini-livestock (BEDIM) was created
and initiated the publication of a biannual bulletin with the support
of FAO. (Issue no. 2 of volume 10 was recently published).
The time is now ripe for systematic courses on the planned
production of rodents, guinea-pigs, frogs, snails, worms, insects etc. These
courses should be organised with integrated rural development as the overall
objective and should avoid purely disciplinary approaches as might be taken by
academic
zoologists. People in the field are calling for support and assistance in
mini-livestock production and are asking for effective extension and training
into the rearing of these edible local species, which sadly are frequently
ignored and neglected in traditional
curricula and rural development programmes.
Being aware that technical data on unusual
species are very difficult to obtain in remote places in the tropics, one of
the objectives of BEDIM is the dissemination of new and available information
on mini-livestock.
Thus, some Technical Breeding Guides (8 pages recto/verso DIN A5) have already
been produced.
The European Commission decided in the late
eighties to encourage research, development and promotion of mini-livestock
production. A video, "mini-livestock
in the Tropical Forest Habitat" (52 min) has been
produced with the aim of showing that controlled production of most of the
mini-livestock species is already underway in several countries. It argues that, provided there is the same
ecosystem, what
has been done in one country can be done in other countries. The video is also
an important means of communicating with high ranking civil servants, political
authorities, deans and directors of institutions, academic and scientific
personnel, as well as technicians,
extensionists, journalists, national TV and radio producers, teachers in
villages and many other influential people. However, the video also stresses
that mini-livestock is not the answer to everything!
(Video available from
BEDIM at the above address, Euros 15.50 including post and
packing.)
Backyard food production such as
mini-livestock can
be a major contributor to
a more balanced diet for both rural and urban people. It also offers the prospect of a
regular income source once the volume of production exceeds what the producer
wishes to consume. Farmed ‘bush-meat’ is still highly ranked in terms of taste
and preference, and there is no doubt that a market exists if the necessary
intensive management techniques, including domestication, can be developed. Juste et al (1995) for example, pointed to the demand for bush meat, including many
mini-livestock, in Equatorial Guinea. There is also clear
evidence of an international demand for bush meat to supply ethnic restaurants
around the world, not always legally (Leake 2000), which may have positive
implications for the long-term profitability of some mini-livestock species.
Increased
mini-livestock production can have
foreign exchange
benefits. There is the possibility of savings on the
imports
of meat and also the prospect of export earnings through meeting the
international demand for ‘bush meat’. Producing
a substitute, such as manure worms, for an expensive imported raw component irregularly
shipped, like fish meal, for commercial pig and poultry feeds, not only offers
the prospect of better fed poultry and pigs, but the saving of foreign
currency.
Mini-livestock
can make an important contribution to increased food security because of its small scale, indigenous
and flexible nature and because women are likely to be very much involved in
the routine management of the animals. Mini-livestock
production is also appropriate for the involvement of children and its characteristics
make it ideal for use as a teaching aid
in both primary and secondary schools.
Mini-livestock can also be easily raised in an
urban setting and represent a possible option for urban farming which is a
system gathering momentum in many countries and which can provide food and revenue for poor
people. Mini-livestock
does not have the undesirable side-effects of rearing the larger species such as cattle, goats and
sheep in urban areas (i.e. traffic accidents,
noise and odours).
However, it should never be forgotten that many of the
mini-livestock rodents are serious pests of food crops cultivated
on the edges of forests. Trapping them is understandable, when hunting in
protected forests is not allowed. Hence the recent concept of “garden hunting”
i.e. pest control in and around gardens and backyards by humane means (catching
rather than use of traps which injure the animals) and possibly short-term fattening
of the caught animals before consumption (Dounias 2000).
Another important issue is that of mini-livestock as a source of zoonotic diseases, and research into this area is required. Rodents are often hosts
of diseases such as leptospirosis and salmonellosis which affect humans
(Hardouin 1995). More specifically, the
South American
rodent, Agouti paca, can harbour
leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis, the latter known locally as ‘Chaga’s’ disease (NRC 1991).
Probably the most important benefit of
advocating mini-livestock development is the intellectual support it provides for the international
community of young local scientists, still hindered too often in many countries
by traditional thinking and lacking an official mini-livestock policy to form
the basis for new research and teaching initiatives.
Listening and observation in villages and rural
markets, together with the monitoring of the national and sometimes
international trade in mini-livestock indicates that many mini-livestock species
in the tropics are overexploited. Everybody knows that the distance one has to
travel outside towns to buy mini-livestock animals caught in the wild has
increased tremendously in recent years (Hardouin and Thys 1997). Although few species are yet threatened
by actual extinction, some have already disappeared from particular areas where
they were previously well known.
Mini-livestock
production, by helping to reduce hunting and poaching, can play some role in
preserving biodiversity. Leaving a wild population intact is important, as
controlled breeding will inevitably
change the genetic make-up of a species to such an extent that it may not be
returnable to the wild once it has been fully domesticated. As controlled
breeding of mini-livestock develops the animals will become more like domestic
animals and share some of
their health and behavioural problems. They will
need the support of Animal Production Departments and Veterinary Services, and
will leave the sphere of the Forestry Departments where they are currently
usually found. This will have two main
consequences: the perception of these animals will have to be modified
through education, and the technicians taking charge of these animals will have
to be trained accordingly (Thys 1995).
Mini-livestock
is a sustainable form of animal production
that has significant potential for further development. It should now be
considered as a normal component of tropical livestock and rural
development. It is very much associated
with increased food security as it lends itself to small scale family production. There is now
sufficient information on mini-livestock production to intensify extension,
training and education programmes in order to promote it more widely. At the same time there is an urgent need to
invest in further technical and systems research on mini-livestock production. Small
may indeed be beautiful!
Branckaert R
1995 Rearing
unconventional livestock species: a flourishing activity
World
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Received 24 January 2003; Accepted 20 May 2003