Improved Calf Rearing Practices Under Smallholder Farming Systems in Pakistan

Introduction

Pakistan has an agrarian rural-based economy like many developing countries with livestock a major contributor to the national (11.9%) and agricultural (55.4%) economy (Pakistan Economic Survey 2012). Dairy is a major component of the livestock sector in both numbers of cattle and buffalo (38 and 33 million respectively) and income generation (Habib et al 2007). Milk is produced under different production systems namely, rural subsistence smallholding, rural market oriented smallholding, rural commercial farms and peri-urban dairying. It is estimated that around 70% of the dairy households in Pakistan still operate under conditions of subsistence by maintaining herds of three or four animals. Under these smallholder farming systems, on an average there are 5-8 cows and buffalos per herd including 3-4 lactating and 2-4 heifers/calves. Animals are fed under a fodder cut and carry system with mixed grazing in some areas. Smallholders also grow seasonal fodders for their animals and mix it with crop residues, with wheat straw being very popular throughout the country.

Calves play a significant role in the development of any dairy sector, as the rearing of healthy calves through the provision of appropriate nutrition and health management practices will result in a more productive herd (Mehmood 1991). Generally, calves in Pakistan are neglected because of their high feeding costs and low returns from sale at weaning age (Bhatti et al 2009). Calf nutrition and feeding management is the most ignored area in both husbandry and research (Wynn et al 2009). Higher mortality losses in buffalo calves (52%) are reported from the region due to poor colostrum and feeding management of calves (Ramakrishna 2007). Mostly calves are deprived of colostrum due to human consumption or the custom of giving colostrum to friends to make sweets (Wynn et al 2009). Calf management starts from the late trimester of pregnancy because a cow?s nutrition and health status influence calf health at birth. After birth, the calves are more susceptible to diseases compared to the adults because of low immunity.

For this reason there is a need for the proper management of all aspects of calf rearing, including husbandry, nutrition and health, to sustain a healthy and productive dairy herd. Feeding colostrum immediately after calving is the only source of immunoglobulin for passive immunity particularly in ruminants, for which no exchange of immune factors occurs in utero. (Larson et al 1980). However in Pakistan, many farmers do not feed colostrum in a timely manner (Ahmad et al 2009). Farmers usually wait for the expulsion of the placenta due to their adherence to traditional practices, and that leads to a lowered immunity level and high mortality before weaning. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were (1) to determine the ongoing calf rearing practices and (2) capture the impact of improved extension services on calf feeding.

Materials & methods

Dairy project

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded a research project (LPS/2010/2007) with the aim of strengthening the dairy value chains in Pakistan through improved farm management and more effective extension services. The target groups of the project were smallholder dairy farmers having a herd of 4-8 (buffalo/cattle) mixed animals. The present study was conducted in five districts of Punjab (Okara, Pakpattan, Kasur, Jhelum and Bhakkar). A baseline survey was conducted to monitor the ongoing farming practices and identify problems, followed by 2 years of extension activities and a follow-up survey was carried out to capture its impact. The climate of the study districts in summer ranges from (24-33oC), winter (11-23°C) and average rainfall was (15-115 mm) (Climate of Pakistan, 2011).

Survey 1

In 2011, a baseline survey was conducted from (n=523) registered (working with project) smallholder dairy farmers through personal interview. It was generalized survey containing several questions regarding whole farm practices. It includes ongoing calf rearing practices such as calving season of buffalo and cattle, colostrum feeding, calf husbandry and nutrition. The baseline survey data was analyzed to assess the existing management practices, to evaluate the extension needs of dairy farmers, and to determine what farmers perceive as important factors for rearing calves.

Extension services

After the baseline survey was conducted, we developed a wide range of extension material comprised of simple, adoptable and significant impact oriented messages. Comprehensive extension material on calf husbandry, nutrition and health were disseminated to the farmers. We have adopted a ?whole family approach? of extension in which we trained all the family members (male, female and their children). Training was provided to the same registered farmers on a monthly basis throughout the duration of project. Every month one fact sheet was delivered by our trained extension workers. A number of innovative extension techniques have been adopted, including the use of video practices, problem-based learning, and role plays, calf rearing competitions and direct farmer counseling in order to disseminate these extension messages.

Survey 2

In the first step, we filtered one extension message out of many other key messages regarding calf rearing through a preliminary survey (n=462) from all the stakeholders (farmers, extension workers and academia) involved in various project activities, in order to segregate one simple, adoptable and significant impact oriented message. We followed this process because it was very difficult to capture the adoption rates of all extension messages. Ad libitum colostrum feeding before expulsion of placenta was chosen as the most important message.

In 2013, we carried out a follow up survey from the same group of registered farmers (n=427) and a control group of farmers (n=105) from the same villages in order to compare the impact of improved extension services on adoption rate of calf rearing practices. This control group had never attended project training sessions.

Statistical analysis

Logistic regression was used to assess the simultaneous effect of both surveys on ad libitum colostrum provision. Analyses were conducted using GenStat Release 16. In the second study, 96 farmers could not be interviewed due to their unavailability. The data of these missing farmers were excluded from all the analysis. Impact of improved extension services on adoption of colostrum feeding practices were compared using x²-test for proportions test (SPSS version 10.0).

Results

Survey 1

Calving rates were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in buffalo during July to September and during March in cattle compared to other months of the year. Various calf husbandry practices under the smallholder dairy production system are presented in Table 1. The majority of the smallholder farmers (60%) did not offer colostrum to their calves immediately after birth and instead waited for the expulsion of the placenta which can occur 24 hours post- partum. Most of the famers (55%) weaned their calves off milk at 6 months while 39% retained calves on their mother up to one year of age. Some farmers started offering green fodder and concentrate to their calves from one month of age with many starting this procedure at 2 months of age (Figure 1).

Table 1. Calf husbandry practices used under smallholder dairy production systems in Punjab Province

Improved Calf Rearing Practices Under Smallholder Farming Systems in Pakistan - Image 1

Figure 1. Age at which farmers start offering green fodder ( ) and concentrate ( ) to their calves in Punjab.

Improved Calf Rearing Practices Under Smallholder Farming Systems in Pakistan - Image 2

Survey 2

The proportion of trained farmers who used improved colostrum feeding practices was 94% which was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the use of these practices (20%) in the control untrained group (20%) of farmers. Of these trained farmers 89% fed colostrum before placenta expulsion which was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than the 21% use of this practice in the control farmers. Of the trained farmers only 58% offered colostrum ad libitum compared with 9% in the control group (P<0.001: Table 2)

Table 2. Impact of provision of extension services on adoption of improved colostrum feeding practices

Improved Calf Rearing Practices Under Smallholder Farming Systems in Pakistan - Image 3

Discussion

To our knowledge this is the first report which clearly describes the impact of improved extension services on adoption rates of calf rearing practices under smallholder farming systems in Pakistan. A higher adoption rate (89%) of colostrum feeding before placenta expulsion was achieved when we introduced a whole family approach. An effective extension program with participation by the whole family is highly desirable to enhance farm productivity. Many organizations aiming at improving smallholder dairying fail to appreciate this fact and ignore women and children in their training and skills development programs. Women normally cannot leave their home and families for a few days to participate in training programs and usually require female trainers for effective communication and for cultural reasons. This approach, along with training of the male farmers resulted in higher adoption rates.

The present study demonstrated that the highest number of calvings occurred in buffalo during July to September and during March in cattle. This finding is consistent with earlier report (Hassan et al 2010). The factors responsible for most of the calving occurs during these specific months may be due to greater fodder availability, seasonal adaptability, genotype and management. Factors affecting calving patterns of various breeds need to be investigated.

The present study captured the various ongoing calf rearing practices under the smallholder farming systems in the Punjab. It shows that most of the smallholder farmers (60%) do not offer the colostrum to their calves immediately after birth and wait for the expulsion of the placenta. This finding is in agreement with a previous study where up to only 20 % of calves received colostrum within 2-3 hours of birth (Ahmad et al 2009). Local mythology dictates that if farmers feed colostrum immediately after birth, it may lead to diarrhea in the newborn and retention of placenta in the dam. However, in ruminants, transplacental transmission of antibodies does not occur and the newly born calves are passively immunized by colostrum feeding alone. The neonatal digestive system can absorb antibodies for up to 24 hours (Bush and Staley 1980). As the intestinal cells mature, they lose the capability for absorption, so early colostrum feeding is critical and preferably within 12 hours of calving.

The present study also demonstrated that the majority of farmers tied up their calves continuously for the whole day within the confines of the larger herd. Most likely this leads to chronic stress. The housing management of the livestock seriously affects their health and productive performance, especially in calves which are more prone to diseases as their immunity level is low (Tiwari et al 2007). The majority of farmers do not disinfect the navel cord after birth and this is a common cause of navel cord infection in calves. In particular, the navel cord is a source through which pathogenic agents can enter the body and cause serious infections in newborn calves. All these poor calf- rearing management practices contribute to high calf mortality, which can reach 60% on some smallholder buffalo farms (Ahmad et al 2009). Calf mortality has a relation with other key management practices such as the provision of a clean environment and proper high quality feeding management: if the farmer manages all aspects of health related to calf rearing satisfactorily, then calf mortality can be reduced significantly.

This study clearly demonstrates that by providing appropriate extension services to smallholder dairy farmers in Pakistan calf rearing practices can be greatly improved.

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank the cooperating small dairy holder farmers and their families and ACIAR for funding the project No. LPS/2010/007

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