Report of working group 1: Research priorities for WANA rangelands
Working group members
Chair
M. Kamal (Morocco)
Rapporteur
M. Djemali (UAE)
Facilitator
H. Ibrahim (ILRI)
Members
F. A. Ahmed (Sudan)
B. Fadlalla (Sudan)
A. Osman (ICARDA)
F. Schenkel (GTZ–Syria)
A. M. Subuh (Syria)
M. Theriez (INRA, France)
R. von Kaufmann (ILRI)
Process
Following the election of the Chair and the Rapporteur, the group started by defining the rangeland ecosystem, to provide boundaries for the group’s work. Rangelands for the purpose of these discussions were defined as systems with the following characteristics:
The livestock production systems primarily depend on resources derived from the system, especially for animal feed.
Livestock owners have little opportunity for externally derived income.
The predominant livestock species are sheep, goats, cattle and camels.
The rangelands could be classified into the following subsystems: continental lowland, highland, and semi-desert.
The discussion progressed in the following phases:
identification of the major constraints
identification and priority ranking of researchable issues
identification of research topics that could be undertaken by the national agricultural research systems in the region by themselves
identification of topics where the comparative advantage of international centres could contribute significantly to the achievement of the research objectives.
Identification of major constraints
The working group identified the constraints in two major classes, depending on whether they are ecosystem or animal related.
Ecosystem-based constraints
Feed resources
Livestock producers are finding it increasingly difficult to get access to good quality feed throughout the year. This situation is due to increasing stock numbers and the spread of demographic, infrastructural and political barriers to traditional transhumance and trans-boundary movement of livestock. The ability to formulate a scientifically sound response to this situation is limited by insufficient characterisation of the adapted indigenous plant genetic resources.
Land
Owing to increasing stocking rates, land degradation is accelerating with the production of less and poorer-quality plant biomass as a result. Approaches to reducing land degradation are hindered by communal access to grazing and uneven geographic and seasonal water distribution.
Human
The livestock owners’ abilities to overcome the constraints in the system are constrained by poor group organisation and low financial resources. Scientists have not responded as well as they might have, because they have not paid sufficient attention to gaining access to indigenous knowledge and using it in the development of innovations to overcome the constraints.
Animal-based constraints
Management
The deleterious effects of the high stocking rates noted above are compounded by disease and poor husbandry. To effectively counter these constraints it will be necessary to understand the interrelating causal factors that determine herd and flock composition and obtain feed standards that are more appropriate to the indigenous breeds and local environments.
Genotype
The local genotypes are well adapted to the harsh rangeland environments and pastoral production systems. However, the loss of biodiversity is accelerating due to many factors including cross-breeding in cattle. It is difficult to stem this loss because breed characterisation is based on phenotype and location and not on genetic characteristics. Despite their adaptation and indications of sufficient genetic variability on which to base selection programmes, measures to increase breed productivity are constrained by inadequate performance records and a limited understanding in national agricultural research systems (NARS) of modern animal breeding techniques.
Research priorities
Research priorities have been derived from approaches that were suggested for overcoming the constraints and gaps in knowledge identified above. Where international agricultural research centres (IARCs) can contribute to the objectives identified by the working groups, it has been indicated below. Many important topics were discussed, and they were ranked in ascending order of priority by the allocation of one to five stars. The following commentary refers only to topics that were given four or five stars.
Ecosystem-based constraints
Feed resources
The working group concluded that high priority should be given to improving the utilisation of indigenous adapted forage species. This would require a holistic research approach that encompasses the following aspects:
better appreciation of farmers’ perceptions of the feed potential of range plant species
characterisation and utilisation of indigenous forage plants (IARCs)
pasture and animal interactions in grazing management (IARCs)
improved utilisation of indigenous species through identifying and propagating lines with less anti-nutritional factors and improving efficiency of rumen to cope with low quality diets and anti-nutritional factors (IARCs)
seed production and methods of propagation.
Land
The group appreciated that IARCs and probably also NARS would find it difficult to engage in necessarily long-term range rehabilitation programmes. However, the group recognised a high priority for developing scientifically sound methods for assessing the state and rate of range degradation for use in designing and monitoring range rehabilitation programmes. The research would include:
determination of indicators of land degradation for use in assessing the need for and success of recovery programmes (IARCs)
development of GIS-based modelling techniques for designing strategies for rehabilitating degraded lands based on data obtained from past and ongoing successful and unsuccessful rehabilitation projects.
Human
The group identified a gap in the understanding of indigenous decision instruments as a major constraint on the sustainable use of rangelands. While recognising that this is most likely to be site specific and therefore appropriate to national rather than regional or international research centres, the group identified the following aspects as having high priority for NARS and IARC collaborative research:
alternative organisations for common decision-making among livestock owners with access to common properties
approaches for acquiring and utilising indigenous knowledge in formulating innovations for overcoming pastoral organisational constraints (IARCs).
The group recognised that there is need to assess the future of the livestock subsector to ensure that the research agenda is appropriate for the future needs of the region. This need could be fulfilled by the following research priority:
analysis of demand for livestock products and marketing opportunities and constraints (IARCs).
Animal-based constraints
Management (mainly of disease)
The principal issue for livestock management, assuming that fodder needs have been met, arises from the prevalent diseases. The group considered that there was insufficient knowledge of the relative importance of different diseases and the costs and benefits of alternative control methods. This is especially true of diseases affecting and transmitted over long distances by transhumant livestock. The following priorities were identified:
the epidemiology of livestock diseases in transhumant systems, including evaluation of alternative disease control strategies (IARCs)
the development of diagnostics that can be used in the field (IARCs)
identification of issues of sustainability in transhumant systems.
Genotype
The group recognised the merits of indigenous livestock, but it also recognised the need to improve
genetic characterisation and utilisation of the indigenous breeds (IARCs)
development of standardised methods of genetic evaluation appropriate to the prevailing production systems (IARCs)
identification of breed characteristics for disease resistance or tolerance and the potential for incorporating them into breeding schemes (IARCs).
Conclusions
The group identified five priorities for research in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) rangelands. Each comprises holistic sets of research topics that need to be further refined. Together they comprise a comprehensive approach to ameliorating rangeland problems in WANA. They encompass feed resources, land, and human and livestock management constraints, the latter including diseases and genotype.
