Research Project 1: Feeding and management strategies for draught animals in sub-Saharan Africa (1993-96)

Purpose
The purpose of this project was to produce some basic information on the feeding and management of working animals that could be used by others in developing countries as the basis of advice to farmers and extension agents working with communities using animal power in crop production and transport.  The project was a general one, which involved support to several activities, many of them started before DFID (then known as the ODA) moved to more specific single project funding.

In some urban and peri-urban areas of the tropics, working animals are also important, providing a cheap means of transport where road links are poor or paths narrow.  Use of donkeys and horses for transport provides a means by which poorer people, who may not own land, can generate income to improve their livelihoods.

Activities
Research activities took place at CTVM, in Niger, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe, in collaboration with local and international research organisations.  The activities included inputs to the DFID-funded project in Niger, a joint project with the International Livestock Centre for Africa, the SPANA-supported collaborative project in Morocco, a DFID-funded project (R6166) on the effects of feed quality and feeding behaviour and nutrient intake of tropical cattle and donkeys, input into a small project in Tunisia and Edinburgh on energy requirements of ponies and donkeys for work.  Some work in Edinburgh was also undertaken on instrument development with Dr. P.R. Lawrence and Dr. J.T. Dijkman and on the comparative nutrition of donkeys, ponies and horses with Dr. D. Cuddeford from Edinburgh.

Collaboration
The Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Agropecurias (CICA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México;  the Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Mediterraneennes (CHEAM) in Tunisia;  the Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire (IAV) in Morocco; the International Livestock Centre for Africa in Niger;  the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) in Morocco, the Ministry of Agriculture in and the University of Zimbabwe.

Outputs
As well as the articles and reports, which were written by the main collaborators from the different institutions, postgraduate students played an important part in the work, and the following theses were produced for postgraduate degrees at the University of Edinburgh:

PhD

	J.T. Dijkman, 1993, The measurement of draught ruminant energy expenditure in the field
	M. Booth, 1998, Factors influencing the energy requirements of native ponies living outdoots in the United Kingdom

MSc

	P. Krause, 1993, An assessment of suitable harnessing techniques for donkeys used to draw carts
	A.A.G. Nahuis, 1993, Energy cost of walking and pulling loads at different draught forces by Shetland ponies
	M.D. Mumbi, 1994, Integration of animal traction into the farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa
	M.B.C. Twerda, 1994, The role of donkeys in Samburu and Turkana society
	A. von Keyserlingk, 1997, A study of the donkey and its use in the central Highlands of Mexico from a gender perspective

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