UNESCO and FAO Trains Pastoralist Livelihood and Education Field School (PLEFS) Community facilitators and supervisors in Rumbek, South Sudan.

UNESCO and FAO in partnership with the implementing partners and the three-government line-ministries (General Education and Instructions, Agriculture and Food Security and Livestock and Fisheries) conducted a two-week capacity building training for 63 Pastoralist Livelihood and Education 

Field School teachers/facilitators and 36 County supervisors and State technical working group members from 14 to 27 October 2021 in Rumbek, Lakes State, South Sudan. 

 The capacity building training aimed at increasing the community facilitators’/teachers understanding and knowledge of the integrated Pastoralist Livelihood and Education Field School (PLEFS) approach and methodologies, as well as the curriculum and basic implementation steps in carrying out effective literacy, numeracy and life skills training sessions for the children, youth and adults at the cattle camps. 

UNESCO is partnering with FAO to implement the literacy, numeracy and life skills component of the project to enhance the acquisition of skills, strategies and education essentials for resilient pastoral livelihood by target communities.

Researchers identify key indicators for ranch sustainability.

Standardized ecological, social and economic indicators can help ranchers track and communicate about sustainability. 

Livestock grazing on well-managed rangelands can help secure clean water, enhance habitat, address climate change, and sustain rural communities. 

Ensuring the sustainability of livestock agriculture is not only vital to feeding a growing world, but it’s essential to a healthy future, which is why a research team led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and 

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) set out to help ranchers more consistently measure, manage, and communicate about the sustainability of their operations. The indicators for sustainability.

How farming without soil can reduce methane emission in cattle.

Cattle are responsible for 20% of the world's green house gas,contributing to climate change experienced worldwide. 

The methane emission stems from their digestion model,wherein feed ingested are digested by gut microbes in rumen resulting in large amounts of the methane gas,the constant chewing ,regurgitation contributes to the burping and farting which releases the gas to the atmosphere. The change in diet of cattle to more easily digestible and metabolisable feed ensures less regurgitation,more absorption and less methane emission. 

 

Farming without soil also referred to as hydroponics refers to growing plants in nutrient rich media under controlled temperature and humidity to produce fresh fodder for animals,which are highly nutritious, easily digestible and free from pesticides. 

 Farming without soil can be used to grow food for man and fodder for livestock saving money,reducing water use and need for pesticides. Farming without soil can be used to grow wheat,sorghum, millet,corn and oats making a nutritious fodder for animals. Cattle fed with hydroponic fodder grow fast, produce more milk,beef and less gas. 

The animals have access to the full nutrients from the cereal or legume,the minerals protein and fat are liberated in the fodder making it a great alternative. 

  Cows normally have access to 20% of energy in the grain diet while with fodder system 95% of the energy is available for growth and reproductive health and performance. The short span of growth from seed to fodder within 7 days ensures that animals have fresh fodder all year round.  

 Farming without soil is ecofriendly because there is no pressure on the environment for the following reasons 1) limited land space is needed. 2) less amount of water is required to sprout the seeds. 3)reduction of carbon print on farms as no machinery like tractors are used. 4)fodder is highly digestible preventing excessive burping and farting thus reducing methane emission. 5) smart agriculture. Farming without soil = hydroponics is a form of #smart agriculture our #solution to #climate change.

Revamping the dairy sector with hydroponic fodder.

The increase in cost of feed for dairy farmers has prompted the need to look for feed alternatives without reducing quality of products. 

Hydroponic fodder is a suitable means of revamping the dairy sector. The high cost of feed coupled with drought conditions and scarcity of these high feed prices is creating havoc for many dairy farmers,prompting some producers to find an innovative and cost-effective solution with sprout fodder. 

The green fodder is very high in protein and metabolisable energy hence it is highly digestible. Green fodder is an important component of the dairy ration, as the productive and reproductive performance of the dairy animals is adversely affected,thus for sustainable dairy farming, quality green fodder should be fed regularly to the dairy animals. 

The provision of fresh fodder can be readily available throughout the year irrespective of weather,land crisis or water shortage. 

 The advantages of using hydroponic fodder in dairy farming are :

 1) Cheap fresh fodder. 

 2) low labor cost. 

 3) increase in milk yield. 

 4) increase in body weight. 

 5)increase in butterfat in milk. 

 6) increases survival rate of calf.

 7) improved herd health .

 8)improved hoof health. 

 9)low incidence of mastitis. 

 10) glossy coat .

 Hydroponic fodder mimics the benefits of fresh pasture and is a better feed option for grazing animals. Ruminants are able to digest fodder sprouts easier as its more digestible than grain, thus improving feed efficiency, milk and meat production. 

 The hydroponic system can use various seeds such as corn, millet,sorghum,oats,wheat e.t.c. ,but the benefits of using corn for dairy far out-ways other seeds.The corn fodder is rich naturally high in fiber, these sprouts are an excellent feed for ruminants. 

 The corn sprouts have high energy levels, low starch content and have a low acid content and this reduces the occurrence of acidosis.   Feeding sprouted  fodder will result in higher milk yields and better quality beef.

 Dairy farmers incorporating hydroponic fodder have cut cost of production while increasing productivity of cows and milk production as farmers record an increase of 2 litres of milk/cow.

The corn seeds requires about 1.5 litres of water to produce 1kg of fodder, with no pesticides,no contamination and no waste.

High livestock prices not stopping upgrades as abattoir targets overseas markets.

High livestock prices not stopping upgrades as abattoir targets overseas markets. High livestock prices are forcing down the number of animals being processed by abattoirs. In Victoria's north-west, one facility is reporting a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the number of sheep and cattle it is processing. 

 Woodward Foods produces many of the livestock it slaughters — sometimes half the animals going through a facility originate from the family business's farms. But with high prices for livestock, keeping up the supply is a challenge. Despite the downturn, the business's Swan Hill Abattoirs is working to upgrade its facility and undertaking what it describes as a cultural change in its workforce. 

 General manager Mick Bird said the facility had undergone a rebrand and was selling meat into domestic and overseas markets, promoting the company's paddock to plate story. He said current conditions were a challenge, but branching into foreign markets such as the United Arab Emirates, USA and China should enable the business to keep improving. more