No abstract

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a drought-tolerant dual-purpose crop primarily grown as grain crop for human consumption. The ability of pigeon pea to produce economic yields under moisturedeficient soils makes it as an ideal crop to integrate in the crop-livestock farming for production of high-quality fodder.

Two related studies were conducted to determine the nutritive value and anthelmintic properties of eight tree legumes used as goat feeds. The degradation characteristics, total extractable phenol (TPEH) and condensed tannin (CT) of Acacia (Samanea saman), Desmanthus (Desmanthus virgatus), Rensonii (Desmodium cineria), Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), Flemingia (Flemingia macrophylla), Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), Grandiflora (Sesbania grandiflora), and Sesban (Sesbania sesban) were determined.Except for Flemingia, the different legumes contained highly soluble and degradable components that can provide immediate supply of nitrogen and fermentable matter to meet nutritional needs. Flemingia and Leucaena had more than 65% extractable tannins and contain high condensed tannin (CT) that could potentially reduce gastro-intestinal parasites in goats. Other species had minimal or no CT content. Feeding the tree-legumes provided cheap source of digestible organic matter, while feeding Flemingia and Leucaena was expected to reduce internal parasites in goats because they contained anthelmintics.

The Philippine dairy goat industry remains a developing sector with fragmented data and information. Thus, a concerted effort to create baseline information on these dairy goat farms (DGF) is needed to situate technology interventions and consequently, improve dairy goat production. Out of the three main geographic areas of the country, 43 dairy goat farms were identified. Primary data were collected through qualitative and quantitative surveys using a structured questionnaire. The results showed that there are eight known goat breeds in the Philippines. Among the dairy goat breeds, Anglo-Nubian (94.9%), Saanen (53.5%), and Alpine (25.6%) were predominantly raised. Nearly one-third of the dairy goat farms include upgraded goats in the milk line. The total number of dairy goats in the participating farms reached 6,977 heads during the survey period. However, less than one percent of the total dairy goat population or equivalent to 689 are being milked. Farmers reported an average of 1.17 liters per day with an average 172-day lactation period or equivalent to 200 liters per lactation. Dairy goats in the Philippines, therefore, can produce over 137 MT of milk per year. Even though these farms are milking their goats, only 44.2% process and market the milk collected. Hence, this baseline information on the country’s dairy goat production provides a historical point of reference in assessing change and progress in the implementation of future dairy goat development programs.

The RED project which was implemented in four focal villages (with interventions) in the municipality of Guimba, and control site (no intervention) in Maragol, Science City of Muñoz, both in the province of Nueva Ecija in the Philippines aimed to transform goat raising from subsistence farming into a viable livestock-based rural enterprise. Baseline data on biophysical, socioeconomic, institutional, infrastructure, goat production systems, marketing practices and previous technical performance were determined using structured questionnaires, key informants, secondary data and participatory rural appraisal (PRA)-focus group discussion (FGD). Farmer-partners are small hold livestock raisers who cultivate an average of 1.5 ha paddy-rice. Farmer's skill and knowledge, attitude, skills, aspirations and social competence were enhanced using Crop Animal Systems Research Network (CASREN) modalities, capacity building, and S&T interventions. The adoption of technology mixes learned by farmer-partners that included upgrading, housing/stall feeding, strategic deworming, and intensified use of forage legumes improved goat productivity. Establishment of a community-based selection and breeding system through upgrading using Anglo-Nubian or Boer bucks in the focal sites produced bigger and heavier (p <0.05) kids at birth (2.30 kg), at weaning (13.87 kg), and at slaughter (22.63 kg). The heavier animals at slaughter provided a net benefit of PHP 1,046.40 per head to the farmer-partners. Moreover, animal holdings increased by 55.84% because of the improvement in the quality of their stocks. The pre-weaning mortality was dramatically reduced (p<0.05) from 30.57% to 14.40% while the conception rate was higher at 89.5 % in the focal sites. RED facilitated the empowerment of communities depending on goat for their livelihood, transforming traditional goat raising from subsistence farming to profitable enterprise. RED is not just about successful science-based goat raising, it is about building enterprises and generating opportunities to enrich the lives of farmers.

Fatty acid (FA) profiles are important measures of the nutritional quality of goat's milk that may impact human cardiovascular health and disease. This study is aimed to compare the FA composition and FA-based nutritional indices/ratios of goat colostrum and milk from crossbred goats in relation to published reports on milk FAs involving purebred goats from other countries. A total of 121 colostrum and milk samples collected on the 30 th , 60 th , and 90 th day of lactation from 33 crossbred goats with Anglo Nubian or Boer sires were analyzed by gas chromatography. The major FAs with the highest proportion in both colostrum and milk were oleic acid (C18:1-n9c), palmitic acid (C16:0), myristic acid (C14:0), and stearic acid (C18:0). Oleic acid, palmitic acid, and myristic acid were significantly higher (p<0.05) in colostrum than in milk (i.e., 27.4% vs 16.8%-22.9%, 24.8% vs 17.8%-19.6%, and 9.6% vs 5.2%-7.4%, respectively). Stearic acid was comparable in colostrum (8.8%) and milk (7.6%-10.8%). Total SFA and MUFA were higher in colostrum than in milk. Colostrum and milk contained low levels (less than 1.5%) of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) -omega-6 FAs [i.e., linoleic acid C18:2 n-6 and arachidonic acid C20:4 n-6] and omega-3 FAs [i.e., α-linolenic acid C18:3 n-3 and docosahexaenoic acid C22:6 n-3]. The SFAs (C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, and C18:0) in relation to total MUFAs and PUFAs are known to contribute to the increase in cardiovascular disease. Thus, milk from crossbred goats seems to be more beneficial for cardiovascular health because of its lower atherogenicity and thrombogenicity and higher hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio than those reported for several transboundary and local breeds.