From the project leaders
Having Eric Thorne George as project coordinator based
in Dili is yielding tremendous dividends. Eric provides a steady hand in
guiding project operations. The excellent support from Joana is greatly
appreciated.
Cattle in the ACIAR project
pens at Loes research station will soon be sold to enable the experiments for
which they were built to proceed. This will be a valuable experience for all
involved. In addition, it will provide some much needed information on cattle
diets made up from leucaena and dried maize stover.
We are currently gearing up for
the final weighing of cattle in the project. This is an important event
providing vital data to underpin future research.
Congratulations to Ezequil on the safe arrival of their new
baby.
Innovative cattle yard design for smallholder farmers is a
current feature of our research. The aim is to have affordable infrastructure
that gives farmers excellent and safe cattle control, a vital element in
effective beef systems.
The simple answer is to value
them. Heavier cattle can be sold for a higher price.
Live weight is therefore a very
important measurement in cattle research. If we have electronic scales, we can
measure weight precisely. We must, however, take care that the animals have had
access to water and feed before weighing or we may have an inaccurate result.
Where scales are not available,
girth is used. This method is less precise, but has good accuracy in Bali
cattle.
Our research shows average growth rate of young cattle in
Timor Leste varies from 0.1-0.3 kg/day. This is low compared to an achievable
level of 0.4-0.6 kg/day.
A peek through the window
5.30
am I mount up, destination Lospalos. Winding my way up the Becora hill out of
Dili. Groups of small dusty children huddle around road-side fires driving away
the 22 degree chill. I pass push carts, too many to count, loaded with fire
wood. Their two-man teams struggling to keep control, fighting against gravity
as they make their way down the long steep hill into town to supply the fuel
for the household cooking fires of Dili.
Further on, early-morning buses
with vomit-streaked sides. Young men cling to the roof, letting go briefly to
give me the single finger salute. Black plastic bags flutter from the windows
filled with the contents of some poor weary traveller’s stomach.
Three hours forty-five minutes
later I cruise into Lospalos town, feeling slightly adolescent.
I am met by Feliciano, our field researcher. We make our way
across the smooth dirt roads of the Muapitine plain, a silver glistening strip
of lake in the background. First stop, to check progression of the ACIAR-funded
cattle yards that are 70 percent complete, all built from locally-obtained
materials. They are well laid out with good flow and are big enough to
comfortably contain farmer Vasco’s 42 cattle.
The second stop is farmer
Accacio who lives on the far side of the Muapitine plain with a backdrop of vertical
weather-beaten limestone cliffs. A magical place that made you feel like
stopping for a while, which we did. We got the full tour. His cattle fattening
pen the animals had out-grown, posts already laid out for the planned
extension, the pen for his seven goats, and a 1.5 metre elevated house with a
view. Through his large tree legume and forage plot, the trees ranging in age
from six months to two years, grass plots at different stages of harvest to
feed his cattle and goats.
Back through his main garden
which is huge, escorted by his 3 healthy dogs, chickens scattered before us,
the unmistakable scent of pigs close by. To the back of the garden to another
large tree legume plot he is clearly proud of. In between each row of Leucaena
is a line of chilly bushes, his main cash crop. Back past his still for
converting his local palms into alcohol. His 10 cattle, the icing on the cake
of life, roaming out on the plain somewhere.
Plastic chairs are carried to
the shade of a tree in front of his very humble abode. “Care for a drink?” he
asked.
“Bit early”, I replied.
When I asked how many children he had he just said, “Lots,
mostly working far away in England”.
The ACIAR project had given him
more options with his cattle feeding, new ideas adopted and integrated into his
existing farming systems which have been enhanced dramatically thanks to the
ACIAR project. I felt revived after leaving this place. Is this man poor? Maybe
by some people's standards, but not mine.
The international seminar
on rangeland management
Latino Coimbra from MAF on the
ACIAR project attended the 26 July – 9 August International Seminar on
Rangeland Management at Boise, Idaho, USA organized by the US Forest Service
International Program. The program included: science and socio-political
implications of rangeland restoration and management; methods for engaging
resident populations in rangeland management that take into account stakeholder
interests and local land use practices; the interdependency between proper
rangeland management and healthy watersheds; transitory ranges and successful
ways of managing competing uses of rangelands and prescribed fire to maintain
native or desired vegetation and protect watersheds.
The opportunity was also given
for all participants, including Latino, for site visits to experience real-farm
practices and analysis of real-case examples in which they learned planning
tools and techniques to address rangeland management.
The seminar and field visits allowed Latino to exchange
ideas and experiences with colleagues from around the world for application in
Timor Leste.
attach full pdf
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| Bull fattening program @Loes Research Center, September 2015 |
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| Filipe M. de Deus, Frs @LRC, prepared Leucaena seed, September 2015 |
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| How to load big bull without loading ramp, @LRC, September 2015 |
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| Farmers and fasilitator team ACIAR @Quarantine to sell bull, September 2015 |
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