Enhancing the contribution of livestock within smallholder mixed farming systems in the Philippines

Project ID

ASEM/1997/041

Project Country

Philippines

Commissioned Organisation

University of Queensland, Dept of Farm Animal Medicine and Production, Australia

Project Leader

Dr Robert A E Pym

Email

r.pym@mailbox.uq.edu.au

Phone:

07 3365 2604

Fax:

07 3365 1288

Collaborating Institutions

Leyte State University, Philippines

Curtin University of Technology, Australia

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Australia

Project Budget

$893,746.00

Start Date

01/07/2000

Finish Date

30/06/2003

Extension Start Date

01/01/2003

Extension Finish Date

31/12/2004

ACIAR Research Program Manager

Dr Ken Menz

Related publications

Adoption of ACIAR project outputs: studies of projects completed in 2004-2005

Overview Objectives

The project also addressed the poor record in adoption of agricultural technology and concerns about the effectiveness of the traditional 'transfer of technology' approach. The research was participative from the start, in the hope that this would lead to greater adoption. Many agricultural communities in Australia also face adoption problems, and the project also focused on the Australian pork industry.

The project aimed to increase the capacity of participating producers to improve the management, profitability and long-term sustainability of their livestock systems. Using a continuous improvement approach their creativity, decisions, processes, practices and performance were focal points, along with improving the contribution of livestock to the social and economic wellbeing of smallholder families in western Leyte.

Project Background and Objectives

Opportunities for improved livestock productivity in Southeast Asia have been identified at several international meetings. Poor feed resources are now seen as one of the most important factors constraining productivity for all livestock in the smallholder sector. In Leyte in the Philippines this affects village pigs and poultry. This project, known in the Philippines as the Leyte Livestock Improvement Program (LLIP), focused on increasing the production of higher protein feeds and conserving feedstuffs that are available irregularly or seasonally, so as to make the production system more sustainable.

Progress Reports (Year 1, 2, 3 etc)

Year 1:

Improved Program Focus

Improving the mission of LLIP to make it more focussed on achieving specific outcomes has made program work more inspiring, effective and efficient. Performance Management Frameworks developed for identifying and using specific Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for achieving impact on Profit, Environment and Efficiency have improved the effectiveness and efficiency of R&D work (Appendix 1).

Necessary Regional Human Infrastructure

The Leyte Improvement and Innovation Network (LIIN) has improved in concept and performance because the leadership team have initiated and developed:
New partnerships with other service providers
A successful Input and Output Management and Marketing system
A Pig Environment and Efficiency Management Service
A regional, national and international Profit and Environment Improvement Workshop.

Capacity for Continuous Improvement & Innovation

LIIN Leaders have improved network leadership skills through specific training. They have also delivered papers on their work to an international workshop. The LIIN has initiated a Performance Improvement Reporting and Support system for all members.

All LLIP staff and some LIIN leaders have been equipped with skills for Performance Improvement Reporting and Support.

All LLIP Philippine staff have achieved accreditation in the University of Queensland's "Continuous Improvement and Innovation" course offered through the Centre for Rural and Regional Innovation. This is an outstanding achievement.

The following R&D outputs and outcomes have been achieved:

Outputs
Outcomes
A specified Pig Profit Improvement Process
Improvements in gross margins of pig farmers
A specified Chicken Profit Improvement Process and chicken bio-economic model
Improvements in gross margins and protein nutrition of chicken farmers
A Pig & Chicken Input & Output Management & Marketing System
Improvements in gross margins of members
A Pig Enterprise Environment and Energy Efficiency Improvement System
Improvements in pig enterprise environment and energy efficiency KPIs.
Pig & Chicken Production & Profit Information System
Improved understanding and use of pig and chicken production and profit information

Specific Opportunities for Improvement

1. Improved focus on, and use of, KPIs through the promotion and use of Performance Management Frameworks.

2. The production of kits to enhance the application of:
The profit improvement process
The environment and efficiency improvement system with system archetypes
Gross Margins calculations
Reporting for improvement and support
Team and network leadership.

3. Partnership development
Greater involvement of LIIN in the development of all LLIP products and services for maximum value and use
Specific target focussed partnerships with local and regional government
Institutional capacity building and support with Leyte State University for the LIIN.

4. LIIN Leadership & Management Capacity
Improved capability to lead and manage a regional improvement and innovation network
Specific skills and resources to manage communication, information and performance improvement.

Year 2:

Improved Program Focus

Necessary Regional Human Infrastructure

Capacity for Continuous Improvement & Innovation

All LLIP staff and some LIIN leaders have been equipped with skills for Performance Improvement Reporting and Support.

The following R&D outputs and outcomes have been achieved:

Specific Opportunities for Improvement

1. Improved focus on, and use of, KPIs through the promotion and use of Performance Management Frameworks.

Year 3:

The Philippines component of the project, the Leyte Livestock Improvement Program (LLIP), has established a regional improvement and innovation network called the Leyte Improvement and Innovation Network (LIIN). This network is designed to build the infrastructure and capacity required to achieve continuous improvement and innovation of smallholder livestock enterprises in Leyte, now and in the future. The LIIN consists of local teams of farmers with clear roles and focuses for action. The leader of each local team is a member of the LIIN Leadership Team. LLIP and LIIN leaders have been equipped with leadership knowledge and skills through specifically designed training.
The LIIN Leadership Team works in partnership with the LLIP leadership and project staff to design and manage R&D services to achieve 5 per cent improvements in profit, environment and efficiency each year. The LIIN Leadership Team negotiates service delivery from other service providers (e.g. Local Government and other organisations).
All LLIP Philippine Project staff have achieved accreditation in the University of Queensland's Continuous Improvement and Innovation course offered by the Centre for Rural and Regional Innovation. It was a LLIP goal to build the capacity of Philippines R&D personnel and agencies to achieve continuous improvement and innovation of participative R&D. The level of performance achieved is outstanding by Australian standards.
All Philippines project staff and two of the LLIP farmer partners completed the Improving R&D Outcomes in Rural and Regional Agricultural Systems program which was designed to build the capacity of participants to improve outcomes in current and future R&D programs.
The LIIN in partnership with the LLIP ran a regional, national and international Profit and Environment Improvement Workshop. The focus of this workshop is on achieving improved capacity for sustained improvement of smallholder profit and environment.
In preparation for the LIIN Profit and Environment Improvement Workshop, the capacity of LLIP staff and LIIN leaders and farmers has been developed to:
1. Design and lead a regional, national and international workshop
2. Prepare and deliver high quality reports
3. Support reporting for improvement and innovation.
All LLIP staff have produced and delivered scientific publications of their individual work. This process of encouragement and support for individual publications has had considerable impact on individual, team and LLIP performance.
A Pig Environment and Efficiency Improvement System has been developed for improving pig enterprise environment and energy efficiency. Specific environment and energy efficiency Performance Management Frameworks have been developed to focus on the critical success factors (CSFs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of environment and energy efficiency. This system is based on bio-digester technology and is being adopted within the LIIN and promoted and adopted throughout Leyte and other regions in the Philippines. The LLIP and LIIN leadership are partners in the R&D, marketing and delivery of the system as a service.
A Pig Profit Improvement Process has been developed which is focused on achieving improved gross margins of smallholder pig enterprises. The process uses a Performance Management Framework and KPIs to focus thinking, action and technologies on improving pig gross margins. This process is being adopted in LIIN and is being used in partnership with other service providers in the region.
A Chicken Profit Improvement Process has been developed which is focussed on improving gross margins of smallholder chicken enterprises. The process takes into account the benefits and costs of meeting smallholder family protein needs from eggs and chickens.
A bio-economic model of smallholder chicken production has been developed by LLIP staff. This model will enable technologies to be assessed for impact on profit before they are promoted to poor smallholders.
A Pig and Chicken Input and Output Management and Marketing System has been developed which has contributed to improving gross margins of LIIN members. A Pig and Chicken Production and Profit Information System has developed information about regional production and profit benchmarks, and the performance of LLIP R&D services in improving LIIN members profit, environment and efficiency. All LLIP staff and the LIIN Leadership Team attended the World Poultry Congress and the International Workshop on Improving R&D Outcomes in Rural and Regional Agricultural Systems.

Project Outcomes

The program developed and promoted the Leyte Improvement and Innovation Network (LIIN), designed to help members adopt continuous improvement and innovation (CI&I) methods. Building a LIIN based on mutual responsibility-taking and support was novel in a region that had previously experienced many aid projects based on 'dole-outs'. The concept needed time to be experienced, developed and assessed. In October 2003, LIIN farmer members scored an average of 8.9/10 for their understanding of LIIN; 7.9/10 for the value of working together in a network; and 8.4/10 for their motivation for continuing the network.

Working in teams using the CI&I process and tools enabled farmers and partners to establish effective and cooperative approaches with technical specialists and other partners, to achieve their target outcomes. All Philippine and some Australian LLIP staff achieved accreditation in the University of Queensland's 'Continuous Improvement and Innovation' course.

Fifty-five LIIN pig farmers focused on improving profit by five per cent per year. Forty-five of these worked with LLIP to increase understanding of smallholder pig production and marketing as a system, build capacity to assess alternate management practices in relation to profit, and implement and monitor their chosen strategies to improve pig profit.

The Hindang Swine Raisers' Association team of farmers established a local 'Agri-Vet' store, which raised capital by pooling farmers' savings, then used the capital to buy feed, giving individual members quick and convenient access to better quality inputs at lower costs.
The chicken profit improvement process encouraged farmers to identify and rank opportunities to achieve greatest impact on profit. Twenty-four LIIN chicken farmers originally chose to focus on improving profit by five per cent per year, and of these 16 retained profit from raising chickens as a focus for four years. All 24 continued to keep chickens, though some recorded a financial loss from doing so.

Smallhold farmers' raising pigs in densely populated environments have compelling reasons to improve the management of their pig waste. At the start of LLIP, 59 pig farmers chose to focus on managing pig waste. Twenty-seven of them developed and implemented at least one plan of action to improve their waste management: 12 installed concrete biodigesters, four plastic biodigesters and 11 reduced pig waste at the pens by collecting manure to dry as fertiliser before washing the pig pen.

Environmental benefits included cleaner waterways and fewer problems with mosquitoes and flies. Social benefits include improved relationships with neighbours, often linked to reduced on-farm smell; greater cleanliness of farmers' immediate surroundings; and greater confidence in raising pigs. Efficiency benefits include using the pig waste as an input to biodigesters to produce gas for cooking, and as a fertiliser for crops. The success of this subproject prompted farmers and local government units around the Eastern Visayas region to request LLIP extend its pig environment improvement work.

Twelve farmers from the original six LIIN farmer teams participated in the development of a pig and chicken production and profit information system. This entailed six months recording and analysis of economic and biological key performance indicators for improving profit. Farmers used this information both to benchmark their performance against group averages, and to improve their decision-making on production and marketing matters. Participating farmers indicated that the production and profit information system helped them to enhance their decision-making.

Location

There are no project locations defined for this project.