In spite of the importance of the Pakistani dairy industry to the Pakistan's economy and food supply, the productivity of buffalo/ cows owned by small farmers dependent on an income from 3-10 head is poor by world standards. Much of the technology required to boost efficiency is available but not readily disseminated nor adopted by the farming community. Thus the program was designed to:

1. demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improved extension services to small holder dairy farmers;
2. capture, enhance and disseminate knowledge relevant to smallholder dairy systems.

To achieve the first objective a survey was designed to identify the key rate limiting elements for production on small farms in 2 disparate regions of Punjab. Approximately 100 farmers from Bhakkar in the Barani or arid region to the west and a similar number from the more advanced Okara region to the east are being studied with the assistance of staff from the National Rural Support Program, the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development Department (LDDD) and the Halla cooperative respectively. The data being collected will cover all aspects of the farm operation including production, feeding, reproduction, animal health, and where possible, farm budgets over a 2 year period during which the impact of the project's extension advice will also be assessed. These studies will provide direction for the development of effective extension support for a sustainable model system for smallholder dairy production in the Punjab.

The approach involved the development of a herd recording booklet that could be readily used by dairy extensionists and farmers. The booklet was designed carefully ensure that comparable data could be obtained from each farm in each of the two regions. Farmer training days then were held to ensure that each producer was capable of recording the appropriate data accurately and that participants understood clearly the aims and the potential outcomes of the study that would be of benefit to them. The emphasis in training workshops has been to promote active participation of attendees. The benefits on offer were the provision of effective vaccines for Foot and Mouth Disease and reproductive services.

The initial survey of farmer needs also highlighted the importance of the provision of information on animal nutrition and health and reproductive management. This relates to the second objective of the project in which the project has been working towards the collation of the latest information available on these topics into a format readily understood by relatively untrained extension officers for implementation on farm. A series of workshops has been implemented in which the leading personnel in each area drawn from institutes across Pakistan have been brought to together to work cooperatively to collate ideas and information to meet the common goal of improving farmer productivity. The initial workshop was designed to take a systems approach to small holder dairy operations by establishing the relative importance of nutrition, health, reproduction and breeding and production and marketing and how best to integrate the information in these areas to advance whole farm productivity. Traditionally research in these areas has been conducted in isolation and the approach adopted here was designed to assimilate this information into a package that could be readily used by extension workers with a limited educational background.

The key determinants of nutritional status identified were production and distribution of improved forage seeds, factors that influenced fodder yield including irrigation and fertiliser needs, the measurement of feed values, and ration formulation together with water availability. The requirement for effective vaccines and vaccination schedules, adequate hygiene standards, anthelmintics, the availability of colostrum and appropriate concentrates for calves, dietary minerals and vitamins were seen as important for animal health. The quality of animal housing also influenced health and feed requirements while the provision of sufficient trained labour to implement contemporary management strategies to optimise farm profits were recognised. Ideal management of the above factors then was recognised as being important for improving the efficiency of reproduction in herds to decrease inter-calving intervals to a profitable level.
Following the success of this initial workshop a series of workshops is being designed and rolled out to cover the major topics in greater detail, using the expertise available in the major research and extension institutes across Pakistan. Topics include basic nutrition concepts, health, reproduction and breeding, cow comfort - housing and milk quality, fodders and forages and calf and heifer management. This approach has already led to the engagement and linkage of 17 different research organisations. Co-ordination of these efforts has provided the focus for Ms Saadia Hanif for the past 8 months.

In a separate task, vaccine production of the major pathogens compromising dairy production was reviewed through a consultant. The interactions between institutes promoted by his visit have been very encouraging.

The project team has worked continuously to develop linkages between the key stakeholders in the project. It is likely that the linkages formed at the initial workshops will result in long term cooperation between staff in research and extension institutes, non-government organisations and importantly the major government agencies (LDDD, Livestock and Dairy Development Board and Pakistan Dairy Development Corporation). The forage demonstration trials are now also being linked with an ACIAR funded project on the implementation of raised bed irrigation technology in Pakistan. The project will continue to forge similar cooperation with other organisations in order to promote the Pakistani dairy industry. This will include the presentation of initial survey results in an international forum at the conference of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production entitled "Animal Agriculture and the role of small holder farmers in a global economy" to be held in Hanoi in September 2008.

In spite of the importance of the dairy industry to Pakistan's economy and food supply, the productivity of buffalo/ cows owned by small-holder farmers dependent on an income from 3-10 head is poor by world standards. Much of the technology required to boost efficiency is available but not readily disseminated nor adopted by the farming community. Thus the program was designed to:
1. demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improved extension services to small holder dairy farmers
2. capture, enhance and disseminate knowledge relevant to smallholder dairy systems
A baseline longitudinal survey is currently being completed with farmers in two project areas either provided with many of the appropriate industry support services (Okara) or with limited services in the desert region (Bhakkar). This survey nearing completion is providing information on existing farm practices, feeding regimes, milk production and husbandry practices across 200 farms. Throughout the project, training has been provided for field extension workers and our co-operating farmers. Throughout the survey period these farmers have been introduced to the key fundamentals that contribute to high productivity from their cattle: the principles of feed and water management, cow health, calf rearing and reproductive management have all been presented through the development of close interactive relationships with extension workers. The longitudinal survey has allowed us to monitor the impact of change in farming practices on productivity and therefore farm income. The results of this survey will be important in providing a benchmark for our future operation.
The focus workshops held for both established workers in their respective fields and those we have held for students of dairy production have enabled us to build a network of personnel to service the needs of small-holder dairy farmers across Pakistan. The challenge of bringing together current knowledge and research findings from across University and government institutions to formulate meaningful extension material has not been an easy one. However we will have developed the 10 modules and associated farmer extension notes by the completion of phase 1 of the program. These are already being used in the extension programs of our partners NRSP, L&DD Dept. and Idara-E-Kissan. The initial focus has been with promoting better feed and water management of cows, however many of the other modules provide material to promote animal health and improve reproductive efficiency: inevitably these factors are interdependent.
We see the importance of working with the education system in servicing the educational needs of young personnel entering the dairy industry as a growing priority. Thus we have begun to facilitate short term training programs at Charles Sturt University and within Pakistan. This is an imperative as we move to roll-out our extension programs in other regions increasingly directed by our young trained Pakistani team and less by expatriate workers. Our research program will in future involve the enablement of key personnel in Pakistani institutes rather than micromanagement by project staff. Improvements in milk quality and market reform are two key areas for development as our program for improving production on farm matures.

The dairy sector in Pakistan is one of the leading agricultural industries in the country. There are over 8.5 million small-holder dairy farmers throughout Pakistan who are dependent on income from the production from their small herds of buffalo/cattle. Therefore, dairying contributes significantly to the livelihood and food security of the population in the regional areas. Despite this, farmers struggle to boost on-farm efficiency because the relevant information is neither disseminated nor adopted in the farming community. Thus the program was designed to:
1: To demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improved extension services to smallholder dairy farmers.
2: To enhance the scope and quality of information used for training extension personnel.
3: To enhance the research capacity of Pakistani scientists in priority fields relevant to the ongoing development of the dairy sector.
4: To promote the benefits of agency linkages and enhanced extension services to National and Provincial research and extension agencies and NGO groups.
Pilot extension programs were initiated with farmers in two regions where they were either provided with many appropriate industry support services (Okara) near Lahore or where services were strictly limited in the desert region of western Punjab (Bhakkar). This involved the instigation of a longitudinal survey of farm productivity which ran for 2 years until December 2009.
Throughout this period field extension workers and farmers have been introduced to the key fundamentals that contribute to high productivity from cattle and buffalo: the principles of feed and water management, cow health, calf rearing and reproductive management have all been presented through the development of effective inter-personal relationships. The changes in productivity, carefully measured with bucket and scales, have related directly to changes in farm income. Field staff have observed management and productivity improvements on approximately 40% of the farms in the better serviced Okara region and around 15% in the desert region of Bhakkar. Generally these have involved untethering animals and providing free access to water and feed. In addition to productivity increases, the health and well being of the animals on these farms has improved and farmers have also made savings on labor requirements. The only incentive provided has been high quality vaccine for foot and mouth disease for the initial 2 years.
The survey will provide a wealth of information for other development projects and research activities being conducted in regional Pakistan.
We see the importance of working with the future generation of scientists, academics and field staff servicing the dairy industry. We have instigated workshops for students from across Pakistan with Charles Sturt University students to develop extension material to assist with our programs. In the second of these series the students focused on:
Mastitis and milk quality
Feed Planning and Ration Formulation
Breed Improvement
The linkages forged through these workshops will be important in developing a cohesive and functional dairy industry for the future.
Our focus on developing research capacity has been aligned with the feed base with the establishment of a focus group of nutrition experts in Pakistan who are working closely with our ASLP Dairy Project team. The first objective of this group is to develop a year round feed-calendar which farmers can utilise as a tool to plan a year-round supply of high quality forage and concentrates. The focus group comes from a number of different institutes from across the country. Similar co-operative forums have been held on animal health, reproduction and the development of farm systems. We envisage similar higher participation forums for the state Livestock department staff. The development of co-operative projects with other funding organisations is an important element of our program to maximise the utility of ACIAR's investment. A number of opportunities are currently being explored.
We also have two post-graduate students preparing to start their research in the areas of breed improvement and the development of a market chain which will incorporate aspects on milk quality. Further postgraduate training is scheduled for 2 specific students to work on forage conservation and silage making and the establishment of simple on farm tests to assess milk quality.
The program is currently planning to roll-out our extension programs in another two regions of Punjab and two in Sindh. These programs will be directed totally by young Pakistani extension staff under broad direction from the program manager Hassan Warriach in close consultation with personnel at CSU. Our protocols will be extended to develop the concept of co-operative farming initially within and then between villages and districts to promote milk marketing opportunities to allow these small-holder farmers to realise the commercial potential of their animals.
Linkages with the departments of Health and Education will assist us in the development of the socio-economic wellbeing of villagers as the supply of high quality milk increases, financial returns from animals expand and so the health status of the community improves.