SMALL FARMER LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY DEVELOPMENT, OPG/PVO HEIFER PROJECT INTERNATIONAL

HPI will implement the project with the National Office of Scientifc and Technical Research (ONAREST). Increasing quantities of improved livestock will be distributed to cooperatives and poor farmers, especially in areas near ONAREST Institute for Animal Research (IZR) stations in Bambui, Wakwa, and Mankon. Ministry of Animal Husbandry staff will distribute to farmers, especially those in the project"s training program (cf. below), 355,000 fowl, 3,400 rabbits, 2,200 pigs, 360 cattle, 210 goats, and 110 sheep. Liberal payment mechanisms will be established for farmers. A dairy industry will be initiated from Bambui and Wakwa to produce 4.5 million liters of milk over 5 years for infant care centers and schools. Mankon station poultry will produce 48 million eggs. Eggs and meat will be sold through existing cooperatives. To achieve these goals, the IZR will increase crossbreeding of local cattle with imported high milk-yielding Heifers and Jerseys at Bambui and begin crossbreeding at Wakwa. Hybrids will produce up to five times more milk (1,500-2,500 liters/year) than domestic Fulani. In the Bambui-Bamenda area, cattle"s genetic potential will be upgraded through selective breeding. Chicken, pig, sheep, and goat research will continue at Mankon. Local products (e.g., rice bran, brewers grain) will be processed for feed at IRZ mills. Training of indigenous personnel at the Winrock International Livestock Research and Training Center and on American farms will continue. Graduates will fill key posts in the livestock sector. Nine people will receive M.S. degrees in animal sciences at U.S. or African institutions and join IRZ or the Ministry of Animal Breeding and Industry staffs. At IRZ stations, training centers, including dormitories and demonstration pastures, will be built. Training graduates and HPI/ONAREST personnel will teach courses (under Winrock supervision) in nutrition and disease/pest control to 75 researchers, extensionists, and farmers.