In cooperation with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), LIFT hosted a 2nd Regional Alliance for Livestock Development in the Dry Zone workshop in Yenanchaung on 23rd and 24th June, as part of its community-of-practice (COP) events.
The aim is for participants to share practical experiences and lessons from the field, and to widen their understanding of the different approaches to livestock development through project visits.
The 21 participants came from INGOs, NGOs, universities (University of Melbourne and University of Veterinary Science) and Myanmar’s Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD).
Day 1
(i) The University of Veterinary Science presented updates on their ACIAR-funded ‘Improving livelihoods of small scale livestock producers in the Central Dry Zone through research on production and health in Myanmar’ project, or the Dahat Pan project, that focuses on forage growing and grazing management of small and large ruminants.
(ii) The Mae Fah Luang Foundation highlighted their project experiences, including:
1) livestock volunteers training,
2) livestock medicine fund,
3) goat bank, and
4) supplementary feed development.
(iii) Thadar Consortium and CESVI spoke on livestock and forage development and the successes and challenges they have encountered in livestock breeding.
Day 2
Participants visited homes and interacted with livestock volunteers in two project villages.
They saw that the Mae Fah Luang goat bank model and the practice of growing Ruzi grass were successful and relevant for the Central Dry Zone.
The 3rd Regional Alliance for Livestock workshop will take place in Meiktila in 2016.
