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Survey of smallholder beef cattle production systems in different agro-ecological zones of Cambodia

Tropical Animal Health and Production volume 47, pages 1299–1306 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

A survey was conducted to better understand the contribution of farm productivity to rural household income and identify differences in production systems, feeding practices and development constraints to smallholder beef cattle producers in the four agro-ecological zones (AEZs) of Cambodia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 360 households in the four AEZs: I, the Great Lake Floodplain; II, the Mekong Floodplain; III, the Coastal and IV, the Plateau/Mountainous. In addition, samples of common nutritional resources used for cattle feed were collected for nutrient composition analysis, plus cattle were scored for body condition. Rice farming and cattle production were the most common sources of income in all AEZs. The average cattle herd size was 3.7 (SD = 2.4), but the majority of households raised 1–3 animals. The most common cattle management system was grazing with supplementation, mainly with rice straw and ‘cut-and-carry’ natural grasses fed during the wet season in all AEZs. The body condition score of all cattle types was 3.2 (SD = 0.8), except for cows in lactation that were 1.8. Major constraints to cattle production in AEZs I, II and III were lack of quality feed resources, capital for cattle production and concerns on breed quality, whereas in AEZ IV, diseases were identified as the main constraint. This survey confirms the importance of cattle to smallholders in the four AEZs. Interventions including farmer education to improve husbandry skills, increase the utilisation of forages and crop residues and address disease issues are necessary to enhance cattle production and rural livelihoods in Cambodia.

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Acknowledgments

This survey received financial support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through Mekong Agriculture Research Network (MEKARN II) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Grateful thanks to smallholder cattle keepers in Battambang, Takeo, Kampot and Kampong Speu provinces for their participation and willingness in providing information for the study.

Compliance with ethical standards

The manuscript does not contain clinical studies or patient data.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Centre for Livestock and Agriculture Development (CelAgrid), P.O. Box 2423, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Pok Samkol

  2. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), P.O. Box 2696, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Keo Sath

  3. Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7024, SE 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden

    Mikaela Patel & Kjell Holtenius

  4. Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Camden, NSW 2570, Australia

    Peter Andrew Windsor

Authors
  1. Pok Samkol
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  2. Keo Sath
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  3. Mikaela Patel
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  4. Peter Andrew Windsor
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  5. Kjell Holtenius
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pok Samkol.

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Samkol, P., Sath, K., Patel, M. et al. Survey of smallholder beef cattle production systems in different agro-ecological zones of Cambodia. Trop Anim Health Prod 47, 1299–1306 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-015-0863-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-015-0863-y

Keywords

  • Agro-ecological zones
  • Body condition score
  • Cambodia
  • Production constraints
  • Feed resources
  • Smallholder beef cattle production