Economic Circumstances and Market Interest in the Use of Crop-Residue in Milk Production System in Sri Lanka1

D.V.S.de S Gamage2,3,4

Abstract The contribution of Dry Zone (DZ)

supplied 64 % of the milk and 60% of the ruminant meat production during the past several

decades. Seasonality in the national monthly milk production is captured by the variation in milk

collection as revealed in earlier studies. However, the fact that milk collection and production in

the rainy season is lower than in the dry season has not been revealed in any of the past studies

and reports on milk production in Sri Lanka.

Crop cultivation during the rainy period is the first priority of DZ mixed farmer. This limits the

resources allocated for their grazing herds. Hence they are relocated in areas outside the

cropping land during this period. This deprives livestock from adequate feed and water during

this period and disrupts the collection of milk, as these areas fall beyond the normal milk

procurement routes. However, when the animals are brought back to the farming areas after crop

harvest, they now have access to crop residues consisting of straw, stubble, ratoon crop and

ample supply of water. This results in a significant increase in milk production than in the

cropping season. Furthermore, the milk collection is also normalized. The seasonality of

availability of feed is observed during the year and this situation can only be prevented through

the increase in shelf life of feed resources throughout the year, where this can prevent seasonal

cattle movement.

Paddy is the predominant crop in Sri Lanka, where it yields 8.75 metric tons of Dry Matter (DM)

per hectare annually through rice straw. However, a large portion of the residues is burned and

wasted but is time tested as a good feed resource for ruminants. This may have an environmental

                                                                                                                         1 Gamage, D.V.S.de S, 2013, Milk Production with Crop-Residue as Feed in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka: Potential and Prospects. Seventh Annual

Research Forum 2013, Sri Lanka Agricultural Economic Association (SAEA) 20th December 2013 University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 2 Mailing address sunilgamage2006@gmail.com 3 Former Deputy Director (Veterinary Research) Veterinary Research Institute, Department of Animal Production and Health, Former National

Coordinator -2011), Livestock Specialist - J

4  Acknowledgements to,

Vet.Sur. Iwami Orita, JICA Nippon Koei Eng. G.A. Jayawickrama, Training Specialist-Formerly of Mahaweli Authority G.D. Perera4, Former Director Agriculture, Mahaweli Authority Eng. S. Yamaoka, JICA Nippon Koei Team Leader for JICA Survey Team (2012) Eng. M. Rabindran, Retired Senior Deputy Director (Irrigation) Irrigation Department Eng. H.B.A.Karunaratne, Former Residential Project Manager of Mahaweli Authority Ajantha Pushpakumara, IT Specialist and Office Manager/ Accountant

effect by increasing Green House Gas (GHG) thus contributing to global warming. Rice straw

utilization is not new to Sri Lanka. It was one of the strategies of the crop-livestock farming

community to maintain large herds of cattle and buffalo. Subsequently interventions introduced

to improve the quality of these crop-residues to the mixed farming community have not been a

success even after three or four decades. The technology is not generally used by the farmers

even in villages whilst it was intensively promoted by researchers and extension workers. The

reason may be that these farmers consider it an inconvenience to implement these practices. Just

as the urea treatment of straw as livestock is not considered a real priority over paddy and crop

cultivation. However, paddy straw can be promoted by incorporating with other locally available

feed ingredients through a total mixed ration and then dry pelleting to increase its shelf life. This

could be promoted as a commercial venture to break the barrier of small-holder cattle farming in

limited land availability. Furthermore this could support the disposal of vegetable and fruit refuse

(500 metric tons) from the Dedicated Economic Center Dambulla, and utilize this refuse too

for a productive activity.

Key words: Dry Zone, milk production, cropping season, under-feeding, crop-residue and

carbon sequestration.

I . Introduction At a time when Sri Lanka is once again turning its attention to milk production, this study

examines the milk production sector from a different perspective. While available evidence

indicates that most livestock produce in Sri Lanka is from the DZ, this is poorly captured in

official statistics, and its importance widely misunderstood. Indeed, what constitutes DZ

livestock production is itself often poorly defined. In this knowledge vacuum, transformative

interventions for developing the livestock sector risk being off target or even damaging.

Successful agricultural development in the DZ depends on livestock, which is one of its

important subsectors. Understanding how existing livestock systems in DZ contribute to securing

livelihoods and the wider economy is fundamental to this development. Government policy on

milk for the last several decades has been to decrease the reliance on imported milk powder. The

interventions used to achieve this goal are, to introduce the milk production trait into the local

cattle population, improve animal health service provision, dissemination of information and the

milk marketing aspect. However, with all these interventions the supply of local milk production

has not kept pace with the steady growth in demand. Hence, to meet this shortfall milk and milk

products were imported at the rate of a 6.64% annual growth from 1985 to 2012, or from 30,000

to 83,818 metric tons (DC&S 2012). Yet the policy makers continue to strengthen these

interventions without looking for other possibilities to increase local milk production. In the

absence of comprehensive data on DZ production and its value chains, we use available

information to calculate cautious estimates. Hence, most data and information provided to policy

makers are estimated and speculative figures, where the current level of production can be much

lesser than estimated.

Moreover a 200% increase in milk price was observed from 2000 to 2012 and this could worsen

with global warming and climate variability experienced world over. Hence, it is crucial that Sri

Lanka needs to boost its local milk production to meet the increasing demand in the cheapest

possible way. However, even without much financial and infrastructure interventions to the DZ

from the private sector or the government, it has supplied 64 % of the national milk and 60% of

the national ruminant meat during the past several decades having 74.0% (760,580), 66.6%

(151,587) and 78.7% (257,986) proportion of the cattle, goat and buffalo respectively (DAPH

2008). It is gross underperformance as the livestock sector has the potential to more than double

the production in the DZ. This is an attempt initially to identify the root cause of

underperformance in this area. Livestock in the DZ produces all this milk and meat by

consuming poor quality annual and perennial grass, browsing vegetation, and nonfood biomass

from crop residue, where this increased efficiency of land and water has not been clearly

documented. However, this area has the potential to double its milk and meat production within

the next three years with purposeful investments. This is possible as such purposeful investments

from the private sector with partial support from the Government have increased the annual

maize production of 40,000 m. tons in 2005 to 160,000 m. tons by 2011 primarily from the DZ

(DC&S 2012).

It should be highlighted that the DZ livestock produce is achieved through minimum input of

external resources. The DZ is a valuable resource to animal production on condition that its

livestock have access to feed resources not available to its Wet zone counterparts. The DZ

system of ruminant livestock rearing, use the environment in a fundamentally different way than

intensive mono-gastric animals for food. Therefore this system works with environmental

variability rather than against it. Hence, genuine livestock production in the DZ can only happen

by taking this difference into account rather than importing off-the-

local systems of production.

Dry Zone Sri Lanka is divided into three zones based on agro-climatic conditions. The Dry Zone (DZ)

covering whole of Northern and Eastern areas and some parts of the South and West consisting

63.5% or 4,171,781 hectares, and the Intermediate Zone (IZ) 13.3% or 871,182 hectares and the

Wet Zone (WZ) together have 23.5% or 1,524,512 hectares of the land area (Agriculture census

2008). Total land area in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavunia, Mannar, Anurdhapura,

Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, and Batticaloa districts are in the DZ whereas, 95%, 60% and 5% of

Ampara, Monaragala and Badulla districts respectively are in the DZ. However, some parts in

Ampara (5%), Moneragala (38%) and Badulla (93%) are in the Intermediate Zone. Other

districts with high land area in the DZ are Hambantota (88%), Puttalam (65%), Kurunegala

(25%), and Matale (20%), while, 70% and 60% area in Kurunegala and Matale respectively is in

the Intermediate zone. Seventy (approximately 1200 mm) and twenty three (approximately 400

mm) percent of the total rainfall in the DZ occurs during Maha (119 days) and Yala (56 days)

respectively. Soil moisture availability determines the crop production season starting from

September and ending in March of the subsequent year in the DZ (Punyawardena 1998).

Figure 1 and 2: Average Monthly Rainfall pattern and Potential Evapotranspiration in the Dry Zone (Shinogi et al 1998)

Low rainfall coupled with high potential evapotranspiration (PET) rates in the DZ result in

negative annual water balances occurring in all DZ districts (see Figure 2). Consequently,

farmers experience water deficits for much of the year limiting the rain-fed growing period to

less than 150 days per year and extensive habitation is only possible where water is stored for

irrigation.

I I . Material and Method This is a result of an extensive analysis of primary data derived from the Department of Census

and Statistics, Department of Animal Production and Health and the Department of Agriculture,

concurrently with information drawn from two field surveys. The first field study included

collection of secondary data from the central and provincial government and private sector

whereas, the second field survey was to collect data from the farming community, grass root

level service providers, input suppliers and marketing agents. Finally the intervention approaches

were developed utilizing the above data and discussed in detail with specialists from respective

areas and thereafter reviewed and interventions developed.

I I I . Underperformance Crop production initiates with rains or with the availability of tank water in the DZ and harvested

at the end of the season, but animal products such as egg, milk and meat are produced throughout

the year, without seasonal restrictions. However, past studies highlighted the fact that there is a

seasonal variation in national milk collection and production, where it was captured by the

monthly variation in milk procurement. This is shown in box no 1 (Ibrahim et al 1999) below

and the seasonal variation pattern is confirmed in figure 3 with monthly milk collection from

2003 to 2009.

National monthly milk collection from year 2003 to year 2009 confirms the variation within the

year shown by Ibrahim et al (1999). However it is different when provincial collection data is

taken separately. This is shown in figures 3 to 8. Is this variation due to seasonal changes in the

Dry and Rainy seasons in both Wet and Dry zones? Even though the rainfall during the recent

past has been different from the past century still the predictable rainfall can be observed in both

zones.

Optimal growth in food crops, weeds, grasses, and pasture trees is experienced during Yala and

Maha period. The blue line graph in figures 3 to 6 indicates the fluctuation of soil moisture

content in the top 60 cm of the Reddish Brown Earth (RBE) soil in the DZ of Sri Lanka. The

fifty percent available soil moisture in RBE soil is in the top 150 mm. Any soil moisture

depletion below the 50% available soil moisture level which last more than two consecutive

weeks causes a complete crop failure. It could be predicted that from the Standard week 16 to 40

(May to October) there will be shortage of grass, fodder and tree leaves for livestock.

Furthermore, from Standard week 40 to subsequent year week 16 there is ample amount of

moisture for crop and grass growth. In fact there is an excess of soil moisture for a lush growth

of vegetation. On the other hand, the milk production and collection in rainy season is far below

the dry period levels (Milco data 2003 - 2009), this is shown in figures 4 to 7 (JICA 2012), which

needs no elaboration. It is the Eastern province that had the highest variation as compared to

other DZ provinces.

Box 1: Seasonal Variation in Milk

Figure 3: Seasonal variation in Milk 2003 - 2009

 Figure 5: Monthly variation in Milk Collection, 1994 1997 Another important influence on milk production and the surpluses potentially available for collection and marketing is the seasonality of milk supply. Some of this variation is captured by the monthly variation in milk procurement averaged over the last four years (1994-1997; Figure 5). The seasonal pattern is similar for both all island and MILCO collection, with more milk supplied to the processing market in May, June and July, implying that production of milk is higher during this period. (Ibrahim et al (1999)

Figure 4: EP Milk Collection and Soil moisture level

 

Furthermore, the monthly milk collection graphs in North Central Province and Uva Province

show a similar trend like the Eastern province but with lesser variation. North Western province

too has the same trend but with even less variation.

Figure 5: NCP Milk Collection Figure 6: UvaP Milk Collection

However, it is clear that the monthly milk collection during the rainy season which should show

a high milk production due to the abundance of fresh grass and browsing feed for cattle and

buffalo is disrupted due to some reason. This was not observed in earlier studies as all this

provincial data was pooled to a single graph.

Very dry no grass but more milk

Plenty of grass with rain but less milk

Figure 7: NWP Milk Collection and Soil moisture level

It is intriguing to observe that the difference in the DZ provinces monthly milk collection graph

is  totally different from the pooled national monthly milk collection graphs shown in box 1 and

figure 2. On the other hand, the observation in monthly milk collection in the Intermediate and

Wet zone provinces (figure 8 and 9) differ from the DZ.

Figure 8: IZ rainfall & Milk collection

Throughout the year variation of milk production is less as compared to the DZ and this variation

too could be avoided with proper management measures. Underperformance in these two

provinces may be due to other reasons different to the DZ. As mentioned earlier the WZ with

more support from the government and private sector were able to cope with factors affecting

DZ milk production in a better way; however there still is room to improve milk production in

these areas.

Figure 9: WZ rainfall & Milk collection

The gradual change in variability can be observed by perusing the above figures consecutively.

The variation of milk collection and production in the WZ is negligible, even in the dry period as

in the wet period monthly milk collection shows no sharp difference. This indicates that the

underperformance issues in these areas have to be resolved separately from the DZ.

Production loss The following table shows the estimated production loss derived from monthly variation in milk

collection from 2003 to 2009 by Milco Pvt. Ltd. A national Loss of 12.2% is observed. However,

the proportion of the DZ loss is 67.2%.

Table 4: Estimated Milk Production loss due to seasonal variation Province District Milk Production loss

Liters / year Percent loss

Province District Central 3,240,782 8.9%

Kandy 2,018,277 5.5% Matale 967,148 2.6% Nuwara Eliya 1,149,496 3.1%

Eastern 13,704,604 37.5% Ampara 2,916,789 8.0% Batticaloa 7,768,745 21.3% Trincomalee 2,668,773 7.3%

North Central 6,388,100 17.5% Anuradhapura 4,444,121 12.2% Polonnaruwa 846,969 2.3%

North Western 4,453,724 12.2% Kurunegala 2,405,885 6.6% Puttalam 1,916,890 5.2%

Sabaragamuwa 482,890 1.3% Kegalle 86,890 0.2%

This national loss in milk production is based only on the underperformance in collecting milk

from the DZ during the wet period when there is an abundant amount of livestock feed.

However, the effect of the loss of revenue to farmers can have a major impact on future milk

production in the DZ. Annual loss in revenue per farmer is calculated in Table no. 5.

Table 5: Estimated Annual Loss in Revenue per farmer due to seasonal underperformance

Yet again the issue of milk production has cropped up in media; what do we notice? As there is a

flood of information on milk contamination, our focus is on food safety and on clean fresh milk

production. Hence, this paper takes a fresh look at the livestock production systems, especially in

the DZ. The significance of DZ k with fewer inputs is poorly

captured in official statistics and is misunderstood. So much so, that the fact that milk collection

and production in the rainy season is lower than in the dry season has not been revealed in any

earlier studies. Therefore, the importance of this will not only bear pure economic losses to

farmers but will also cause a national consequential economic loss to the dairy industry. In the

first instance this is due to the loss of production of cattle not performing to its maximum genetic

potential (column 2 & 3 table 5) and in the second, the continuity of dairy farming depends on

Ratnapura 431,245 1.2% Southern 1,354,125 3.7% Uva 6,896,051 18.9% Total Loss 36,520,279 National Loss 12.2%

Districts

Average Daily

Production (lts) per Cow or buffalo

Daily Production / animal after

under-performance

(lts)

Income per day W/O

under performance

(Rs)

Income per day with

under performance

(Rs)

Aver. No. of

animals in milk

per farm

Annual Loss of revenue

(Rs)

Anuradhapura 1.040 0.913 52.00 45.66 3.10 7178.24 Polonnaruwa 1.380 1.348 69.00 67.41 2.52 1459.72 Kurunegala 1.892 1.767 94.60 88.36 2.10 4785.72 Puttalam 1.193 1.131 59.65 56.55 2.22 2513.39 Badulla 2.095 1.699 104.75 84.95 1.65 11923.19 Moneragala 1.283 1.041 64.15 52.03 1.56 6903.60 Kandy 3.456 3.266 172.80 163.30 1.51 5238.13 Matale 2.255 2.196 112.75 109.82 1.66 1776.20 NuwaraEliya 7.637 7.400 381.85 370.01 1.38 5962.47 Ampara 1.262 1.161 63.10 58.05 2.40 4422.05 Batticaloa 1.328 1.045 66.40 52.26 3.45 17809.82 Trincomalee 0.816 0.756 40.80 37.82 3.45 3750.55 National 1.589 1.395 79.45 69.76 2.07 7323.47 Based on Farm registration 2008 (DAPH) and Milco data Rs 1 = US $ 130

the performance of the herd as an underperforming herd may discourage farmers, and the loss of

interest in dairy farming as a business, due to poor economic turnover. These reasons may be

considered as constrains by the existing farming community and those intending to enter the

dairy sector. Yet policy makers continue modes of interventions that have not had much success

in increasing milk production. They should look to alternative possibilities. For this purpose it is

important to identify the reasons for this underperformance.

IV. Reasons for underperformance It was revealed that the milk collection and production in the rainy season is lower than in the

dry period. This information has not been discussed in any of the past studies and reports on milk

production in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this part is to illustrate the reasons for underperformance in

milk production especially in the wet period, so that remedial measures could be introduced to

rectify this situation. It will provide more technical information to provide an insight to improve

milk production in the DZ, reminding you again that the

and 60% of the ruminant meat with fewer inputs. A sizable population in DZ is having mixed

farming system.

Table 6: Mixed Farming System Dry Matter Supply Mixed Farming System Ruminants

Components Supply Constrains

Grazing

Unirrigated Highland Seasonal use for crop cultivation Villus Restricted entry, invasive alien weed species and high stocking

density of wild life Grazing land

Marginal areas in neglected pasture land with insuffient dry matter yeild and poor water availability Grass land

Scrub land Forest Entry prohibited

Crop residue

Cropping land - irrigated

High availability during cropping season, wasted and underutilized, and bulkiness of residue is a constraint. Mechanized harvesting

Cropping land - rainfed

High availability during rain season

Cut and carry Non-utilized land around cropping area

Improper harvesting causes wastage in grasses, legumes and browsing plants

Feed from farm

Foliage and poor quality material

Unpredictable amount

External feed Compounded feed Not avaiable in large quantities, high prices

Livestock sector enterprises in Sri Lanka includes the Milk sector cattle, buffalo and goat,

Meat sector comprises of the Monogastric (broiler, quail, turkey, and swine) and Ruminant (mutton and beef), and the Egg sector predominantly chicken, and also quail and duck. Even

though monogastrics are considered better converters of feed to animal protein, they not only

compete for human edible food, but also compete for arable land required to produce human

food. The cost of producing monogastrics meat has increased due to global demand for their feed

stuff, mainly maize and soybean. There is a sharp increase in global prices. Hence, from

February to September 2012 there is 18.9% and 43.4% increase in global price of maize and

soybean respectively. Furthermore, increase in costs of cereals, energy and other inputs have

made monogastrics production uneconomical and costly. Conversely, milk and ruminant meat is

produced by converting crop residue. Thus, promoting crop-livestock integration can be

considered a better option to monogastrics animal protein (Juan Domingo Sal, 2007). The DZ

has the maximum potential to supply the growing demand for animal protein food sources in Sri

Lanka at an affordable price. Please note that I choose not to discuss the buffalo production

sector, as the policies dictate that buffalo meat5 is not available for human consumption which I

consider is an impediment for its growth.

Dry Zone cropping season

Food production in the DZ commences with the rainfall and increased soil-water levels during

the two growing seasons, Maha and Yala. The average time of onset of rain for Yala season

(Table 7) is in late March (Standard week 13) while the end of the season is in late April                                                                                                                          5 Buffalo males used, for draft in paddy cultivation, is now discontinued due to mechanization. Hence, most males are now herding as feral populations within wild life sanctuaries.

Table 7: Standard Weeks Month March April

Days 1-7 8-14 15-21 22-28 29-31 1-4 5-11 12-18 19-25 26-30 Standard week 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Month May June Days 1 2-8 9-15 16-22 23-29 30-31 1-5 6-12 13-19 20-26 27-30 Standard week 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Month July August Days 1-3 4-10 11-17 18-24 25-31 1-7 8-14 15-21 22-28 29-31

Standard week 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Month September October Days 1-4 5-11 12-18 19-25 26-30 1-2 3-9 10-16 17-23 24-30 31

Standard week 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Month November December Days 1-6 7-13 14-20 21-27 28-30 1-4 5-11 12-18 19-25 26-31

Standard week 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 Month January February Days 1 -7 8-14 15-21 22-28 29-31 1-4 5-11 12-18 19-25 26-28

Standard week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sunil Gamage 2012

(Standard week 18 or 19), where the average length of wet period is 35 38 days. In the case of

Maha season the onset is in October (Standard week number 42) and will continue until late

January of the following year (Standard week of 4 and 5). The average length of the wet period

is around 98 days.

Seventy (approximately 1200 mm) and twenty three (approximately 400 mm) percent of the total

rainfall in the DZ occurs during Maha and Yala respectively. Soil moisture availability

determines the crop production season starting from September and ending in March /April of

subsequent year in the DZ (Punyawardena, 1998).

Optimal growth in food crops, weeds, grasses, and pasture trees is experienced during Yala and

Maha rains. Fifty percent of available soil moisture in Reddish Brown Earth (RBE) soil is in the

top 150 mm. Any soil moisture depletion below the 50% available soil moisture level which lasts

more than two consecutive weeks causes a complete crop failure.

Hence, it could be predicted that from the Standard week 20 to 40 (May to October) there will be

a shortage of grass, fodder and tree leaves for livestock. Consequently, farmers experience water

deficits for much of the year limiting the rain-fed growing period to less than 150 days per year

and extensive habitation is only possible where water is stored for irrigation. This is illustrated

clearly in Table 1. However, from Standard week 40 to subsequent year week 16 there is ample

amount of moisture for crop and grass growth. In fact there is an excess of soil moisture for a

lush growth of vegetation. Hence, the reasons for low milk production and collection during this

period are illustrated in the feeding calendar (chart 1).

Feeding calendar This feeding calendar is specifically for livestock in the DZ. At the commencement of the Maha

season, initially the cattle are restricted to paddock areas as farmers barely have time to attend to

them with the initiation of land preparation. However, after the land preparation is over these

animals are then herded to marginal areas where they are able to graze freely. These marginal

areas are neglected pasture land with a small amount of vegetation. However they get more feed

than when they were restricted to paddocks. Livestock products are the main outputs of these

scrublands, grasslands and sparsely used croplands and continue to be the fastest growing

agricultural subsector in the DZ. These are marginal lands with very poor soil profiles and dearth

of water. Hence to produce food crops a substantial expenditure will be required. These areas

have not been utilized for any other sector but for grazing livestock during the cropping seasons.

Scrubland has a low growing vegetation with more than 50% scrub coverage, including trees,

whereas, the grasslands are open park country with less than 50% scrub coverage (Damana and

Savannah) Villus and other temporarily flooded plains and Patana up country grassland.

These are only used for grazing cattle. On the other hand, sparsely used croplands are abandoned

chena land used for dry cropping. Neglected or abandoned tea, rubber, and coconut lands can be

utilized for subsistence type crop farming during a good rainy season.

Chart 1: Feeding Calendar of Livestock in the Dry Zone Month Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Jul Aug Sep

Land Maha - 100% cultivable land Yala - 55% cultivable land

Cultivation Rice planting and growing Rice harvest Rice planting and growing Rice harvest

Cattle movement

Restricted grazing in

Village M igration to inaccessible / marginal lands Village

Restricted grazing in uncultivated dry crop land

Grazing area

Restricted grazing

crop land

Stubble consumption in overgrazed pasture land

Grazing in uncultivated moist

crop land

Grazing in uncultivated dry

crop land and water shortage

Restricted grazing

crop land

Residue usage

Crop residue wasted

Grass and fodder residue wasted in crop cultivation area

Crop residue wasted

Crop residue available for consumption

Depleted amounts of crop residue available for consumption

Crop residue wasted

Standard week

40-43 44-47 48-52 1-4 5-8 9-12 13-17 18-19 21 22-25 26-30 31-34 35-39

Sunil Gamage (2012) However, in most cases these lands are utilized for livestock grazing during the cropping season.

Around 28.7% of the land area in Sri Lanka is under these three land use types. Furthermore, the

districts in the DZ areas consisting of over two thirds of the total land have 62.6% from sparsely

used crop land, 80% from scrubland and 57% from grassland. The DZ contains 27,427 hectares

grassland, 652,932 hectares paddy and 886,627 hectares scrubland that can annually produce 1.0

metric tons / hectare, 2.0 metric tons / hectare and 0.5 metric tons / hectare respectively. These

areas if properly maintained have the potential to produce more than double the current biomass

production.

Cropping and livestock Crop cultivation limits the farm imals are relocated in

areas outside the cropping land during this period to prevent crop damage by livestock. The milk

9. It is during this

period (150 days) that most animals are kept outside cropping areas and they are provided with

very little feed and water. Such extensive farming which is predominant in the DZ, requiring this

relocation, prevents livestock from consuming adequate amount of feed required for body

maintenance and growth, milk production and milk collection. Animals so relocated will only be

brought back standard week 19 or 20 after the harvest where they have access to crop residues

consisting of straw, stubble and ratoon (green re-growth of the crop) which can be grazed.

Livestock is allowed to consume crop residue and grass only between standard week 17 to 22,

where the milk collection and production are very high.

Cattle population The ruminant population in the DZ consists of large ruminants (cattle and buffalo) and small

ruminants (goat), where, cattle and buffalo are grazers and goat are grazers as well as browsers.

Production systems discussed in Box 2 to 4 (JICA 2012) indicate underperformance clearly as

far as milk production is concerned. However, the productivity of these systems is higher than

commercial milk production standards. Genetics of the indigenous cattle respond to the

environment provided in the DZ, whereas the crossbreds may have a difficulty in adjusting.

Average individual animal milk production in the WZ is higher than in the DZ. However average

farm milk production shows no difference. More concentrates are used in the WZ and

furthermore throughout the year soil moisture allows growth of grasses and fodder.

Box 2: Current Intensive system in the DZ (84 months age period) | _____ | | | (Age at first Calving 36 months) Lactation 1 -- 2nd Pregnancy lactation 2 - 3rd Pregnancy Lactation 3 4th Pregnancy (14months) (14months) (14months)

(8months) (8months) (8months) Total milk prod (6696 liters) +2232 liters + 2232 liters + 2232 liters Annual culling rate of 10% as beef animals Average herd size 4.96 (2.00 17.00) Average milk production (liters)/ cow/ day 9.30 (2.50 22.00)  

 

Whereas, in the DZ food is available in excess during a short period and during the other feed

availability is hardly sufficient to meet the demand for body maintenance. This fact is

sufficiently illustrated in Table 8, as in the WZ 30% (20% are buffaloes) and DZ 41% (40% are

buffaloes) produce 67% and 62% of the milk.

Table 8: Distribution of farms, crossbred population and milk production

Item Zone

Farms

Total Above 100 liters

75 to 99.9 liters

50 to 74.9 liters

25 to 49.9 liters

10 to 24.9 liters

5 to 9.9

liters

0.1 to 4.9

liters

No milk

Number of farms Dry 130 126 398 2437 13212 19041 26058 57171 118573 Wet 27 35 153 1264 9303 9694 9410 28542 58428

Avr. Farm Milk Prod (lts)

Dry 168.9 82.0 57.7 30.1 13.6 6.42 2.54 0.00 4.2 Wet 149.6 81.0 56.6 28.6 13.7 6.60 2.51 0.00 4.6

Individual Milk Prod (lts)

Dry 2.3 2.0 1.9 1.7 2.1 2.2 1.3 0.0 1.3 Wet 6.3 7.4 6.6 6.5 5.7 3.8 1.4 0.0 2.6

(DAPH 2008) The interesting fact is that a large number of farms (48.2% in the DZ and 48.9% in the WZ) give

no milk (Table 9) and more homesteads with buffaloes in the WZ fall in to this category. The

reason may be that ploughing in paddy fields is carried out with buffaloes when in the DZ

mechanization of paddy cultivation started three or four decades ago.

Table 9: Farms with no milk production (DAPH 2008) Proportion from total Numbers

Zone Cattle Buffalo XB Cattle XB Buffalo Dry 33.7% 21.1% 29.7% 22.0% Wet 34.8% 47.0% 31.5% 43.1%

Rapid crossbreeding with genes contributing to the milk production trait will increase milk

production and will also increase the demand for feed, both concentrates and roughages.

Box 3: Current Semi-intensive system in the DZ (84 months age period) | | | | (Age at first Calving 42 months) lactation 1 2nd Pregnancy Lactation 2 3rd Pregnancy Lactation 3 (16months) (16months) (10 months) (6months) (6months) (6months)

Total milk production (2754 liters) + 918 liters + 918 liters + 918 liters Annual culling rate of 12.5% as beef animals Average herd size 7.20 (2.00 180.00) Average milk production (liters)/ cow/ day 5.10 (0.50 12.00)  

Box 4: Current Extensive system in the DZ (84 months age period) | | | (Age at first Calving 48 months) lactation1 2nd Pregnancy Lactation 2- 3rd Pregnancy (18months) (18months) (4months) (4months)

Total milk production (204 liters) + 102 liters + 102 liters Annual culling rate of 35 % as beef animals Average herd size 64.20 (11.00 485.00) Average milk production (liters)/ cow/ day 0.85 (0.70 1.20)

Crossbred cattle population in the DZ will increase due to the improvement in the service

coverage by the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH). Table 10 depicts the

proportion of crossbreds in each farm type. It clearly shows that farmers having smaller farms in

the DZ have accepted Artificial Insemination to breed. Large herds consisting of mostly

indigenous cattle also located in remote areas sought natural breeding. However there is no large

variation in average individual milk production shown in Table 8, despite the increased

crossbreds in smaller units.

Table 10: Proportion of crossbred cattle and buffalo (DAPH 2008)

Item Zone Above

100 liters

75 to 99.9 liters

50 to 74.9 liters

25 to 49.9 liters

10 to 24.9 liters

5 to 9.9

liters

0.1 to 4.9

liters

No milk Total

Cattle Dry 18.7% 34.5% 26.6% 42.1% 50.8% 51.1% 33.3% 36.4% 41.4% Wet 99.0% 99.7% 84.4% 95.3% 92.4% 84.8% 52.9% 68.6% 75.8%

Buffalo Dry 93.8% 88.4% 83.3% 88.0% 85.1% 85.1% 83.8% 91.0% 87.6% Wet 94.5% 94.6% 93.2% 87.6% 84.9% 86.1% 88.5% 74.1% 80.8%

We must remember that rice production and crop cultivation are the main farming activities of

almost all farmers rearing livestock. Their only insurance for crop failure due to drought, floods,

market price fluctuations and during civil unrest is livestock. Furthermore milk is in demand and

the DZ farmers are definitely able to produce the total national requirement provided two key

areas contributing to underperformance are addressed by the government or private sector.

The first major setback is that livestock is deprived of adequate Dry Matter (DM) initially for

body maintenance during the cropping season and then for milk production during the other

period. The bulk of livestock feed resources comes from grazing poor quality annual and

perennial grasses on cropping area during the off-season and overgrazed and rapidly depleting

pasture land during the cropping season. DZ livestock farmers have customarily utilized

measures such as feeding stored crop by-products to livestock during these difficult periods. A

considerable amount is wasted in the DZ though. The problem usually encountered with crop by-

products is the seasonality of supply. Yet, in the wet season, there is excess feed. These areas can

provide adequate feed throughout the year. The second is the disruption of the milk collection

network due to the remoteness of the relocated areas during the cropping season. If the milk

production is three times more during the dry period, with proper measures taken to rectify the

feed availability throughout the year and expansion of the milk collecting network, the wet

season could produce double the amount of milk in the drier season.

V. Proposed Interventions The reasons for underperformance in milk production in the DZ is due to the variance in feed

distribution thoughout the year. The feeding calendar specifies that the feed availability for DZ

ruminants change with season. During the cultivation period livestock is relocated in marginal

land or poor grazing lands with limited feed resources even in the rainy period as these pasture

lands are overgrazed and have not been adequately maintained for several decades. However,

during the off-season these animals are brought back to the cultivation area just after the rice and

crop harvest to graze in stubble, ratoon crop and crop residue available in large quantities.

Farmers have customarily utilized measures such as feeding stored crop by-products to livestock

during this period. However a considerable amount is wasted in the DZ and not available during

the cropping period for feeding livestock. The problem usually encountered with crop by-

products available in large quantities, is that in the wet season there is too much feed but remains

unutilized.

Rice is the predominant crop in Sri Lanka, especially in the DZ where just over 650,000 hectares

are grown. Rice cultivation yields 8.75 metric tons of Dry Matter per hectare annually. Rice

straw when left in fields after grain harvest conserves soil organic matter and nutrients, decreases

water runoff and increases infiltration, decreases evaporation and controls weeds. These will

support subsequent crop yields as about 25% of nitrogen, 25% phosphorus, 50% of sulphur and

75% of potassium uptake by rice crop is retained in residues, making them valuable sources of

nutrients. However, a large portion of the residue is burned in field primarily to clear the field

from straw and stubble. The main reason for burning crop residues is to eradicate insect pests

and rodents - but some farmers persist in burning out of sheer habit. In the developed world,

burning has recently gone out of fashion, as farmers have realized that valuable nutrients and

organic matter are permanently lost in this way. Indeed, according to Unger (1990), crop

residues represent about half the nutrients exported through the production of grain, fibre or nut

crops. They should not, therefore, be wasted.

Biomass burning is one of the noteworthy global causes of atmospheric aerosols and trace gas

emissions, which has a major influence on climate and human health. The main reasons for

burning crop residues in field include unavailability of labor, high cost in removing the residues

and use of combine harvesters without baling facility in paddy cultivation. The problem is severe

in irrigated and mechanized rice cultivation but can be avoided. Farmers in DZ dispose of a large

part of rice straw by burning in situ. Burning of crop residues leads to

1. Release of soot particles and smoke causing human health problems;

2. Emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) - CO2, CH4 and N2O causing global warming;

3. Loss of plant nutrients such as N, P, K and S;

4. Adverse impacts on soil properties and

5. Wastage of valuable C and energy rich residues.

However, excessive amounts of crop residue can tie up nutrients for the next crop. Furthermore,

large amounts can hamper tillage and planting operations, contribute chemical carryover

problem, and harbor soil insects and diseases. Provision and use of chemical fertilizers and

animal manure can be used and allow crop residues to be removed partially. Rice residues are

also used for livestock feed, fuel and construction material. Early rice straw and stubble

harvesting can prevent deterioration due to loss of nutrients and fungal attack. Total annual

availability of dry matter (including rice straw and other crop residue) is 5.839 million metric

tons, where it is important to use part of it for soil improvement required for the next cropping

season (Table 11).

Table 11: Annual Availability of Rice and Other Field Crop Residue Rice straw

DZ paddy cultivation (ha)

DM per ha (mts)

Crop residue for soil improvement (%)

Available for animal feed (mts)

Total availability (mts)

Maha 650,000 8.75 50% 4.38 2,843,750 Yala 325,000 8.75 35% 3.06 995,313 3,839,063 Other Field Crop residue Maize, cowpea, black gram, sweet potato etc 2,000,000 5,839,063 Availability Million M tons 5.839 Ref: JICA 2012

Ruminants in mixed animal-crop production system in the DZ play an important part. These

ruminants themselves largely rely on crop residue as feed. The scarcity of land and the trend of

sustainable agricultural development demands better utilization of crop residues in general and

rice straw in particular for ruminant feeding. Conversely, ruminants maintained on crop residue

do not compete for human edible food, arable land utilized for human food, irrigated water

utilized for human food production and time of extension staff in human edible food production.

The total annual dry matter requirement for body maintenance for ruminants in the DZ is 2.752

million metric tons (table 12). In fact the only cost factor in converting these crop residue is

processing it to an edible feed.

Table 12: Demand for crop reside by milking cows in the Dry Zone Type Number Total Animal Units Annual DM need for

body maintenance (Mts) Cattle 928,070 832,278 1,831,012 Buffalo 218959 260,024 572,052 Goat 224,452 22,024 48,453 1,114,326 2,751,517 Demand Million metric tons 2.752 Ref: JICA 2012

The current availability of crop-residue after soil improvement is around 50% of the demand for

DM need for body maintenance. However, DZ can have more animals with higher production

with DM availability from crop residue and herbage from areas not utilized for crop production

shown in the following Table 13.

Table 13: Land use Dry Zone dry matter availability No. Category Area

(Sq. Km) Hectares Dry Matter

(M. tons) % Usage possible

DM availability (Mts)

1 Paddy 6,529 652,900 5,712,875 50% 3,839,063 2 Un-irrigated highland 3,250 325,000 325,000 40% 130,000 3 Villus 500 50,000 200,000 30% 60,000 4 Herbage from grazing land 1200 120,000 120,000 80% 96,000 5 Grassland 274 27,400 27,400 60% 16,440 6 Forest 14,507 1,450,700 5,802,800 0% - 7 Sand 210 21,000 - 0% - 8 Scrub 8,866 886,600 1,329,900 20% 265,980 9 Other 4,783 478,300 - 0% -

Total 45,361 4,536,100 13,517,975 4,407,483 The DZ can maintain a much larger crossbred population with efficient use of crop residue.

However these areas are dominated by indigenous types mainly reared for meat purpose. The

indigenous type cattle are acclimatized to the harsh dry condition and they could withstand

shortages of feed up to 75% of regular feed intake. They are the main supply of meat and also are

the foundation stock for crossbreeding with Indian types as a first cross, prior to introducing

European blood. The cattle population crosses are shown below (Table 14).

Table 14: Crossbred cattle population Type DZ NCP,NWP,EP & Uva Sabaragamuwa, SP, CP and WP

European crosses 15.3% 51.1% Indian crosses 17.7% 16.4% Local types 67.0% 32.5% Ref: DAPH 2008

The average production per cow per day in the DZ is 1.91 liters, whereas in other areas it is 3.47

liters. This production can be increased if crop-residue is utilized efficiently by the DZ farmers.

Crop-residue utilization is not new to Sri Lanka. It was one of the strategies by the mixed

farming community to maintain large herds of cattle and buffalo. Subsequently interventions

introduced to improve the quality of these crop-residues to the mixed farming community have

not been a success even after three or four decades. Two international level workshops for the

extension trainers on feeding crop-

Period Sponsor Source

17 22 April 1983 Australian Development Assistance Bureau Doyle 1984

24-28 March 1986 The Netherlands Ibrahim and Schiere 1986 The decisions may not be based on economic reasons. No technology is worthwhile if it is not

adopted by intended users. Urea treatment is not generally used by the farmers even in villages

where it was intensively promoted by researchers and extension workers. Farmers find the

treatment too technical and cumbersome to follow. The reason may be that these farmers

consider it an inconvenience to implement these practices such as the urea treatment of straw as

livestock is not considered a real priority over paddy and crop cultivation. A combined strategy

for milk production and staple crop (rice) productivity growth exploits the close linkage between

the two sectors and would have the strongest income multipliers and entrepreneurial

development activities. Removal of paddy straw and its conversion to a marketable product can

be perceived as potentially a good farm practice that will boost the economics of the major crop

product in Sri Lanka. However, commercial utilization of paddy straw can only be promoted as a

good feed resource for ruminants. There are two types of machines based on their capacities for

collection of straw, they are,

a. Machine on an average is 0.4 hectares per hour while operating speed of 2.5 km per hour, and

the straw recovery is about 55-60%

b.Machine mounted with rectangular container to collect chopped straw with a capacity of 730

kg per hour.

Bulkiness of straw residue dictates densifying in to standard bales, high compaction bales, super

high density bales, cubes, and pellets. The suitable form of densification depends upon the

market for which residues are destined, length of haul, commerce regulations, and available

handling facilities both en route and at final destination. Machinery is available in the following

forms:

Table 15: Densified bales Form of Densification Average Bulk Density

Standard 90 to 125 kg / Cubic meter High density 160 to 225 kg / Cubic meter Super high density 510 to 575 kg / Cubic meter

Standard densification is sufficient if paddy straw is utilized for animal feed. Converting paddy

straw in to a formulated feed supply requires further processing such as chopping and mixing of

added ingredients like dried fodder by utilizing a Total Mixed Ration machine (TMR) and

subsequently pelleting.

Total Mixed Ration Machine

Pelleting Machine

This form will not only increase the shelf life of crop residue but also increase the nutritive levels

so that feed will be available throughout the year. This will enable farmers to keep their milking

animals closer to the homestead so that direct supervision could be given by them even during

the busy cropping season

VI . Conclusion This introduction will have the similar impact of developing formulated rations for poultry in the

this could support the disposal of vegetable and fruit refuse (500 metric tons) from the Dedicated

Economic Center Dambulla, and utilize this refuse too for a productive activity. Other

activities not addressed in this article are the development of homestead cattle housing and

provision of biogass units. This will stop the disruption of milk collection and also promote

biogas as a business entity.

Reference 1. BVR Punyawardena (1998) PhD Thesis. Lincoln University, New Zealand 2. Department of Census and Statistics (2012) 3. Farm Registration 2008, Department of Animal Production and Health

4. Census of Agriculture 2002, Department of Census and Statistics

5. Shinogi.,Y. ;I.W.Makin; and D.D.P.Witharana (1998) Simulation of water balance in a dry

zone cascade. Paper presented at the National Conference of the status and future direction of

water research in Sri Lanka. Nov. 4-6, 1998 at BMICH, Sri Lanka

6. Ibrahim, M.N.M., S.J. Stall, S.L.A .Danial and W.Thrope (1999) Appraisal of the Sri Lanka

Dairy Sector, Vol 2: Main Report, September 1999, Colombo Sri Lanka page 9

7. Milco Monthly Milk Collection data from 2003 to 2009

8. Project for Improvement of Agriculture

9. BVR Punyawardena (1998) PhD Thesis, Lincoln University, New Zealand 10. Juan Domingo Sal (2007) Increasing the Role of Ruminant Animals in the World Food

System. Dept of Applied Economics, St Paul Campus University of Minnesota, MN USA

11. Farm Registration 2008, Department of Animal Production and Health

12. Field Study on Livestock Production. The Project for Improvement of Agricultural

Production and Productivity in Dry Zone areas (2012) Japanese International Cooperation

Agency

13. Unger, P.W. (1990) Tillage end residue management in rainfed agriculture: Present and

future trends. In: Pushparajah, E. and Latham, M. (eds), Organic Matter Management and Tillage in Humid and Subhumid Africa. IBSRAM Proceedings No. 10, International Board

for Soil Research and Management, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 307-340.

14. Doyle, P.T. (Ed) (1984). The utilization of fibrous agricultural residues as animal feeds.

Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Australian Asian Fibrous Agriculture Residue

Research Network. University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 17-22 April 1983. School of

Agriculture, University of Melbourne.

15. Ibrahim, M.N.N and Schiere, J.B (Eds) (1986) Rice straw and related feeds in Ruminant

Rations. Proceedings of an International Workshop, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 24-28 March 1986.