1. Introduction

The search for efficiency in improved and ecologically sustainable animal production systems assumes two principal objectives:
• The animal genetic resources ( ruminants and non-ruminants ) will be used to the extent possible, and
• The objectives of production will also be clearly identified with increased productivity, profitability and food security.

In this context, the efficient use of the available natural resources (land, crops, animals and water) in appropriate production systems will be especially important. One dimension of efficiency is integrated natural resource management (NRM) the concept of integration and integrated systems refers to approaches that link the systems components to economic, social and ecological perspectives. The process is holistic, interactive and multi-disciplinary and promotes efficiency in NRM. The integration of various crops and animals enable synergistic interactions, which have a greater total contribution than the sum of their individual effects, in which both ecological and economic sustainability can be addressed in a mutually reinforcing manner.

This paper briefly highlights the potential of integrated systems involving goats and oil palm in enhancing increased productivity and food security, particularly in small farms or smallholder situations with reference to South East Asia. The systems have relevance to other oil palm growing areas such as in West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean .


2. Integrated production systems

Four categories of ruminant production systems are identifiable throughout most of the developing world:
• Rural landless systems
• Extensive systems
• Systems combining arable cropping (tethering, communal and arable grazing systems, and cut-and-carry feeding); and
• Systems integrated with tree cropping.

Of these, the last is very underestimated, especially in situations where there is emphasis on perennial tree crop cultivation such as citrus, coconuts, oil palm and rubber. In South East Asia, the oil palm is a “golden crop “. It is grown extensively in a few countries in Asia, including the Pacific

Islands. Asia had about 84 % of the total world land area under oil palm of about 10.6 million ha and produced about 90 % of the world palm oil output. The largest land areas under oil palm of 8.4 million ha are found in Malaysia and Indonesia, who together owned over 79 % of the world planted area and produced about 87 % of the total world output of palm oil , followed by much smaller areas being found in Thailand, Philippines, India and Papua New Guinea.

Currently, less than about three per cent of the land is used for integration with ruminants. An expansion of the oil palm area for integration by about 10 per cent can make a substantial quantum jump in increased meat production from ruminants.


3. The oil palm environment and production attributes

The oil palm environment (Plate 1) offers a number of conducive production attributes for integrating goats to enhance total factor productivity. These are as follows:

• Forage dry matter availability : 2.99- 2.16 mt / ha for 3 and 5 year old palms
reducing to 435-628 kg / ha for 10-29 year old palms
• 60-70 forage species in young palms , which are reduced by about 66 % in older palms
• Forage categories : 56-64 % grasses, 18-23 dicotyledons , 3-19 % legumes and 2-15 % ferns for 3- 10 year old palms , and 50 % grasses, 13 % dicotyledons , 2 % legumes and 35 % ferns
• About 72- 93 % of the forages are palatable and of value to ruminants
• With the range of forages ( grasses and browse) available, goats are well suited for integration with oil palm
• Carrying capacity : 25-30 indigenous goats / ha in 3-4 year old palms with an average daily gain of about 40-60 g / day for a two year cycle to 3-5 goats /ha with over 7 year old palms
• A key management essential concerning goats in these systems in the need for their controlled grazing and close attention to avoid potential damage to the oil palm trees.

Together with the availability of the undergrowth under oil palm, consisting of grasses, shrubs and ferns a large proportion of which can be utilised, is a second category of a range of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) which are currently also underutilised, The range of the feeds produced, and the magnitude of production and availability is given in Table . The principal feeds from the oil palm are palm oil, oil palm trunks (OPT) oil palm fronds (OPF), palm kernel cake (PKC), and palm oil mill affluent (POME). Grazing the undergrowth and supplementary feeding with feeds such as PKC are economically feasible.

In Sabah in East Malaysia, many of the oil palm estates involved with integration have been widely feeding OPF for cattle and goats. Fronds of about 2.2 m lengths from mature palms are usually fed intact to goats. but are chopped for feeding to cattle. Whereas goats tend to eat all the leaves and leave the midrib of their fronds because of the coarseness, with cattle, chopping enables total intake of both the leaves and the midrib without much wastage.

For feeding goats, the method is to hang the fronds horizontally with strings within reach of animals in which case the leaves are readily eaten on both sides of the fronds (Plate 2). Each mature frond produces about 2.5 kg of chopped feed. Much care is taken to cut only mature fronds without
displacing the sagging position of the fresh fruit bunches (FFB). There are two harvests of two OPF per month from the mature trees.


4. Types of goats-oil palm interactions

Associated with the oil palm environment are the many benefits of crop-animal- soil interactions as follows:
(i) Beneficial effects of shade and available feeds on goats, especially exotic stock
(ii) With large ruminants, draught animal power on land preparation and crop growth
(iii) Dung and urine on soil fertility and crop growth
(iv) Use of AIBP from trees in situ, and
(v) Use of native vegetation and effects on cost of weed control, crop management and crop growth.


5. Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gases

An area that has not been addressed in research terms concerns carbon sequestration. Notwithstanding the fact that goats also emit methane from enteric fermentation and manure, the expanding land areas under oil palm provide good opportunities for carbon sequestration through more widespread use of high quality grasses and tree legumes, and improved forage management practices , with resultant decreased carbon atmospheric emissions and global warming.


6. Economic impacts

A review of the economic impacts of the various results, involving 21 case studies, including five from goats from seven countries over the period (1984-2007), gave the following conclusions
( Devendra, 2009 ):
• Integrating goats was advantageous
• Improved soil fertility was evident
• Distinct economic benefits are apparent eg. crop yields and savings on weeding costs with concurrent increased profits
• Very few studies were concerned with quantitative animal productivity, and
• Issues of sustainability were not addressed and neglected.
Associated with above, it is interesting to note the comparative benefits of using other ruminants such as cattle and sheep. Theoretical calculations were made by Haji Basir Ismail (2005) on the economic returns from four hectares of land under oil palm, inter- cropping as well as fodder cultivation for a seven year period using average and realistic field data. The RM 14, 562 was income generated from oil palm after seven years. The beneficial incomes generated as a percentage of total incomes in favour of integration for cattle, sheep and goats were 44.4 %, 86.6% and 91.5 % respectively. It is significant to note that the income from goats was the highest as follows:-
Cattle (cow-calf model): 14, 562 +11, 690 (44.4 %) = RM 26, 342 (US $ 7, 141)

Sheep : 14, 562 + 95, 053 (86.6%) = RM 109, 745 (US $ 29,661)

Goats : 14, 562 +157,187 (91.5%) = RM 171, 839 (US $ 46,443).

The beneficiaries of increased productivity and income are not only the small farmers , but also the labourers who own animals , as well as the larger plantations who practice integrated systems.


7. Stratification and production options

The oil palm in its entirety and its environment offers a number of production options that can significantly contribute to improved NRM, increased productivity and enhanced food security. In turn, the contributions have a major impact on the livelihoods of very poor small farmers who live on the threshold of poverty and hunger and dream of a better tomorrow.

The production options are quite numerous and include the following:

• Increase breeding of goat numbers and productivity
• More intensive utilisation of the available forage biomass and AIBP in situ
• Development of intensive zero grazing systems
• Improved NRM
• Increase institutional support for integrated resource utilisation
• Encourage interdisciplinarity and a focus on holistic oil palm –based production, and
• Encourage a “market pull “, access to markets and marketing.


8. Conclusions

Integrated goats oil palm systems, currently underestimated, are a potentially important production system that has not been adequately explored. The economic benefits are numerous and are associated with improved NRM, sustainability, environmental integrity, enhanced productivity and food security. The use of the oil palm areas also enables rapid breeding of goat numbers to meet national needs and reduce the imports of live animals. Much will also depend on more intensive application of the available technologies on –farm. Increased institutional support and possibly also appropriate incentives can stimulate much needed development of the integrated system These issues together constitute the challenges for the expanded development of sustainable oil palm –based goat production systems in the future.


References

Devendra, C. (2009).Intensification of integrated oil palm –ruminant systems: enhancing increased productivity and sustainability in South East Asia. Outlk. on Agric., 38: 71-82.

Haji Basir Ismail, Tan Sri, Dato `Seri (2005). Land Agricultural Policy: a mismatch.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, p.357-361.

Plate1: Typical oil palm environment with young palms in Perak, Malaysia

Plate 2: Goats feeding on oil palm fronds in Sabah, Malaysia.