INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF GRAZING AND FODDER RESOURCES

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Abstract
Following a report by Oram on “The Use of Pastures and Fodder Crops in Rotations in Mediterranean Agriculture”, which was presented to the Fourth Meeting of the F.A.O. Working Party on Mediterranean Pasture and Fodder Development at Lisbon in 1955, a further study was carried out by the writer on the integration of livestock husbandry with the grazing and fodder resources in the region, and with crop husbandry in general. This study was based on a three‐month survey carried out at the end of 1955 as an F.A.O. assignment, and visits were made to Libya, Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and parts of Southern Italy.The survey dealt with prevailing conditions in these countries, with particular reference to existing research and extension programmes in both agronomy and animal husbandry. Following this, a report (5) was prepared for the Fifth Meeting of the Working Party held at Tel Aviv in May, 1957. The report covers the general principles of animal husbandry, with special reference to the Mediterranean environment, and stress is laid on the need for increased efficiency in both the production and use of pasture and fodder crops, especially in view of the fact that an increasing livestock population will in future probably have to be maintained on a steadily diminishing area, owing to the progressive encroachment of food‐ and cash‐crop production on land previously used for grazing. As far as practicable, grazing pressure must be transferred from “natural” pastures and upland grazings to the cultivated land, on which improved systems of rotational cropping will be necessary. Wherever possible these should incorporate both supplementary fodder crops and sown pastures. This should benefit both the livestock and the over‐cropped cultivated soils. In turn, any reduction in stocking rates on the natural pastures and on the upland and forest grazings should facilitate their improvement and the introduction of erosion control. Any improvement scheme designed to achieve these ends will require much closer co‐operation between cultivators and pastoralists and more effective integration of research and extension work in both agronomy and animal husbandry.This article describes some of the many difficulties confronting workers in both these fields in a Mediterranean environment, and suggestions are made as to how some of these problems may possibly be overcome.

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