FAO/IAEA consultants' meeting on integrated approach for improving small scale market oriented dairy systems. Report

A Consultants' Meeting was held at IAEA, Vienna from 21-24 August 2000 to discuss the need for, and to develop an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) to demonstrate increases in the productivity of small scale market oriented dairy systems using an integrated approach to improving nutrition, reproductive management and disease control. The meeting was attended by five consultants with expertise in specific aspects of research and development in dairy production, three external resource persons who were funded from their own institutes, a staff member of FAO's Animal Production Service, a representative of the IAEA's Department of Technical Co-operation and staff members of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's Subprogramme on Animal Production and Health. The list of participants is given. The specific objectives of the meeting were to: Review the current research thrusts that are relevant to the objectives of the project, recommend areas that should be included and determine the most appropriate modalities for supporting these activities; Define the scientific scope of the project and recommend appropriate technologies and methods that should be applied in field and laboratory studies for obtaining the necessary information; Review the background document which has been prepared and make appropriate improvements and modifications; and Develop work plans, time scales, schedule of Research Co-ordination Meetings (RCMs) and the project framework matrix. The meeting was formally opened by Dr Martyn Jeggo, Head of the Animal Production and Health Section, who outlined the Sub-programme's mandate, medium-term strategy and how the planned CRP fits into this strategy. Dr Oswin Perera, the Scientific Secretary of the meeting, outlined the previous activities of the Sub-programme in animal nutrition and reproduction, discussed the background to the proposed project, and presented the objectives and expected outcomes of the meeting. The consultants and resource persons presented reviews on aspects of relevance to the proposed CRP. Subsequently, discussions were held in plenary sessions and in small groups to develop, modify and/or improve specific aspects of the draft project document. Finally, conclusions and recommendations were drafted, discussed and adopted