Access Agriculture

Increasing production of local chickens (Summary)

Local chickens often produce few chicks because of various reasons. To improve both eggs and chick production, there are some simple measures you can take. By producing more local, healthy chickens, you can better feed your family and make some money.

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Natural ways to keep chickens healthy (Summary)

Dirty drinking water, unclean surroundings, and improper food cause many diseases in chicken. Clean the coop area and remove the poop and spoiled feed every day. You can purify the drinking water with turmeric powder or potassium permanganate. Feed chickens a balanced diet. Add some garlic or onion to the feed to build up their immunity. Leaves of bitter medicinal plants help to prevent intestinal parasites. Deworm the chickens with the help of papaya sap, betel nut or pomegranate fruit peel. Prevent calcium deficiency by giving the chickens some lime or crushed eggshell. Tie a small bouquet of aromatic leaves in the hen house to repel external parasites.

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Fattening sheep and goats (Summary)

Usually, farmers fatten male sheep and goats because they grow faster. To fatten the animals, it is important to find the right animals. To fatten sheep and goats, also give them protein rich feed for about 3 to 6 months. Along with good food, you must also make sure that the animals are kept in a healthy environment. Vaccinate and give them deworming tablets every three months to help keep them healthy. 

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Making balanced feed for dairy cows (Summary)

Based on how much milk each cow gives you can calculate the amount of balanced feed needed for your cows. You should also feed your cow green grass each day. This helps to increase the total quantity of milk as well as the amount of fat in the milk. It is also good for their digestion.

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Housing for pigs (Summary)

Farmers in Uganda started taking care of pigs in their sties because of problems with the pigs that were free roaming. Farmers would not know where the pigs had gone and what they had eaten or whether they had contracted any disease.

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Management of Newcastle disease (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will learn how to recognise Newcastle disease, and the signs, causes, prevention, control and management of this devastating disease.

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Spineless cactus for fodder (Summary)

Cactus pads are rich in minerals like calcium, phosphorous and magnesium, and have moderate levels of protein and fibre. You can start harvesting cactus pads one year after planting and harvest pads every 4 months as per your needs. Cactus will give fodder for more than 20 years.

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Natural ways to manage bloat in livestock (Summary)

Bloat is caused by eating too much wet grass during the rainy season. In the stomach, the wet grass ferments and releases gas which becomes like bubbles and cannot escape. It is also caused by a sudden change in diet or by eating overripe or fermented fruit, young sorghum leaves and vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower.

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Herbal medicines against mastitis (Summary)

Mastitis makes the teat painful, so cows do not want to get milked. If not treated soon, the other teats will also become affected and the udder may get damaged. When a cow has mastitis, her milk is not good to drink.

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Managing aphids in beans and vegetables (Summary)

You can easily control aphids by using some organic practices, such as sprinkling ash, spraying a neem solution or planting trap crops.

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Deworming goats and sheep with herbal medicines (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will learn from farmers in Southern India how internal worms spread to goats and sheep. We will also see how to prevent and cure the animals with a few simple methods.

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Keeping sheep healthy (Summary)

A sick sheep does not grow fast and will sell at a low price because it is thin and the meat will be of poor quality. Some diseases such as PPR and pasteurellosis are mainly transmitted through inhalation and contaminated drinking water. Parasitic worms spread to healthy animals through unhygienic conditions in the shed or by grazing on contaminated pasture.

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Herbal medicine against fever in livestock (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will learn what causes fever, how to recognise an animal with fever and how to handle a simple case of fever on your farm using a few simple tips.

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Herbal treatment for diarrhoea (Summary)

Keeping healthy livestock is a tough task because animals fall sick easily. Many people spend lots of money on medicine to treat their animals. In this audio podcast we will see how to prevent animals from getting diarrhoea and we will also learn how to treat sick animals with herbal medicine.

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Making rennet (Summary)

The key ingredient to making cheese is rennet. This triggers the fats in the milk to bind together as curds, and the rest of the liquid runs off as whey. Whilst you can buy ready-made commercial rennet in liquid or powder form, in Egypt, rural women prefer to use natural rennet from the curds found in a calf’s stomach.

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Making fresh cheese (Summary)

A soft fresh cheese can be made and ready for consumption  in less than 1 hour and, and is easily made with some basic kitchen equipment, as we will learn from rural women from the village of Sakkara in Egypt.

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Preparing low-cost concentrate feed (Summary)

By making a base mix that can be fed to all animals, you save time and money. Two thirds of the mix is made from grains, like paddy, maize, sorghum and millet. One third of the mix should be rich in protein and fat. Mill the base mix into a coarse flour. Depending on the type of animal, you then need to add a few other ingredients.

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Growing azolla for feed (Summary)

Azolla fixes nitrogen from the air and stores this in its leaves. Azolla is richer in protein, vitamins and minerals than grains and most green fodder. Because of this and because azolla grows fast and easily in a small area, it makes an ideal addition to feed.

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Preventing diseases in rabbits (Summary)

Coccidiosis and colibacillosis are the most dangerous diseases in rabbits because they are highly contagious. Veterinary products cannot cure rabbits that have been infected with these disease. Luckily, they can be prevented, as we will listen in this audio podcast.

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Monitoring to make rabbit breeding profitable (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will learn how to monitor the performance of a rabbit farm. By filling out monitoring sheets with accurate information and by keeping a notebook to systematically record all expenditures. This  will enable better management of the farm and ensuring its profitability.

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Working together for healthy chicks (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will visit the city of Fayoum where a group of women are collaborating in raising chicks by paying close attention to the chicks’ housing, feed and vaccination programs.

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Making a business from home raised chicks (Summary)

In this audio podcast, we will visit the rooftop brooders of the women in Fayoum – and we will learn from them the key steps for a successful household chick raising business.

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Preventing fly-borne illness in donkeys and horses (Summary)

Donkeys, mules and horses are important working animals, many diseases are transmitted by insects such as flies. Flies can transmit a parasitic worm called Habronema that causes several problems in horses and donkeys. There are many precautions which you can take to ensure that your donkeys and horses stay free from this worm and strong enough to carry out all their important work.

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Pure milk is good milk (Summary)

Modern dairy plants use pure, fresh milk to make milk powder, cheese, yoghurt and other products. The processing plant can only make its products from pure milk. When water is added, the milk is diluted, or weakened, and it is not good for processing into dairy products.

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Keeping milk free from antibiotics (Summary)

Antibiotics are drugs used for killing germs. The drugs can be given by mouth or injected into the animal’s muscle or vein. These drugs go directly into the bloodstream. The blood carries the drug to the udder where it will get into the milk.

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Managing cattle ticks (Summary)

Ticks are small creatures like insects that attach to the body of animals to suck their blood. Ticks cause diseases like skin lesions. The animals will become skinny and no longer produce milk.

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Taking milk to the collection centre (Summary)

Milk spoils because of germs that are too small to see. The germs grow in the milk and spoil it. Germs multiply faster in warm milk than in cold milk. So move the milk to the collection centre within 30 minutes of milking, or the milk will start to spoil.

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Keeping milk clean and fresh (Summary)

Modern dairy plants buy fresh milk from local farmers and herders to make into many different products. The company pays a fair price, but requires strict hygiene: they only buy milk that is clean and fresh.

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Hand milking of dairy cows (Summary)

Dairy farming is a source of food and income for many households, but to make money, it is important to produce good milk and lots of it. However, milk can easily be spoilt or dirtied and then buyers will refuse it. This audio podcast features how good hygiene and proper hand milking will help you get good returns for your milk.

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Making yoghurt at home (Summary)

In this audio podcast we learn the important steps needed to produce good quality yoghurt, whether for home consumption or for sale.

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Taking care of young rabbits (Summary)

After the rabbit has her babies, she needs to be properly managed. This means creating good conditions for the baby rabbits and giving the mother some time to recover before breeding her again.

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How to build a rabbit house (Summary)

Farmers in Kenya show us how they build a rabbit house using simple materials. Because rabbits do not sweat or pant to cool down, they will suffer in direct sun. It is therefore best to put a rabbit house in the shade. A raised house helps to protect the rabbits against rats and also allows the rabbit droppings to fall to the ground. As safari ants can harm baby rabbits, chase away the ants by burning a small piece of rubber and sprinkling salt. Better also destroy ant nests nearby the rabbit house. These and many other tips can help you in rearing rabbits, which is becoming more and more popular and can provide you a good income.
 
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Feeding rabbits (Summary)

Many producers raise rabbits because it requires relatively little space, little time and therefore lets you earn some money quickly. For the rabbit to grow well and multiply quickly you need to feed it well. Dry the wet fodder before giving it to the rabbit the next day. This will prevent the animal from getting diarrhea caused by parasites that are on the leaves that are wet from dew or rain. In addition, drying allows the forage to lose a little water. This will prevent the animal’s stomach from bloating. If possible, complement the fodder with concentrate feed. Concentrate feed is a mixture of food that gives rabbits protein, energy, minerals and vitamins.

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Taking care of local chickens (Summary)

Provide a bed of wood shavings or dry grass to make it comfortable for the hens to lay their eggs. This helps to reduce moisture and decreases the chance of infestation by parasites. But these small parasitic insects are not the only problem. During their first few weeks the chicks are caged to protect them from predators and getting lost. These and other cheap and simple practices can help you raise healthy local chickens, feed your family and increase your income.

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Dairy goat feeding (Summary)

Goats eat just about anything. But when goats are kept tied or penned up, they need lots of water, a good mix of feed and enough of it. By giving them fodder every day, we can satisfy part of their needs in energy, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Dry the harvested fodder for about three days before feeding it to the goats to avoid them getting diarrhoea. By drinking water dairy goats better digest the fodder and give more milk. Some plants also stimulate milk production more than others, as some Kenyan farmers explain.

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Feeding snails (Summary)

The snail meat is good for you, and richer in protein, iron and calcium than beef - and even liver. It is especially beneficial for children, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Managing a snail farm is easy and does not require a lot of resources or space. In addition, it does not require much time from the farmer. In this video we will see how farmers in southern Benin feed their snails in an enclosure.

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Feeding grasscutters (Summary)

Grasscutter farming allows farmers to earn money while responding to the demand for meat without putting this species at risk. For successful rearing, you have to provide a proper habitat, monitor the animals carefully and provide a balanced diet. This video will look at how to feed grasscutters in captivity.

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Feeding improved chickens (Summary)

By giving improved chickens green feed every day, we can satisfy part of their needs. However, to increase their production it is best to provide concentrate feed that contains a mixture of grains, oil cake, bran and shells.

Download the full audio podcast in different languages at: www.AccessAgriculture.org