IAEA-TECDOC-1495
          Improving Animal Productivity by
   Supplementary Feeding of Multinutrient
      Blocks, Controlling Internal Parasites
     and Enhancing Utilization of Alternate
                            Feed Resources
         Apublication prepared under the framework of an RCA project with
                technical support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of
                      Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
                                     December 2006
      IAEA-TECDOC-1495
          Improving Animal Productivity by
   Supplementary Feeding of Multinutrient
      Blocks, Controlling Internal Parasites
     and Enhancing Utilization of Alternate
                            Feed Resources
         Apublication prepared under the framework of an RCA project with
                technical support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of
                      Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
                                     December 2006
                            The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: 
                                   Animal Production and Health Section 
                                        Joint FAO/IAEA Division 
                                    International Atomic Energy Agency 
                                         Wagramer Strasse 5 
                                            P.O. Box 100 
                                        A-1400 Vienna, Austria 
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                                                  
                  IMPROVING ANIMAL PRODUCTIVITY BY SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING OF  
             MULTI-NUTRIENT BLOCKS, CONTROLLING INTERNAL PARASITES, AND ENHANCING 
                            UTILIZATION OF ALTERNATE FEED RESOURCES 
                                        IAEA, VIENNA, 2006 
                                        IAEA-TECDOC-1495 
                                        ISBN 92–0–104506–9 
                                          ISSN 1011–4289 
                                            © IAEA, 2006 
                                      Printed by the IAEA in Austria 
                                                        
                                           December 2006
                                                  
                      FOREWORD 
         A major constraint to livestock production in developing countries is the scarcity and 
      fluctuating quantity and quality of the year-round feed supply. Providing adequate good 
      quality feed to livestock to raise and maintain their productivity is, and will continue to be, a 
      major challenge to agricultural scientists and policy makers all over the world. The increase in 
      population and rapid growth in world economies will lead to an enormous increase in demand 
      for animal products, a large part of which will be from developing countries. Future hopes of 
      feeding the millions and safeguarding their food security will depend on the enhanced and 
      efficient utilization of alternative feed resources that cannot be used as food for humans. In 
      addition, a large area of land in the world is degraded, barren or marginal and the amount is 
      increasing every year. This also calls for identification and introduction of new and lesser-
      known plants capable of growing in poor soils, which can play a vital role in the control of 
      soil erosion in addition to providing food and feed.  
         In developing countries, livestock are fed mainly on low quality roughages, including 
      natural grazing and agro-industrial by-products, such as cereal straws/stovers, sugarcane by-
      products and other similar feeds, all of which contain large quantities of ligno-cellulosic 
      material. These feeds are deficient in protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. In addition, at 
      certain times of the year, the quality of grazing and browse deteriorates substantially due to 
      seasonal influences, and livestock, productivity consequently declines, and in the case of 
      lactation ceases, unless supplements are offered. Addition of foliage from tree leaves or 
      supplementation with seed meals, or for ruminants’ urea in the form of urea-molasses multi-
      nutrient blocks, can improve the utilization of low quality roughages mainly through the 
      supply of nitrogen to the rumen microbes.  
         Attempts to increase the productivity of ruminants in developing countries generally 
      encounter another principal constraint: health. Of the health constraints, bacterial and viral 
      diseases can be successfully controlled through conventional vaccination and quarantine 
      procedures. However, for parasitic disease, these approaches are either not yet possible or 
      impractical, and chemotherapy, coupled with grazing management, are the only methods of 
      control method currently available. In developing countries, the losses induced by clinical and 
      subclinical parasite infections have been estimated to equal the value of the present output of 
      ruminant industries, therefore improved control has the potential to yield considerable 
      productivity benefits. 
         The RCA (Regional Cooperation Agreement for the Asia and Pacific Region) project, 
      RAS/5/035 entitled Improving Animal Productivity and Reproductive Efficiency was initiated 
      in 1999 to assist RCA Member States to improve animal productivity and reproductive 
      efficiency. This project had two components: animal nutrition, and animal reproduction. The 
      animal nutrition component focused on: (i) developing and feeding of urea-molasses multi-
      nutrient blocks to supply nutrients deficient in crop residues and forages; (ii) using the urea-
      molasses multinitrient blocks for the delivery of anthelmintic medication to control 
      gastrointestinal nematode parasitism; and (iii) enhancing efficiency of utilization of feed 
      resources which are locally available and for which humans are not competing with livestock 
      for food. The present publication presents results on these three aspects obtained by the 
      participating groups from the RCA Member States and presented at the Final Review Meeting 
      of the project held in October 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand.  
         This publication is a good source of reference for research workers, students and 
      extension workers alike. It will help promote efficient utilization of feed resources and