4. Non-experimental validation

Transcription

1 4. Non-experimental validation 4.1. Introduction In this chapter, of the methods shown in the annexes V till VII, the ones that seem to give the best possibilities will be selected. The plants mentioned by the farmers will be compared with the use of these same plants mentioned in literature. Next to this, Ing. Zambrana of the Universidad Nacional in San Salvador will be asked his view on some of the methods. He works as a professor on the faculty of veterinary medicine and zootechnics. The same will be done with Dr. Pineda, a veterinarian working for CORDES in the northern region of La Libertad, Aguilares. In figure a of Annex XV an overview is given of the health problems as they occur over the year. This will be compared with the occurrence of the ingredients needed for the methods associated with these. The availability of the ingredients troughout the year has been discussed with Oscar Chavez, a TAP-extensionist (Técnico Agrónomo Popular) of CORDES 4.2. Parasites Internal parasites In general, internal parasites cause problems in the wet season, from May to November (begins when the rains start). Treatments may be used in a curative way in the wet season and in a preventive way in the dry season. Papaya - Carica papaya - Fam. Caricaceae It's not really clear which kind of internal parasites the farmers meant that was claimed to be attacked by papaya. Araujo Marenco (1981) mentions in De Mena Guerrero (1994) its anti-parasitic and antihelminthic activity. A traditional recipe for use in humans is given which serves against worms: "One cooks three papaya-hearts in one litre of water and one takes this for three days." According to Ing. Zambrana it's important to give the fruit of papaya or mango afterwards in order that the animal gets diarrhoea so the dead worms are expelled. In traditional veterinary medicine, papaya seeds also are used as de-wormers. In Indonesia and the Philippines, air-dried seeds are ground and mixed with water - 3 g of seeds/kg bodyweight. The animals are given the seed/water mixture once a day for 6 days. (Source: According to Dr. Pineda 25 to 30 seeds are needed for an animal of 300 to 350 kg. It's important to do the treatment for a couple of days because part of the worms will be present in the animal s body in a cystic form, which protects them against the treatment Ticks Ticks form a problem in the dry period, when there is less humidity. They then climb to the higher points in the grass. In the wet season, they are in a non-active state. The ticks mainly cause problems in the calves. In adults, a low infection isn't grave. In El Salvador, the main occurring species is Boophilus microplus. The formed on average 90% of the population on 55

2 cows that were used in a trial conducted by students from the Universidad nacional in San Salvador (Panameño, 1994). Salt According to both Ing. Zembrana and Dr. Pineda, common salt will cause the ticks to fall odd. Madre cacao Glyricidium sepium (Jacq.) Walp fam. Leguminosae (Papilionaceae Fabaceae) Seed of madre cacao is used against fleece and lice (Ing. Zambrana). In Panama the seeds are used for mange, mould, nettle rash and other skin infections. Either the juice of the pounded leaves or a decoction can be used (boiling the plant). The leaves are toxic for dogs an horses (Roig y Mesa (1974); Lewis & Lewis (1977) in Mahabir, 1995), but cause no harm in cattle and goats. It's however recommendable to avoid contact of the plant or the juice with the eyes (Pittier (1944) in Mahabir, 1995). The plant is used by farmers in some Latin American countries to repel insects. The leaves are ground up and mixed with water. The animal is then bathed with the resulting paste. According to some of the farmers, if this is repeated every 7-14 days, the number of infections of tórsalos (tropical warble fly) decreases. No published studies could be found to substantiate this claim. However, in Honduras, goats of farmers who claimed to have bathed with Gliricidia had only 2-3 torsalos, while others had 10 or more. In the Philippines, Gliricidia is washed and pounded to extract the juice from the leaves. It is then applied to the area affected by external parasites once to twice a day for one week. In Guatemala, the bark and leaves of gliricidia are used to treat human skin diseases. (Source: Eucalipto Eucalyptus globulus Fam. Myrtaceae Eucalyptol, the oil is used in insecticides and repelents (Monedero Monterrosa (1980) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994v). Caraguë Cassia grandis L. Fam. Leguminoseae (Caesalpiniaceae) An ointment of the leaves is used to treat infections of the skin and mucous. Mange in dogs can be treated with a treatment made of juice of the squeezed-out leaves and butter (Mahabir, 1995). Annona - Annona squamosa L. - Fam. Euphorbiaceae Sabillón y Bustamante (1996) mentions as effects: toxic by contact, ingestion. The plant is also used as an insecticide, inhibitor of growth and repellent. In India, the seeds are used to eliminate head lice (Mahabir, 1995). Cebolla roja (Red union) - Allium sepa - Fam. Lilacaceae Sabillón and Bustamante (1996) mention its use as repellent and fungicide. Mamey - mammea americana - Fam. Clusiaceae De Jesús Arias (1986) mentions in De Mena Guarrera (1994) its use for killing Tunga penetrans (a little tropical fly). Also is mentioned the use of the seed to eliminate parasites like lice and fleece for men and dogs. Ajo (Garlic) Allium sativum Of garlic, nothing could be found on its effect on parasites. 56

3 Availability The harvest of annona and mamey occur in August and September, but it's possible to save the seeds. Mamey is not produced in San Carlos Lempa. According to the farmers the necessary leaves in the different treatments are available all year round. Mayor part of the products can be obtained from the patio or in the monte (waste land/ forest). If not, they can be obtained in the market. Effect on the environment and the animal According to Dr. Pineda the seeds of annona and mamey contaminate the environment. According to Dr. Zambrana, a too high consumption of salt may cause harm in pregnant cows from the 6 th month on. Sulphur pollutes and its use will therefore not be promoted on the organic agriculture. Ease of preparation The ease of preparation and treatment is for all collected methods more or less the same. Bathing the animals may be quite some work. But in all methods except for the one in which the animal has to take in salt, this bathing is included. Efficacy Of garlic, no effect on parasites has been found in the literature. But although nothing has been found, many farmers mentioned the use, so it will probably at least have some effect. Of eucalyptus, no specific use was found against ticks. It wasn t used by the participants of the workshop, only mentioned. The solution of the leaves of madre cacao and caragua was used by a farmer, although in the literature nothing was found on the specific use for ticks either. Affordability In some cases, the ingredients will need to be bought, but the prices will be low. Recommendation Of the methods for ticks that have been collected during the inventarisation, they possibly work in case of other external parasites as well. As salt may cause harm to the pregnant cows it will be better not to use salt (internally) for this group. But in many cases the pregnant cows graze in the same pastures as the rest of the cows. According to Dr. Pineda, annona and mamey-seed are highly toxic and may therefore not be used in organic agriculture. This will have to be investigated further. As there are still other possibilities to combat external parasites, it might be better to exclude the internal use of salt or use of annona or mamay-seed. The best methods with which to start the on-farm trials appear to be: Bathe with a solution of leaves of madre cacao and caragua Bathe with a mix of water, garlic, red onion (with or without chile fuerte) 4.3. Mastitis Mastitis is a disease that is related to milk production. The cows on small farms in El Salvador produce most during the first part of the wet season, when they have just calved an alimentation is best. This is then also the season in which most mastitis occurs. 57

4 Chichipince Hamelia patens Jacq. Fam. Rubiaceae The aerial parst are used in Peru against inflammation. Moreover, it stimulates healing. An anti-microbiana activity has been noted against a variety of organisms, both Gram positive and Gram negative (Mahabir, 1996). Extracts with water or alcohol of the leaves showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The watery extract of the bark was active against E. coli. (Milady Reyes (1980) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994). The plant has cytostatic activity (López & Abraham (1979) en Mahabir, 1995). In Costa Rica 12 soaked leaves in alcohol and three drops of oil, is used as a compress to heal wounds (Mahabir, 1995). Tempate - Jatropha curcas - Fam. Euphorbiaceae To the leaves and the bark, desinflamantory properties are attributed. In Panamá the plant is used for infected wounds and ulcers. For this, a decoction is made of the leaves and wounds are bathed with this (Mahabir, 1995). Limón (Lemon) - Citrus aurantifolia - Fam. Rutaceae Lemon purifies the blood (Monedero Monterrosa (1980) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994). Sábila Aloe vera Fam. Lilacaceae Is used for inflammations and to cure wounds and skin infections (Sánchez Espinal (1980) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994). Pluma de gallina (chicken feather) It's important that the pus and infected milk is drained out of the udder. But the use of a chicken feather may cause harm to the teat sphincter. Also, it s possible that an infection enters via this way, because of the opening that it creates. Moreover, a chicken feather will not be the most hygienic tool. Miel de abeja (Honey) In many Mediterranean countries, honey is used to promote healing. This is said to be caused by an osmotic effect that draws fluid into the wound. This fluid serves to flush out dirt and other contaminants and thus promotes healing (Fielding; Source: fieldingdone). Availability All ingredients are available all year round, either in the patio or in the monte. Effect on the environment and the animal No negative effects on the environment have been found of the mentioned methods. The use of the chicken feather may cause harm to the teat and therefore one has to be careful using the method mentioned with this. Of course, there are more methods that can may cause harm when used in the wrong way, but nevertheless, care should be taken when promoting this method. It would be better to promote regular milking for draining the udder. Ease of preparation The treatment of mastitis requires more time and labour when no antibiotics are used. With many of the mentioned methods one has to continue milking the cow regularly until it is cured. It may mean that the cow will have to stay in the corral. This requires extra labour in feeding the cow, because it can't graze. But, antibiotics are more expensive and for antibiotics it's necessary to go to a store first or to contact an extensionist. 58

5 Efficacy The internal use of aloe vera isn't mentioned. It could serve to heal external wounds of the teat. These could cause a primal infection that eventually leads to mastitis. For internal use, only chichipince seems to give most possibilities and therefore it would be best to initiate some trials with this Affordability All the necessary ingredients can be obtained from the patio and therefore they don't cost 'anything'. Recommendation Honey is quite expensive and next to this it can be used for human consumption. Seen the fact that there are other methods available, it's recommendable to first investigate results of the other methods. Of the other methods it seems that they can be used well and the best would be to use a combination of several of these methods: regular milking and giving massages (lemon maybe stimulates the healing more than piece of soap). When the mastitis is quite heavy, it's better to milk the cow regularly. In this case, one can't use the method that uses chichipince internally, because for this one, it's necessary to not milk the cow for some 8 hours in order to give the chichipince the time to do its work. The use of a chicken feather should be promoted with care Retention of the afterbirth Expulsion of the afterbirth is the third stage of the birth and should occur within approximately 6 hours of the birth of the calf. Generally, cows can be left for three to four days without treatment, provided that they are not sick. Illness occurs either because of bacterial infection or simply because the placenta is degenerating naturally but the cow is absorbing natural waste products. Any condition that leads to debility of the cow can cause retention of the afterbirth. The following conditions can lead to it: abortions or premature calvings, difficult calvings, vitamine E or selenium deficiency, milk fever or infection or inflammation of the placenta during or after the birth (Blowey, 1986). In Tecoluca, retention of the afterbirth occurs mainly in the dry season, when the animals receive less nutrients. February and March are the months in which this problem occurs mostly. Nevertheless, Retention of the afterbirth may have other causes as well, therefore is can manifest itself during the rest of the year as well. Guarumo Cecropia obtusifolia y Cecropia peltata - Fam. Moraceae The two species are distinguished by the amount of fingers of the leaves. The leaves of C. peltata have 7 to 9 leaves, C. obtusifolia normally have 10 to 13. There are two varieties of C. peltata, a white one and a purple one. The purple one is used to facilitate the menstruation (Lozano Castro (1981) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994). According to Ing. Zambrana the plant both species serve to expel the afterbirth, but the purple one has a higher concentration of the active ingredients to which this property is attributed and is therefore more effective. C. peltata is used by some Honduran farmers to aid animals during birthing. It is given during labor to speed up the birthing process and after labour so that the placenta is quickly expelled ( C. peltata is also used for 59

6 extreme nervosity and to stimulate the cardiac rhythm. An infusion (tea) of the dry leaves of C. obtusifolia is in Mexico used against inflammation and against cough (Mahabir, 1996). Ing. Zambrana mentioned the following recipe that is used in El Salvador to expel the afterbirth: one dehydrates the leaves in a comal (which is a plate of clay, which is a traditional tool to make tortillas). Then, the dried leaves are pounded to powder. This is mixed with one to two litres of water. With the half of this the uterus is washed and the other half is given orally. This has to be carried out three time (every other day). After this, one has to watch the animal carefully. If the animal had fever and the temperature persists for 24 hours after the last treatment, a veterinarian has to be called, because the problem lies deeper then. When there is no fever, the cow is fine (Ing. Zembrana). Masages/ take it out by hand Giving massages to the uterus will stimulate the expulsion; one tries to untie/ loosen the cotelydons, with which the afterbirth is still fixed to the uterus. This has to be done very carefully. Some farmers say to do this trough the vagina, but then there much change of damage to the cervix and infection. Also, after 72 hours the cervix is already closed too much to be able to do this without damaging the animal (Ing. Zambrana). It's therefore better to do it trough the rectum. Caulote Guazuma ulmifolia (Lam.) Fam. Sterculiaceae A stimulating effect on the uterus has been registrated. In Colombia and México the bark is used to facilitate birth (Mahabir, 1995). The expulsion of the afterbirth is part of the birth. In Cuba the bark is used for wounds (Roig & Mesa (1945) in Mahabir, 1995). The ingestion of large quantities of the different parts of the plant may cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea (Hoehne (1939) in Mahabir, 1995). According to Ing. Zambrana, for expulsing the afterbirth, one can use the same preparation and treatment as with the guarumo. UNICAM (1998) mentions a recipe that is made of twelve litres of water, 2 libras salt and 2 libras of bark of caulote. Of this, two litres per day are given to the animal. Pitahaya - Hylocereus indatus - Fam. Cactaceae This plant is used as a stimulator of the nervous system and light laxative. Zaite - Acanthocereus pentagonus - Fam. Cactaceae A quarter of the plant is pounded and put as a compress in the inflamed part (Guido Ramírez (1981) in De Mena Guerrera, 1994). Availability All ingredients are available all year round in or around the patio. Effect on the environment and the animal Massages can cause damage or infections and if they are not carried out carefully. When using internally in the uterus a medicine based on a plant, care should be taken that no plant parts stay in the fluid that is used; this can cause damage. In case of an infection, a veterinary should be called. When there is no infection the recommended methods could be effective. Ease of preparation The given preparations of Caulote and Guarumo are about the same. Giving massages in the right way may require some practice. 60

7 Efficacy Not all methods seem to treat the retention. Some only seem to cure or prevent infections. The ones that seem to work in case of retention are: Guarumo, giving massages to the uterus via the rectum, and the use of Caulote. Affordability All methods can be carried out with plants that can be locally found in San Vicente, except for Pitahaya, which isn t grown in San Vicente. Recommendation Best methods to expel the placenta seem those which make use of Guarumo and Caulote. Giving massages via the rectum can be useful next to this. Zaite could after this be used to prevent infection. Literature shows that it can be used as a treatment as well, but in case of real infection it will be best to call a vet Neonatal diarrhoea Diarrhoea can occur all year round. But, as the majority of the calvings occur in the last months of the dry period, this will be the period in which there is most neonatal diarrhoea. Marañon (cashew)- Anarcardium occidentale - Fam. Anacardiaceae Lans (2001) mentions the use of the bark for diarrhoea. The use by diarrhoea is also mentioned by Zaldívar Rodríguez ((year unknown) in De Mena Guerrero, 1994) and by Mahabir (1995): a tea of the bark is used against diarrhoea. He mentions a recipe - for human use - in which for 4 square "fingers" are cut of the bark, for each cup of water. This is cooked and the decoction is then drunk. Of the different parts of the tree, anti-inflammatory activity has been reported. Vinagre de uva o piña (Vinegar) Nothing has been found on the use of vinegar in case of diarrhoea. Chichipince Hamelia patens Jacq. Fam. Rubiaceae Under Retention of the placenta were the anti-inflammatory and healing effect of this plant already mentioned. Availability The use of cashew is a method that wasn t mentioned by the farmers, but the use of it was accidentally found in the literature, during the validation. Seeing the fact that the tree is produced much in San Vicente, the use of it could be a good possibility. Chichipince grows in the local patios. Vinegar can be bought in the market. Effect on the environment and the animal No negative effects are known of the mentioned methods. Ease of preparation The use of vinegar requires less preparation. 61

8 Efficacy Of the various parts of cashew, anti-inflamative effect has been found. In the literature, these effects have not been found of the vinegar, nor any use against diarrhoea. Affordability Cashew bark and chichipince are cheaper than vinegar, that needs to be bought. Recommendation The trials have to proof, which of the methods has best possibilities. The fact that no information on vinegar has been found in the literature doesn t mean that this doesn t have a use against diarrhoea. None of the methods could cause too much harm, seen that the products aren t toxic. It would then be best to include all methods in the trials. 62

9 5. Conclusion and recommendations There s some truth in it ( ), but the problem is dosage - Comment of a veterinarian when asked about folk medicine (Lans, 2001) Discussion and conclusions Results On basis of the research, the following conclusions can be drawn on the research questions: 1. The fact that farmers in Tecoluca mentioned the positive effects on the environment and health, as motivations for participating in the organic dairy project, will at least partly originate from what they learned from workshops and meetings. Most possibly the farmers would have participated in other (dairy) projects as well: the fact that there is a project that gives technical and financial assistance will have been a very crucial motivation. Nevertheless, they are aware of the disadvantages that organic dairying brings (more labour in de-weeding), but yet they still want to participate. The active participation during the workshops and the fact that 90% consists of loyal visitors, show that they have now chosen for this project and there is the will to carry it out well. 2. A lack of knowledge on the ethoveterinary methods has been noted. Farmers state that this is the mayor reason for not using it much now. 3. The education that the farmers receive on animal health is from a western point of view on health and disease. From the answers given by the farmers, it seems like they have quite a "holistic" view of health and disease; the condition "health" was not only described as the condition of the animals themselves, but also of the environment: stables and pastures. In general, they have quite a western view of health, which means that sickness and health are caused by physical influences. 4. Most important local diseases offering best possibilities for using EVM have already been discussed in The following diseases came out: Parasites (ticks), mastitis, pneumonia in calves, neonatal diarrhoea and retention of the placenta. 5. No mayor diseases were noted during the farm visits. However, lack of sufficient and clean drinking water was noticed during several farm visits: pastures without available drinking water and dirty troughs with muddy water. Next to this, there is none to little awareness of adaptation of the fodder ration to individual needs. 6. Farmers in Tecoluca don't make much use of ethnoveterinary methods. Quite many of the farmers only start with dairying now. According to Geerlings (1998) knowledge of farmers depends among others on oral tradition; the more generations that have owned cattle in the family, the more knowledge and experience is built up. The methods the farmers of the different regions use and know are mentioned in Annexes V till VII. The objective was to collect local ethnoveterinary methods in general. The farmers mentioned plants more than other methods. It s probable that they know of other methods that they didn t mention. This may depend on the way the research was conducted. Future investigations could try to include more discussion on other fields of methods as well, but maybe medicinal plants gives most possibilities. 63

10 7. The methods that seem to give best possibilities on the organic dairy farms in Tecoluca have been selected in chapter 5: Non-experimental validation. The recommendations that were made after the non-experimental validation are put in the (Spanish) handout that can be found in annex XVI. This was handed out to the farmers during the workshop of 14 th September 2001 in San Carlos Lempa. These recommendations are the main product of this thesis and these are the basis on which on-farm trials will (have to) be carried out. With regard to the objectives of the thesis a start of exchange of ethnoveterinary knowledge has taken place. It was found useful to include both the (organic) farmers of San Vicente as well as the conventional farmers of the other regions that have been involved in the investigation until now. The other regions are not organic, but in San Vicente La Paz, most of the participating farmers are not organic either: in all regions there are organic sympatisants. The use of ethnoveterairy medicine will have advantages for conventinal farms as well. In either way, exchange between regions, projects (both national and international) will lead to more new methods knowledge is dispersed; a group of people knows more than one person Research Only one person has conducted the investigation of this thesis and the methods have been validated against aspects that were found important by the researcher. With regard to objective validation, this may have caused bias. However, there were no means to include more researchers. Besides this, there was only little time to conduct the research. This kind of participate research needs more time to win the trust of the people. The experience in Suchitoto ( ) is a good example of how reluctant people may be in the beginning to tell what they know. It also shows how the use, and with this the knowledge, are disappearing; because of lack of passing through knowledge and information - it's not considered important by many farmers. The participants (extension workers of CORDES) in Suchitoto started mentioning other medicines than chemicals only after the researcher gave an example of a medicinal plant that could be used for treatment. As appeared during the meeting, the Australian veterinary had mainly been promoting conventional western methods. Stimulation of exchange as done during this thesis is therefore important. Seen the facts that the farmers often only know part of a treatment and that the treatments differ from one farmer to another, interaction and exchange will at the same time result in a wider variety of methods. Looking back, it may have been better if the focus had been on only one disease or health problem. This would have allowed a more profound attention. One disease could have been totally worked out: from the inventarisation of the local treatments to on-farm experiments and methods that are ready-for-use. This may have been a better basis for continuation. There would then have been more visible practical results for the famers then, which will have motivated more than recommendations, which are the only products until now. Also, the approach could then be evaluated fully; at the point where this thesis ends, the total process is not ready yet. Holistic view The case studies have been conducted to get a holistic view of the situation, but the results have had little to no influence on the process of the research. Looking back, they shed a new 64

11 light on the research and they will serve as a basis for the recommendations that will be done in 5.2. Next to this, they lead to a critical view on the topic of the thesis (as given in ). A holistic view has been used in the non-experimental validation to make sure that the methods actually "fit" on the farms. What is missing in the holistic view are the importance and influence on gender and the influence from other involved parties as the staff of CORDES; extensionists above all, because these have most contact with the farmers and these are the ones that give technical assistance when animals are sick. Gender In only one of the four regions, women attended the workshop. From this little experience, it seemed like the women were in general more positive towards EVM than the men, although the position of the men towards EVM varied quite a lot in the different regions. This may be caused by the different backgrounds; the group of men that in many situations preferred the use of chemicals had received training of an Australian veterinarian. In general the men take the decisions on the cows. On the farms in San Vicente-La Paz, conventional medicines are often administered with the help of (male) technicians of CORDES. The ones that are present then, are the male farmers, not their wives. In the case of Puerto la Libertad, where mostly women attended the workshop, the women owned the cows and it seems like they were the decision-makers in this field as well. Who needs to be convinced and whose participation is needed depends on who are the decision-makers in this field. This may differ among the farms in the different regions. More research on this needs to be conducted. Seen the above, the men may need more attention in convincing them of the advantages of EVM Topic The search for new alternative medicines has found not to be the only or the most important challenge in the organic dairy project. There are not many health-problems on the farms, so that the use of medicines in general is quite low anyway. However, around this specific subject of organic medicines, other needs in the field of animal heath care were noticed, which may be more urgent: a) The farmers sometimes lacked knowledge on the causes and processes of health problems. It s not necessary for the farmers to know exactly how the diseases work. But where misunderstandings in the way of thinking of the people could have negative effects, education can be useful in creating a better understanding of the (physical) causes and the way the diseases affect the animals. (In case of parasites, for example, the farmers didn t know which internal ones causes which problems. For at least a part of them, (internal) parasites were one group that could be treated medically in the same way). Some more knowledge about this would be very useful when using EVM, because this requires a type of management in which the farmers have to be quite independent. The handout of Annex XVI tries to give some basic information on the priority diseases. Next to this, some of the treatments mentioned are doubtful and will little or no effect or even bad side-effects. b) The problems around alimentation may be of more importance than the those around animal health. Although, in the holistic view of EVM, disease prevention is an important aspect and proper nutrition is part of this. It will be useful to give some extra attention to the fodder situation in general, especially in the dry season. A lack of knowledge on the quality of the feeds and adaptation of rations to individual needs has been noticed. This may cause the higher producing animals to have problems maintaining their condition. 65

12 5.2. Recommendations Continuation It s obvious that the success of the project depends on continuation, but at the point where this thesis ends, the project could easily bleed to death. It will be important to keep the discussion on EVM alive, also towards the farmers. It depends for a great part on CORDES whether it continues and how, but also on the basis that has been laid during the process of the thesis. During the thesis, the co-ordinators of livestock production of the visited CORDES regions were involved in the preparation and the execution of the workshops on EVM in their regions. Also, they received a copy of the handouts with recommendations. They as well as the farmers were enthusiastic to make use of it and they made plans to start some trials on it. The recommendations are still only rough methods that could POSSIBLY lead to useful methods. In continuation of this, experimental validation will have to serve for the following: Proof whether a method really works and how; with what preparation and management. The trials will have to provide information about the preparations, measures and amount of ingredients. Proof whether the methods in practice "fit" on the farms Convince farmers to actually adopt useful methods by letting them experience the effect. (The farmers need to be convinced, but also of the right methods). Seen the above, experimental validation could therefore best be conducted in the form of on farm-trials, under real-life conditions to which the farms and the animals are subject. The farmers themselves should conduct the trials and where possible in the presence of other farmers. The trials will be difficult to plan: the cows won t be made ill deliberately. The trials will be conducted with the farmers cows under normal conditions, so the possibility of the tests depends on the availability of spontaneously sick cows. In the trying out of different dosages, one has to dispose of a group of animals. This will not often be the case - except for parasites, which will be present on a large part of one herd in about the same quantities. Besides this, it will be impossible to get all participating farmers together on time. Lack of transport and other engagements will impede farmers to come. But also these farmers will want to SEE results, before really using the methods. For a successful implementation of the ethnoveterinary methods, every farmer for itself has to be convinced whether he wants to use the methods or not. In practice, every farm will conduct it's own "trials". Also in this, exchange between farmers (also those of the other regions) should be stimulated. This can take place through workshops (as was planned for the workshop of 14/9/2001). In , the conference that CORDES organised in September 2001 is mentioned. Exchange of experience on EVM would be a good idea to fit in a next conference, since it brings together farmers of many different regions. But as the area of CORDESprojects is very broad, there is very little time for every individual one, so it may be a good idea to organise a conference like that for the dairy farmers only, which could also focus on other things than EVM alone. 66

13 Next to this it would be positive to have exchange of documentation of the trial and the experience with it. This also serves for farmers that were not present in meetings or workshops. Not all farmers are literate, but there will always be someone in the family that can help. Including photos or drawn pictures will be useful. During the investigations it has been noted that for dosages of needed ingredients the best measures to be used are local quantities, like sardine-cans, bottles of coca cola, etc. Quantities like 0.4 ltrs are difficult to measure for the local farmers. Because it's difficult to plan when methods can be tested out, the experimentation will depend on farmers initiative. It will therefore be useful to make a plan of action, together with the farmers, so there is some standardisation in the trials. It should be made sure that they understand the descriptions of the recommended methods. Planning this will also stimulate the feeling of participation. But, not only trials are important; the following aspects will need (more) attention as well in future investigation: Education on the processes and causes of certain diseases. Until now, need for this has been noticed mainly in the field of parasites. Education on adaptation of ration to individual needs of animals 67