(a) Effects of feed shortage in animal production are as follows:
(i) It leads to low birth weight i loss of weight
(ii) It results In poor reproduction / delayed puberty/late maturity.
(iii) Also poor milk, meet and egg production is recorded / this leads to drastic reduction In livestock production.
(iv) Feed shortage equally precipitates high death rates
(v) Related to the above is also Increased susceptibility to diseases
(vi) Generally there is slow growth rate of live-stock
(vii) draft animals become weak and unable to work.
(b) Area of specialisation in agriculture with their contribution to agricultural development.
Area of Specialisation | Contribution to Agricultural Development |
(i) Animal science / production husbandry | (1) effective management (2) better animal productivity or more milk, (3) meat and egg production. (4) development of new breed, (5) better feeds for growth and productivity |
(ii) health and veterinary medicine | (1) better health management (2) control of pests and parasite (3) control of diseases. (4) production of vaccines for animal helath care (5) Meat inspection after slaughtering |
(iii) soil science | (1) maintaining soil fertility (2) soil classification and mapping (3) erosion control methods (4) moisture conservation (5)tillage operations (6) appropriate fertilizer for different soil types |
(iv) crop production (a) agronomy(b) Crop pathology(c)Entomology | (1) effective crop management practices (2) better productivity of crops (3) development of better planting materials, correct o spacing etc. (4) optimum plant population (5) optimum harvesting times (6) development of improved crops e.g. disease resistant varieties(1)Healthy plant Production (2) management of plant diseases(1)Management of pest (2) Environmental impact assessement (3)integrated pest management |
Agricultural Economics and Farm Management | (1) agricultural marketing (2) exposes farmers to sources of farm finance (3) teaches cooperative farming (4) management of agricultural resources (5) farm accounting (6) farm planning and budgeting |
Agricultural Engineering | (1) development of processing and storage equipment (2) mechanization of farm operations (3) maintenance of farm tools and implements (4) development of appropriate farm tools and implements (5) irrigation and drainage |
Agricultural Extension and Education | (1) training of farmers (2) dissemination of agricultural information to farmers (3) provision of support services (4) link farmers to researchers |
Forestry and wild life conservation | (1) conservation of forest products (2) utilization of forest products (3) creation of micro climate (4) conservation of wildlife (4) source of medicinal products (5) maintenance of soil fertility |
Fishery | (1) production of fish (2) better ways of fish management (3) better fishing practices (4) better fish processing (5) provision of fish meal. |