Back	Improving Andean Sheep and Alpaca Production. Recommendations from a Decade of Research in Peru
	edited by Constance M. McCorkle Small Ruminant Collaborative Research and Support Program University of Missouri, Columbia, 1990

Foreword

Ten years ago, research on sheep and camelids in the highlands of South America was scattered and fragmented, and scientists worked in relative isolation from each other. The establishment of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP) was a major step forward in linking isolated scientists and bringing to light "hidden" knowledge about Andean sheep and camelid raising. In Peru, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 1979 between the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Agroindustrial (INIAA) and the University of California, Davis (UCD), the Management Entity for SR-CRSP. Since then, much research has been accomplished in the central and southern Andes of Peru and the United States.

An important focus of the small ruminant collaborative effort has been the integration of economic and sociological factors with biological data obtained in the field, both to delineate current small ruminant production systems and to develop recommendations for improving animal productivity and marketing. The biological constraints to production that the SR-CRSP has tackled in the Peruvian Andes have been broad. For example, research on constraints has spanned such diverse topics as describing individual animal performance to assess the genetic potential of indigenous breeds; developing an understanding of the reasons for poor reproductive rates in native flocks; establishing a profile of the incidence of livestock diseases ranked in order of economic importance and disease control measures; and improving cultivated forages to maintain livestock during deficit periods on the natural range.

The resulting recommendations have addressed how the elements that comprise the various production systems operate in relation to each other to influence the function of the overall small ruminant production systems in Peru. Toward this end, all project participants have cooperated on a baseline study to characterize the entire small ruminant production system in the Andean Highlands. This collective approach to confronting the constraints on animal productivity in the harsh and isolated Andean environment has facilitated the development of an integrated research endeavor that views the various livestock and crop problems of the region from a comprehensive, rather than an isolated perspective.

The results of this exciting collaborative research form the basis for the suggestions for technology improvement set forth in this volume. The information presented should be useful to extensionists and others who deal directly with sheep and alpaca producers, and also for teaching animal science in universities throughout the region. This volume will also be useful for improving many facets of sheep and camelid production, not only in Peru, but also in other regions with similar ecological characteristics, like Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador.

These accomplishments also demonstrate the appropriateness and the effectiveness of the Title XII legislation that established the CRSP concept and laid the base for collaboration among U.S. universities and overseas institutions. Funding support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and matching resources from four Peruvian and five U.S. institutions are acknowledged with great appreciation. Without them, the program would not have been possible.

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