Papers by Gisele Alexandre
The question of development of livestock rearing is currently inseparable from that of regulation... more The question of development of livestock rearing is currently inseparable from that of regulation in the European Union because of the growing demands of food safety, animal health and the environment. The French overseas departments are governed by French national legislation, necessarily conforming with European Union legislation. The development of livestock rearing therefore has to be subject to at least a minimum respect for regulations resulting from a very different socio-economic system. By taking as an example pig rearing in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) the work is aimed at identifying the real differences between current livestock rearing practices and legal requirements, and at suggesting some ideas for a suitable development policy. The communication begins by describing the diversity of breeding systems, particularly the social and economic importance of herds which do not conform to the dominant model. The discussion goes on to consider the need for development, tra...
Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2009
In this work, the fatty acid (FA) composition of muscle tissue of baby-beef cattle was researched... more In this work, the fatty acid (FA) composition of muscle tissue of baby-beef cattle was researched with regard to its nutritional value. Twenty-six Simmental cattle of both sexes produced under the intensive conditions of housing and feeding were slaughtered at the age of one year and final weight of 489.6±46.5 kg. The portion of muscle (m.longissimus dorsi) was taken for the chemical analysis at the level of the 8 th rib on cooled halves 24 h post mortem. Muscle fat content was determined by Foss-Let apparatus after extraction of lipids with tetrachloroethylene. The fatty acid composition was determined by gas liquid chromatography using in situ transesterification method and given as % of total weight of fatty acids. The average muscle fat content was 18.96 g/kg (95% CI 14.09-23.83). The average proportions of saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA (MUFA) and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in
The Caribbean is characterised by limited rural zone, familial and mixed small farm units. Resear... more The Caribbean is characterised by limited rural zone, familial and mixed small farm units. Researchers and extension agents have promoted animal production improvement via forage intensification. It is based on technical choices frequently unadapted to the farming systems prevailing in the regions. Intensified grazing systems increase gastrointestinal parasitism impact, lead to herbage mass in excess and thus to bad management conditions and induce long term negative effects on the flimsy tropical ecosystem. A new research approach is proposed. It takes into account regional development objectives (needs for animal output improvement) as well as farmer’s circumstances (adapted technology transfer). Two experimental models are described in the French Antilles case: grazing systems with small ruminants and comparison of native and exogenous pastures. They are focused on the optimization of grazing systems, modelization of animal utilization and on gastrointestinal parasitism. Ecologic...
Tropical Animal Health and Production, 2021
With global climate changes currently occurring, and particularly given the severe energy and foo... more With global climate changes currently occurring, and particularly given the severe energy and food shortages occurring throughout tropical regions, agroecological (AE) systems are drawing renewed attention as an efficient alternative to intensive models of production, particularly unsuitable in regions of the world such as the Caribbean or Latin America. There is a pressing need to focus on livestock farming systems (LFS) and characterize their potential contributions to global sustainability. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to address these multiple and complex problems. Traditionally, LFS have shown their sustainability high potential. The purpose of this work is to highlight solutions to minimize inputs, by describing some success and diverse case studies through the Caribbean. These systems were analyzed at different levels: animal/function, farm/family, and territory/society. This produced a set of guidelines that help to increase the efficiency of tropical systems, particularly those concerned with (1) choosing the best-suited genotypes, while enhancing population biodiversity; (2) matching the farming system to the available resources, feed, and by-products; (3) steering the whole farming system through reproduction management with no hormonal treatment, while facilitating system reproducibility and increasing performances; (4) controlling health constraints instead of annihilating risks and implement an integrated management design to reduce chemical treatments or increase the use of nutraceuticals; and (5) mitigating climate constraints by using soft techniques. In the second part of this work, some integrated systems are described. The Tosoly farm of Colombia, for instance, is conceived as a totally integrated crop-livestock system, allowing the additional production of energy at the farm level. Thus, it epitomizes the positive impact that livestock can exert upon the environment. The case study of Haiti indicates how AE practices can help in designing a pro-poor sustainable milk production system. It concerns an entire dairy sector built all over the country on the basis of micro-units of milk production and processing.
The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico
The effect of age of regrowth (AR) of pasture herbage on milk production of Creole goats and grow... more The effect of age of regrowth (AR) of pasture herbage on milk production of Creole goats and growth rate of their kids while grazing irrigated Digitaria decumbens pastures was studied in Guadeloupe. Eighty-four does were used in an experiment to compare two rotational grazing systems over a one-year period during three kidding seasons classified as rainy, dry and intermediate. System AR21 allowed seven days of grazing and 21 days of regrowth whereas system AR35 allowed seven days and 35 days, respectively. An annual average stocking rate of 1,800 kg live-weight /ha was maintained in both systems. Dry matter (DM) yields were higher (P < 0.01) in the AR35 than in the AR21 system over the three seasons (4,935 vs. 2,948 kg/ha). Total biomass in the paddocks at the start of each grazing cycle varied between 11 and 19 DM kg/animal, depending significantly (P < 0.01) on the season. Age of regrowth had no effect. Daily milk production (938 to 1,033 g) also varied with the season but d...
INRAE Productions Animales
Les exigences de la qualité relèvent des mêmes droits des consommateurs au Sud comme au Nord. Tou... more Les exigences de la qualité relèvent des mêmes droits des consommateurs au Sud comme au Nord. Toutefois le contexte des pays du Sud tant en termes de conditions climatiques que sociologiques ou économiques induit des positionnements différenciés. Les contextes du Sud renvoient à la nécessité de mettre en place des systèmes de contrôle parfois spécifiques et de réfléchir à l’obligation d’établir des normes en fonction des marchés visés. La caractérisation des produits animaux spécifiques aux pays tropicaux (par exemple la viande des animaux créoles aux Antilles ou lait de chamelle au Moyen-Orient) est une étape pour aborder justement la question des normes applicables dans les pays du Sud. La qualité devient dès lors une construction sociale pouvant efficacement s’appuyer sur une approche participative impliquant tous les acteurs d’une filière. Enfin, il convient de distinguer les niches du marché visé, international, local ou régional, les pays du Sud sachant s’adapter en fonction d...
INRAE Productions Animales
Les démarches de conception et d’évaluation de systèmes d’élevage innovants en régions chaudes do... more Les démarches de conception et d’évaluation de systèmes d’élevage innovants en régions chaudes doivent prendre en compte les spécificités de ces systèmes. Outre les caractéristiques des milieux, ces spécificités tiennent à l’importance des fonctions non productives des troupeaux et à la complexité des modes de gestion de l’accès aux ressources (mobilité notamment). Nous discutons les démarches de conception en utilisant les notions de cristallisation, de plasticité et de développement des systèmes innovants et présentons les bases de l’évaluation (environnementale, filière, technico-économique) et ses fonctions dans le processus de conception. Nous illustrons la conception réglée ou innovante appuyée sur de la modélisation à l’aide d’exemples aux Antilles (élevage caprin, polyculture-élevage, avec une composante biotechnique forte), à la Réunion (élevage laitier avec une démarche participative de construction du modèle avec les agriculteurs) et en Amazonie (composante décisionnelle ...
Advances in Animal Biosciences
The selection index will include traits measured during performance recording. These traits can b... more The selection index will include traits measured during performance recording. These traits can be the same as in the objective or correlated to them. They will be adapted from the French sheep performance recording. Pre-weaning growth and reproduction parameters such as fertility and litter size will be recorded. In addition to these traits, post-weaning growth and faecal egg count (FEC) will also be recorded. FEC gives an indication of the level of parasitism of the animals. The genetic parameters were estimated to calculate the weighting of the traits in the index (Gunia et al., 2010b). The experimental Creole goat flock at INRA Gardel provided enough data for the calculation of the genetic parameters. More than 20 years of data about growth and reproduction traits were available. The mating scheme will be designed. A sample of interested farmers (owning 300 does in total) will select the Creole goat. They will sell improved reproducers to a ''user'' group of farmers. These users will rear Creole goats and sell them for meat purpose, either in totally pure breed systems, or by using Creole does as a maternal line for crossbreeding. The different organisations of the programme will be studied with extension services to choose the most adapted solution. As it happened for other indigenous breeds, the value of the Creole goat was long underestimated (Gauly et al., 2010). Technical, economical, and genetic factors were taken into account in this programme to allow a more efficient selection of the Creole goat. The disease resistance characteristic of Creole goat was emphasised along with growth and reproduction traits. All participants (farmers, research, extension services) were integrated in this project. The authors thank Ranjit Manicom and Marie-He ´le `ne Madassamy (Carbicoop), Regis Alexandre (Chambre d'Agriculture) and Re ´my Arquet (INRA Gardel).
Animal Science
The litter size (LS), or its equivalent the number of kids born in the litter (NB), of Creole goa... more The litter size (LS), or its equivalent the number of kids born in the litter (NB), of Creole goats in Guadeloupe was studied by two procedures. The first approach considered LS as a single trait and as a characteristic of the mother of the litter, and was studied by an univariate animal model (UAM). The second procedure treated NB, the individual birth weight (BW) and loss of kids (LK) as traits belonging to the animals born in the litter and their dam, in a multitrait animal model (MAM). The heritability for genetic direct effect (h 2 a) for LS estimated by UAM (0·14) was 40% lower than the corresponding value for NB estimated by MAM. The most appropriate of the 6 MAMs tested estimated heritabilities (h 2 a) of 0·24, 0·22 and 0·17 for NB, BW and LK, respectively, while maternal effects (h 2 m) were 0·20, 0·24 and 0·09 for the same characters. The genetic correlations between direct and maternal effects (r am) were negative –0·611 and –0·725 for NB and LK, respectively, and not sig...
Revue d’élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux
La mise en oeuvre d’un programme de sélection chez les ruminants allaitants nécessite un modèle d... more La mise en oeuvre d’un programme de sélection chez les ruminants allaitants nécessite un modèle de contrôle de performances pour l’enregistrement des poids et la mesure de la croissance. Un tel schéma a été mis au point en France chez les ovins ; en revanche, il n’existe pas de système pour les caprins allaitants. Cette étude examine les possibilités d’application de la méthodologie standard mise au point chez les ovins à viande, dans le cadre de la population rustique de caprins Créoles élevés aux Antilles françaises. Elle s’est appuyée sur la base de données individuelles de croissances accumulées au Domaine expérimental de Gardel en Guadeloupe depuis près de 20 ans, sur un total de 6 211 chevreaux jusqu’au sevrage. Différentes méthodes d’estimation des poids à âges types (10, 30 et 70 jours) ont été testées, en comparaison avec la méthode standard développée pour les ovins allaitants en France. Enfin, la variabilité des performances de croissance obtenues a été précisée afin d’ét...
Diversité des élevages porcins en Guadeloupe. Première évaluation technico-économique L'élevage p... more Diversité des élevages porcins en Guadeloupe. Première évaluation technico-économique L'élevage porcin concerne plus de 1 900 exploitations agricoles de la Guadeloupe (16 % du total). Le modèle technique inspiré par l'élevage métropolitain et importé à la fin des années 70, ne concerne que 2 % des élevages. Ces derniers sont caractérisés par une taille relativement modeste (20 à 70 truies-mères), une alimentation essentiellement industrielle et une conduite en bandes. Les autres éleveurs (98 % de l'effectif) entreprennent rarement la production porcine comme une activité agricole principale mais détiennent néanmoins plus de 81 % du troupeau de truies-mères. L'élevage porcin est mal connu principalement parce que la plupart des éleveurs n'ont pas d'enregistrements et sont dans l'informel. Dans le cadre d'une opération de modélisation de l'agriculture, une équipe d'économistes et de zootechniciens a entrepris d'identifier les systèmes d'élevage porcin existants grâce à une enquête légère auprès d'un échantillon raisonné d'agriculteurs. Après avoir présenté les différentes pratiques techniques et leurs variantes, le texte porte sur la caractérisation technico-économique des systèmes d'élevage identifiés : revenu, coût de production et temps de travail nécessaire. Dans le contexte d'information limitée caractérisant la Guadeloupe, cette première étude aboutit à une évaluation technicoéconomique qui devra être discutée et certainement validée par des suivis d'élevage. Cependant le niveau de revenu dégagé par les types d'élevage de moins de 20 truies-mères confirme leur importance dans la pérennité des nombreuses exploitations agricoles concernées. Ceci allié au fait qu'ils assurent plus de 40 % de l'approvisionnement du marché guadeloupéen en viande fraîche les désigne comme une cible pour la recherche et le développement. Diversity of pig farming systems in Guadeloupe. First technical and economic appraisal In Guadeloupe, a French overseas department, there are more than 1 900 pig farms (16% of the total number of farms). The technical model imported from France at the end of the seventies concerns only 2% of the pig farms. The latter are characterised by a relatively modest size (20-70 breeding sows), essentially industrial feed, and batch systems of rearing. Even if the other pig owners (98% of the total) never undertake pig farming as a main activity, they own 81% of the breeding sow herd. Pig farming is not well known because the majority of the farmers do not keep records and use informal channels. In the aim of modelling agriculture, a team composed with economists, animal production specialists and technicians, decided to identify the various pig farming systems with a rapid appraisal of a sample of pig farmers chosen for their herd size, geographical location and the overall type of farming. After the presentation of the various practices observed, the text deals with the technical and economic characteristics of the pig farming systems identified (mainly income, operating costs and labour). In the context of scarce information characterising Guadeloupe, these first results have to be discussed and validated with pig farm monitoring. Nevertheless, the small and medium pig farms proved to play a significant role in the timelessness of the farms concerned because of their added value and their flexibility. Moreover, they provided more than 40% of the consumption of fresh meat. Therefore, the development policy has to integrate this diversity of situations in order to be sustainable. Diversité des élevages porcins en Guadeloupe Première évaluation technico-économique
– The objective of this experiment was to estimate the effect of supplementation, during the suck... more – The objective of this experiment was to estimate the effect of supplementation, during the suckling growth period, of the Creole kids reared at pasture in Guadeloupe. Creole goats grazed Digitaria decumbens pastures. Three cohorts of goats were conducted: in the dry season (season D; 50 does and 86 kids), in the rainy season (season R; 64 does and 112 kids) and in the intermediate season (season I; 50 does and 93 kids). Does were supplemented: 35.3 kg of commercial pellets (0.86 UFL and 115 g PDIN), were gradually distributed per goat and per lactation. At each season, two groups of suckling does with their kids were determined according to the kid's supplementation level: in group S (supplemented; GS), commercial pellets were supplied ad libitum from the 6th week to weaning and in group N, (GN) no supplementation. Weaning took place at 81.7 ± 5.9 days post-partum. Intensive helminths and ticks controls were applied. The adjusted mean daily milk production for the first 6 week...
Uploads
Papers by Gisele Alexandre