MARAGHA, SYRIA - On 5 April 1995, the Syrian Steppe Directorate opened its first fodder-shrub plantations for grazing by sheep and goats.
This provision by the Ministry of Agriculture fills an important gap in the diets of these animals at a time when natural pasture is scarce. Maragha reserve plantation was surrounded by Bedouin tents which would normally be dispersed across the poorly vegetated steppe. Ten groups of people brought their flocks (18,000 head) and paid SL 125 (about US$ 3) to graze 3 animals on a hectare of land for a month.
"I am very happy," explained Hussein, one of the shepherds. "If my sheep were out on the poor pasture, I would have to supplement them with about 300 kg of feed per day." This supplementary feed for 200-250 sheep would cost about US$ 1150 per month, so the outlay of about US$ 200 to graze the sheep on saltbushes for the month is economically appealing indeed!
This is not the first attempt of the Syrian authorities to introduce fodder shrubs into the steppe economy. However, attempts in the 1980s to encourage shrubs through shepherd cooperatives failed through insufficient management advice - and fears that the government would reclaim land with established fodder bushes. ICARDA became involved in the fodder-shrub project in 1989. Their role was to work alongside the Syrian Government to develop technical know-how on saltbush plantation management. The latest phase of the ICARDA/ACSAD/Steppe Directorate project is aimed at showing the benefits of shrubs over natural pasture for livestock feeding and will thus make more effort to "sell" the idea to farmers.
The project has also been designed for sustainability. The shrubs are being grown on reserves and access is strictly controlled and monitored. "The idea is to show livestock owners that fodder shrubs are a viable alternative to natural pasture, and economically sound when managed properly," explains ICARDA Pasture Ecologist, Ahmed Osman. "We now have enough research experience to manage the plantations in a sustainable way, grazing the right number of sheep for the right length of time." In this early phase of reintroducing the idea of fodder shrubs to Bedouin families, access is being limited to two months a year: first in April/May and again in November/December. These two periods are critical times for livestock owners, as feed becomes scarce.
Problems of rangeland and steppe management are not new to Syria or any of the region's countries with similar climates. This new move is a follow-on from a workshop on "Future prospects for the development of the Syrian steppe and improvement of the rangeland", held at ICARDA's headquarters at Tel Hadya, near Aleppo, Syria, on 7 June 1994. Recommendations from that meeting included: regulation of the pasture cycle and introduction of pasture bushes; prohibition of cultivation and rain-fed farming in the steppe; division of the steppe into reserves for many years to increase vegetation cover; promotion and revival of the reserve system through cooperatives concerned with sheep breeding and pasture improvement.
In Aleppo province alone, some 5800 hectares of reserve were opened for grazing this month, and another 2000 hectares will be mature for the 1996 season. Seedlings are raised by Ministry of Agriculture staff at a nursery in Adami. Over one million seedlings are produced each year, and transplanted to reserve land when they are about a year old. Some 1700 hectares, with 500 bushes per hectare, were planted in Ein-Elzarga reserve near Adami in 1995.
That reserve now covers about 6000 hectares and the first flocks will sample its wares in 1996 or 1997. Reserves are bounded by ditches and guarded, but oral instructions on areas unsuitable for grazing are effective in protecting young plants.
The reserves have been used for four species of fodder shrubs known as saltbushes - Atriplex halimus, Salsola vermiculata, A. canescens and A. nummularia. In recent years, most work has been on the first two (native), rather than the exotic species. However, protection of the shrubs on reserve land enables native species to thrive - a positive contribution to the rehabilitation of steppe and rangeland.
In fact, grazing ruminants favor the ground-level pasture species over the saltbushes. As their name suggests, saltbushes have high tissue concentrations of salt. It is estimated that sheep eating saltbush leaves require 2-3 liters of water more per day than those feeding on less salty material. However, they are still palatable to hungry sheep. Shepherd Hussein clearly linked increased water requirement with increased feed intake, rather than with the salt.
This work is all part of ICARDA's regional effort to restore and rehabilitate natural resources in the rangelands and steppe of West Asia and North Africa. ICARDA is also looking into direct seeding of saltbushes on rangeland combined with a micro-water-catchment technique; this should enable vast tracts of steppe to be rehabilitated with shrubs with minimal disturbance of the native flora. Survey and collection of indigenous plants (especially legumes), with subsequent assessment of their characteristics, has led to the identification of species suitable for further restoration of the steppe.
Meanwhile, first results from the saltbush plantations are encouraging. If the project can save shepherds money in the short term, its long-term contribution to preservation of rangeland will be all the greater.
Contact: Guy Manners, Communication, Documentation and Information Services, or Ahmed Osman, Pasture, Forage and Livestock Program, ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria. Fax: +963-21 213490, 225105, 551860. Tel.: +963-21 213433, 213477, 235220, 225012, 225112, 225635. Telex: (492) 331206, 331208, 331263 ICARDA SY. Cable: ICARDA Aleppo.