Forage options for smallholder crop–animal systems in Southeast Asia: working with farmers to find solutions

Most research and development involving forages in Southeast Asia has been directed towards impacts in commercial farming systems. Little adoption of forages has occurred in smallholder livestock systems, which account for the vast majority of the livestock in the region. The main reason for this lack of adoption is the linear processes that have been used to develop forage technologies on research stations leading to the extension of ‘finished' technology packages. This paper describes existing uses of forages in Southeast Asian farming systems and, using a recent case study, describes the potential for developing smallholder forage systems using participatory approaches to technology development.