Technology Transfer of Alternative Plant Medicines for Livestockhealthcare in the Western Pacific

Technology Transfer of Alternative Plant Medicines for Livestockhealthcare in the Western Pacific

Summary

Technology transfer of alternative plant medicine for livestock healthcare promises to provide solutions to some of the western pacific problems such as limited knowledge and access to commercial medicine. Livestock producers in the Pacific deal with a lack of veterinarians. They also face rising costs of prescription drugs, food safety concerns with drug residues and other cross-industry problems of weak economic conditions and a growing population. Historically, many producers in the Pacific have used herbal medicines to treat livestock. However, western Pacific producers through the generations lost most of the knowledge of medicinal plants and their uses. Today, producers generally do not seek that knowledge on the Internet. This Professional Development Program Grant will take a group of professionals to the Philippines to gather knowledge of medicinal plants. The information will be interpreted into the native languages of the Pacific and then a trainer’s program will be implemented to teach producers from mixed Asian cultures the indications and applications of medicinal treatments. Paravets of the western pacific will be strengthened, empowered, and technically-equipped. This project will show the Pacific that abundant, unused, medicinal plants are a promising solution for treating livestock. Results from the tour will be published, along with surveys and interviews of local senior producers. Workshops will follow to share the information with the community.

• Extension agent investigate on Herbal plant usage
• Paravet learns new insights about herbal plant medicinals
• Lectures in the Philippines with DEpartment of Health in Train-the Trainers Program
• local farmer in a remote barangay in the Philippines sharing herbal practices to his livestock

Objectives/Performance Targets

• To obtain basal data reference about herbal plants in each island was the initial step of the project. Extension staff and the community specifically the elders have performed survey through questionnaires. The surveys were performed on-island in Pohnpei, Marshall Islands, Palau, Yap and the CNMI in 2009.

• To identify, gather, and collect all resource information with regards to herbal plant utilization. We determined that lack of good resource book for alternative herbal medicine limits extension educators. To address this by sponsoring an awareness workshops and enhance and utilize existing resource books from each islands

• To determine the numbers of natural healers present and currently practicing their craft. Determine the extent of practice and utilization. We found out that every island is unique. Some have access, some with limited or No Access at all to elders such as the suruhanos, herbalist, natural healers etc.

• Field Tour Demonstration of Technology Transfer of Herbal Plant researches
• Visit to Herbal Botanical Garden as part of the Train the Trainer program
• Cross poliination of ideas between farmes /paravet from Saipan and farmer inn the Philippines
• Workshop with College of Veterinary Medicine in the Philippines regarding Research on Herbal plants against Internal parasites in Livestock

Accomplishments/Milestones

Creation of awareness from community about herbal plant as a medicinal for livestock healthcare as a result of the survey

List of elders involved in the utilizationn and practices of herbal plants

Database of healers around CNMI, Palau, Marshall Islands

Commitment of some healers to speak in a series of workshop.

Identification of extension staff and professional researchers for the Train-The Trainer Program and the communication with Asian country for the PDP

• Participants from the Republic of Palau-Plant Medicinal for Livestock healthcare Workshop
• Herbal plants preparation
• Elders as Workshop participants in the Island of Pohnpei
• Herbal lectures
• Herbal plants demo
• LOcal herbalist from Rota sharing plant medicinal technology
• Participants in the Train-The -Trainer Program in the Philippines
• 2010 Calendar
• local Palauan herbalist doing her presentations with the workshop participants
• Extension agent in the Island of Pohnpei identifying herbal plants during our island inventory
• Extension Agent from Marshall Island and Guam with a farmer in the Marshall Island during the Island herbal Inventory

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Impacts and Contribution/Outcome- benefit the producers in the western region

Demonstrable Impact:

Involvement of elders, youth, producers and paravets in the project
Willingness of elders to share herbal information in each islands
Participation of elders in Workshops
Creation of idea to engage in value added marketing
Proposal to create or to establish a herbal botanical garden

Cultural enhancement of native herbal practices-revitalize

Short-term outcomes-Increase community awareness regarding utilization of herbal plants for medicine

More expected Outcome:

Short video of herbal prep to livestock
Creation of a Manual- herbal list for livestock healthcare
Brochure/poster
Increase savings by replacement of herbal medicine against commercial medicine
Integration to Organic Farming- livestock plus herbal plants operation
More coolaborations between producers, animal health staff such as paravets and local herbalist

Long-term

Paravets sustains the project as being the advocates for herbal medicine for livestock

Improved animal health care
Minimal concerns or zero health risks brought by natural herbs

Collaborators: