This report concerns the activities we carried out from March through September 1996, as animal production adviser in the "Institut National de Recherche Agronomique du Niger" (INRAN). These activities are mainly in line with the first point of our Terms of Reference (TR) :
" While working in close collaboration with the scientists of the "Programme d'Amélioration des Productions Animales" (PAPA), to identify feeding and nutritional constraints in order to enhance the zootechnical performance of local breeds, and to propose simple' and cheap technologies which can easily be transferred to herders". Based on that TR, we were motivated to implement the operation titled: " Development of strategies for the efficient use of crop residues, agro-industrial by products and cultivated fodders by ruminants " An overall approach to animal feeding, in general, and to supplementary feeding, in particular, was used. The methodology consisted of carrying out surveys on feed resources and animal numbers and husbandry in rural and urban zones. The investigation concemed also the successes and failures of projects operating in livestock sector as weil as the constraints and solutions to Livestock development from herders perspectives. The objectives are to describe and assess most parameters of animal production systems.