The Biological Parameters Support for a Successful

Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing, ISSN 1548-6583

March 2014, Vol. 10, No. 3, 384-388

DAVID PUBLISHING

The Biological Parameters: Support for a Successful and

Sustainable Business

Stavri Afezolli

Agriculture University, Tirana, Albania

This study is of conceptual nature and analyzes the annual reports of agriculture ministry. Albania is an economy

characterized by a high percentage of agriculture of gross domestic product (GDP) with 25%. Actually, Albania for

many decades and varied reasons will remain, to the future, a country where agriculture and especially livestock

will play an important role. This paper starts from the actual situation and tries to find solutions to any effective

management’s problems. Treatments in this paper are based on literature reviews and combined with empirical

research. Part of this article clarifies the scope of modern agricultural business and the impacts of circumstances of

biological parameters on a sustainable livestock.

Keywords: effective management, sustainable livestock, age-group framework, livestock flock

Introduction

Changes of strategy of economic development by the end of the last century and the efforts to transform it

All Rights an ex-centralized economy to a free-market economy brought the necessity of carrying out a series of

reforms of multidimensional character. So, in this context, it is important to find the cooperation and integration

forms among the farmers, with the aim of increasing their incomes and family welfares.

Albania has a relatively big economic sector and a development that is characterized by the autonomy of

its constituent parts. Being a developing economy, it needs researches that support the economic development

of the country.

The objective of this paper is to highlight some current problems regarding the level of the economic

development especially of the livestock sector, by focusing on its basic unit and giving some alternatives for its

development and modernization in the future. Initially, we give a panorama of the situation of livestock, and then,

we will analyze the problems of the management of the basic unit, the so-called livestock flock.

Materials and Methodology

The realization of the above objective is enabled through analyzing the problems of interior management

of the flock and defining different development alternatives.

The prepared material is achieved through available literature studies provided and analysis of the

problems of the current economic situation of some farms in Tirana suburbs that are related to the current and

perspective livestock development. In order to achieve this, we interviewed farmers of the region subjected to

study.

StavriAfezolli,professor,AnimalProductionDepartment,:***********************.

BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS: SUPPORT FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

385Findings, Discussion, and Their Elaboration

The integration of the country in the market economy structures is linked, besides others, with a successful

development of the agriculture as a basic branch of the Albanian economy.

The last decade of the 20th century brought to Albania radical changes in political, social, and economic

plans. The transition from one development strategy to another, that is, from socialist political system to the

democratic one, placed the country in front of a big and difficult challenge related to the creation of a new

economic basis.

During the period of 1990-1991, there were efforts to maintain the old economic basis which completely

relied on the state property, while developing the new system that was installing in Albania. This was impossible.

Therefore, it was followed by spoiling of macro-micro economic balance, leading the country to a serious crisis.

It was where the idea of necessary change of the economic basis started, defining quick privatization of the

economy as the first step. This process has been a long and difficult one, and it started with the privatization of

land, to continue with the privatization of wholesale and retail units and then with the privatization of small- and

medium-sized enterprises and afterwards with the large ones.

Land privatization was an important step because of the fact that agriculture has continuously been an

important branch of Albania as the climatic and land conditions have made such a fact possible. It actually

realizes over 25% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in national rate. Quick land privatization was as well a

condition to avoid, possibly in the shortest time, the collapse.

It was the quick land privatization that brought the economy out of the collapse. With land privatization,

there came into being a great number of “agricultural economic units”, the so-called farms which were enlarged

and changed with the passage of time. Currently, according to data of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and

All Rights er Protection, there are 357,927 farms in operation, 298,496 or 84% out of which are mixed farms of

livestock and agriculture. Despite the fact that these farms are small farms, they would have good management,

because according to Nelson (2010), “There have always been stalwart small-scale farmers” (p. 19).

In the Albanian farms, we may find all the livestock. According to statistics for the year of 2008, we have the

following results for the number of livestock:

(1) Specimen: 541,000;

(2) Cows: 360,000;

(3) Flocks: 2,620,000;

(4) Pigs: 161,000;

(5) Equine: 113,000;

(6) Poultry: 8,100,000.

According to the same source during the last years, there has been a production of 1,040,000 tons milk,

141,000 tons meat, 803 million eggs, etc. (The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Consumer Protection, 2011).

The increase of the quantity of the products produced is related to a series of technical and economic

problems.

Production structures of Albanian agriculture are characterized by survival of farms, which produce

agriculture and animal products for themselves to ensure their survival. However, despite the quantity they sell, a

considerable number of them, i.e., 320,488 farms or 89.8%, may sell their products in the market. Thus, the

farmer operates in a market and faces the competition. From the interviews, it comes out that prompted by the

instant economic interest in many cases they have spoiled the number of their livestock. The spoil of the number

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BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS: SUPPORT FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

of livestock caused by the instant interest often leads to the spoil of the age rate among the producing groups of

the same kind of the livestock, the age structure of the flock.

The age structure of the flock is built by observing the biological requirements of the specimen and it

requires the necessary time. It is an important element of multiplication of the flock and it should be built based

on scientific requirements. Structure among the different age groups of animals is a direct factor in the increase of

the animal production in the future. So the scientific requirements of multiplication of the flock based on the

biological laws are a very important process.

Keeping the quantity rates of livestock productions is conditioned by two basic factors:

(1) Keeping and increasing the number;

(2) Increasing the production efficiency.

Increasing the number of livestock and improving the age and race structure should be the objectives of

the veterinarian’s job. But Cramer, Jensen, and Southgate (2001, p. 5) recommended that, “This situation is

fundamental in making rational choices”.

Aiming at keeping and increasing the number, an efficient age structure should be settled among the age

groups. The creation of an age structure among the age groups within the same kinds of specimen requires a

logical relation among the technical, managerial, and economic elements that condition this structure. Therefore,

it requires a cooperation of the specialists of different fields of agriculture.

The age structure will set a balance in their substitution on time, which means the definition of a culled

biological automated norm without touching the product which we may call the “culled bio-economic norm”.

Rigorous settlement and observance of the age structure, besides fulfilling the requirements for the rational

multiplication of the flock, protects the farm’s incomes as well. So Beierlein and Schneeberger (2008, p. 6)

All Rights ed that, “The secret to agribusiness’ success has been a steady growth in farm productivity (the amount of

output produced per unit input)”.

Trying to study the age structure settlement in some farms in Tirana suburbs, it came out that it is a long

process which usually takes 6-7 years of time in the current conditions. However, the time needed depends on

the kind of livestock. The longest time is needed for the specimen. It requires not only preliminary research, but

also a great job outside the terrain in cooperation with the farmer himself. As it may be noticed, the livestock

production based on scientific criteria is a long and difficult process that affects other aspects of the

multiplication of livestock, especially that of providing nutrition bases.

Increasing the number of livestock is an important objective, whose realization is accomplished in

cooperation with other technical problems, such as the checked selection of the individuals. For Paajanen

(2011), “Knowing how to define livestock is not a trivial matter” (p. 22). Checked selection requires the

commitment of the specialists of this field as well as the support of the famer himself. The farmer should

highlight the problems of the indicators that are related to the checked selection, such as the number of births,

the weight of the little ones at birth, data on their health performance, etc..

It is as well very important to highlight the medical treatment and therapeutical interventions of the

livestock, without mentioning here the way and the kind of treatment.

These engagements are necessary not only to guarantee the substitution of the producing groups but also to

provide quality agricultural products in progress required by the internal and external markets. The market is a

very important factor for animal production. It is depended from the kind of animal. So “in contrast a beef calf

can require twelve to fifteen months of care before it reaches market weight” (Hasheider, 2006, p. 8).

BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS: SUPPORT FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

387In this direction, farmers have very few registered evidences to support the checked selection. This should

become a normal practice of farmers as soon as possible, not only as a practice but also as a necessity.

The literature recommends the age structure based on the mathematical methods, such as the dynamic

programming. According to Kedhi (2002), “The dynamic programming method is a mathematic method which

is used to optimize the development systems, the development of which is carried out during a series of stages”

(p. 225). This would shorten the research time but not the work in the terrain. The use of mathematical methods

in managerial problems of livestock is a very important decision-making. From the study of the treatment

according to this way, it is noticed that its current use in a wide range is very difficult, especially the attempt to

make the member farmers aware of this program. For the difficulty that the use of programming method has,

the specialists should cooperate with mathematicians by interviewing biological problems with mathematical

methods.

Special attention should be paid to the implementation of the improved technologies. This problem

requires different treatments according to size of the flock. Of course, we speak here of big farms for the

conditions of our country. In this case, the staff training is very important, such as calf milkmaids or nutritives.

Besides training, they should also be motivated. In this way, each of these employee groups is a key element for

the respect of the relations among producing groups and within the same group, and this will enable the good

functioning of the flock.

Regarding the second problem as for increasing the number of livestock, we can refer to the opportunities

that our country has. So, the agriculture sector will be a very important sector. According to Leonard (2014),

“Farming is immensely profitable” (p. 10).

As stated by the government, there is still a considerable surface of unused land that constitutes an

All Rights ant source which could be used in service of livestock. From the calculation made, this surface supports

not only the increase of the number of livestocks but also the increase of their productivity. The increase of

animals’ productivity is possible, because Albania has many natural sources. So, a support for nutrition base is

another natural source, forests and pastures. For the period analyzed, nearly 76% of the surface is covered by

forests and pastures which may be used for nutrition from this source. The nutrition may be provided in a good

situation that would be reflected not only in the increase of the livestock products but also in the decrease of

their costs. From this source, the nutrition may be provided. From the analysis, it comes out that from all these

sources, nutrition may be provided at any time, and this is in support of every farmer’s objectives.

Conclusions and Future Research

From the research, it comes out that:

(1) The commitment to increasing the livestock number based on rational technical and economic criteria

is a condition for the defense of farm’s incomes and for improvement of the people’s well-being;

(2) Up to now, serious problems have been noticed regarding the age structure of all kinds of livestock,

especially for the specimen because of the relatively long time needed for the biologic process of substitution;

(3) Treatment of the age structure problems should not be left to chance, but should be preceded by

researches;

(4) Change of the work culture of the farmer of making evident all the data of the farm’s activity would be

a support for the further work of specialists;

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BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS: SUPPORT FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

(5) Developments of livestock treated in this paper will create conditions for the exploitation of unused

land up to now and will provide a stable increase of livestock production;

(6) The problem treated in this research highlights the strengthening of relation among researcher,

consultant service, and farmer, which should be operated not only to avoid the noticed handicaps but also to

create a culture of work in this important sector.

References

Beierlein, J. G., & Schneeberger, K. C. (2008). Principles of agribusiness management (p. 6). USA.

Cramer, G. L., Jensen, C. W., & Southgate, D. D. (2001). Agricultural economics and agribusiness (8th ed.). New York, NY: John

Wiley & Sons, Inc..

Hasheider, P. (2006). How to raise sheep: Everything you need to know (FFA) (p. 8). Voyageur Press.

Kedhi, V. (2002). Applied mathematics (p. 225). Infbotues.

Leonard, C. (2014). The meat racket: The secret takeover of America’s food business (p. 10). Simon and Schuster.

Nelson, M. (2010). The complete guide to small scale farming (p. 19). Atlantic Publishing Group.

Paajanen, T. (2011). The complete guide livestock farming (p. 22). Atlantic Publishing Group.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Consumer Protection. (2011). Annual statistics.

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