scholarly journals Adoption and Utilization of Cactus Pear in South Asia—Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mounir Louhaichi ◽  
Suresh Kumar ◽  
Sunil Tiwari ◽  
Muhammad Islam ◽  
Sawsan Hassan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Livestock Feed ◽  
Farmer Education ◽  
Potential Use

Livestock production in arid and semi-arid regions is facing the challenges of low and erratic rainfall, poor nutrient soils, and high temperatures, which all contribute to inadequate forage production to support livestock. Under these challenging conditions, promoting forage species, such as cacti, that are tolerant and well adapted is important to sustain and improve livestock production. This study analyzes the potential of adopting a spineless cactus through analysis of smallholder farmers’ perceptions with respect to its potential use as a livestock feed in South Asia. A total of 456 households were stratified into three groups in 2017: Farmers not familiar with cactus (non-adopters), farmers familiar with cactus but not growing it (potential adopters), and those already growing it (actual adopters). Main findings confirm that farmers already growing cactus are satisfied with its potential. A considerable proportion of non-adopter farmers cited the unavailability of plant material and technical information as the main reason for their lack of interest in cultivating spineless cactus. Therefore, the potential gains of livestock farming from spineless cactus production in the world’s dry areas could be immense, although more efforts, through farmer education and information sharing, are needed to ensure that the plant’s potential is effectively realized.

scholarly journals Determinants of rice by-products utilization as feed and their management in Ethiopia: the case of Fogera District

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
BIMREW ASMARE ◽  
ZEMENU YAYEH
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
Animal Feed ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Livestock Feed ◽  
The Status ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
By Products

Asmare B, Yayeh Z. 2018. Determinants of rice by-products utilization as feed and their management in Ethiopia: the case of Fogera District. Asian J Agric 2: 1-7. The study was conducted with the objective to determine the status of farmers’ rice byproduct utilization as feed in Fogera district, northwestern Ethiopia. Eighty smallholder farmers were selected purposely based on livestock population and rice production access. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to select farmers systematically. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistical analysis. The result indicated that the majority of respondents in the study area were with the range from 31 to 50 years (55%). Education status of respondents showed that the majority of household heads were able to read and write (27.5%) followed by elementary school (26.25%) and high school (17.5%) completed. The main dry season feed in the majority of households (46.25%) was found to be grazing and crop residues. The majority (64.62%) of farmers used rice by-products as livestock feed, followed by both feed and house construction. Types of by-products used for animal feed by respondent’s elucidated majority (61.5%) used rice straw, considerable proportion (26.15%) rice bran and (12.30%) used both straw and bran for animal feed based on availability. The sources of rice by-products indicated for many of respondents (66.7%) was farm produced, 18.5% use purchased and 18.4% get rice by-products both from farm produced and purchasing for their animal feed. Type of animals fed rice byproducts including cattle in the case of majority of respondents (49.23%), cattle and equine, followed (24.62%), and all animals (13.85%), respectively. In livestock owners, rice by-products are fed to livestock as sole feed and mixed with other feeds, however, the majority (69.2%) of households provides sole followed by both sole and mixed with other feeds (16.9%). Many of the respondents (55%) apply drying followed by addition of salt water (22.5%) as method of improving the rice by-products. The main constraints observed in rice by-products utilization as feed were seasonal deficiency of by-products (25.5%) followed by lack of awareness (16.25%).Though these problems prevailed in the study area, rice by-products are being used as a major crop residue feed with little or no improvement applied. Generally, it can be included that rice by-products were found very important feed resources in the rice dominated farming system of Fogera district. To exploit these products properly, farmers need to be assisted through proper agricultural extension service and supply in the form of credit service. Moreover, further on detailed on-farm experimentation should be done to demonstrate better utilization of the products as livestock feed.

scholarly journals Feed biomass production may not be sufficient to support emerging livestock demand: Model projections to 2050 in Southern Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolapo Enahoro ◽  
Jason Sircely ◽  
Randall B. Boone ◽  
Stephen Oloo ◽  
Adam M. Komarek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Biomass Productivity ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
Livestock Feed ◽  
By Products

The demand for livestock-derived foods has steadily grown over the past decades and rising incomes and human populations are expected to see demand further increase. It is unclear if current livestock feed resources are adequately prepared to meet future demand especially given the looming challenges of climate change. Many feeds such as grasses, crop by-products, and other biomass may not be widely grown commercially or sold in formal markets but are critical sources of livestock feed in many low-resource settings in which ruminant livestock production is important. The availability of these feed types can determine the extent to which the livestock sector can expand to meet growing, and sometimes critical, demand for animal-source foods. In this paper, we compare country-level projections of livestock demand from a global economic model to simulated data on feed biomass production. Our comparisons account separately for beef, lamb, and dairy demand. The data allow us to assess the future sufficiency of key sources of feed biomass, and hence aspects of the expansion capacity of livestock production in selected countries in Southern Africa. Our simulation results project that given the interacting effects of projected climate change and changes in income and population in the region, there will not be enough feed biomass produced domestically to meet growing demand for livestock products. For three types of feed biomass (feed crops including grains, grasses, and crop by-products) for which future livestock feed sufficiency was examined, our results showed feed sufficiency declines for all three feed types in Malawi and Mozambique, for two out of three in South Africa and for one of three in Zambia, under intermediate and extreme scenarios of climate change in 2050. Our results suggest an urgent need to improve feed biomass productivity to support future supply of animal protein in the study countries.

Potential of Lablab purpureus accessions for crop-livestock production in the West African savanna

2006 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. U. EWANSIHA ◽  
U. F. CHIEZEY ◽  
S. A. TARAWALI ◽  
E. N. O. IWUAFOR
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Forage Yield ◽  
Grain Production ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Lablab Purpureus ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Moist Savanna ◽  
Savanna Zone

The introduction and use of herbaceous legumes may contribute to agricultural intensification, especially in the context of sustainable crop and livestock production systems. In the context of evaluating different legume species for these systems in moist savanna zone of West Africa, the present study involved the evaluation of 46 accessions of Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet between 2000 and 2002 at Samaru, Zaria in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria to identify accessions with the potential to contribute to grain or forage production and those with the potential for multiple use. Grain yields (0·6–2·4 t/ha) with a mean seed crude protein and phosphorus content of 25·3 and 0·46 g/kg, respectively, were obtained. Dry matter yields (leaf: 0·3–3·1, stem: 0·2–4·6, root: 0·03–0·3 t/ha) were produced between 40 and 140 days after planting. Within this same period up to 1152 kg shoot crude protein/ha, equivalent to 184 kg N/ha, were recorded for accessions. Ten accessions that may contribute to grain production, eight accessions that may contribute to forage production and six accessions with drought tolerance were identified. Some white-seeded accessions (Grif 1246, ILRI 4612 and PI 183451) with good grain and forage yield and high-protein content have the potential to provide more and higher quality food for people and feed for livestock. The observed potential to contribute to grain production for protein-rich food, feed for livestock and green manure for soil N improvement suggests lablab may be an acceptable legume option for use in cereal-legume-livestock systems in the moist savanna zone of West Africa.

scholarly journals ASSESSING LIVESTOCK WATER PRODUCTIVITY IN MIXED FARMING SYSTEMS OF GUMARA WATERSHED, ETHIOPIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 684-698
Author(s):  
MENGISTU ALEMAYEHU ◽  
TILAHUN AMEDE ◽  
DON PEDEN ◽  
TESFAYE KUMSA ◽  
MICHAEL H. BÖHME ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Lower Altitude ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Natural Pasture ◽  
Gumara Watershed

SUMMARYA monitoring study was carried out in Gumara watershed, upper Blue Nile basin, with the objective of evaluating livestock water productivity (LWP) using a life cycle assessment method. Sixty two smallholder farmers were selected for the study implemented between November 2006 and February 2008. Data on crop and livestock production were collected to allow assessment of livestock water productivity. Study sites were situated in three different rainfed mixed crop/livestock farming systems; barley/potato based system (BPS), tef/finger-millet based system (TMS), and rice/noug based system (RNS). LWP was found to be significantly lower (p < 0.01) in RNS (0.057 USD m−3 water) than in TMS (0.066 USD m−3 water) or in BPS (0.066 USD m−3 water). Notably, water requirement per kg live weight of cattle increased towards the lower altitude area (in RNS) mainly because of increased evapo-transpiration. As a result, 20% more water was required per kg live weight of cattle in the low ground RNS compared to BPS situated in the upstream parts of the study area. Cattle herd management that involved early offtake increased LWP by 28% over the practice of late offtake. Crop water productivity expressed in monetary units (0.39 USD m−3 water) was higher than LWP (0.063 USD m−3 water) across the mixed farming systems of Gumara watershed. Strategies for improving LWP, from its present low level, could include keeping only the more productive animals, increasing pasture productivity and linking production to marketing. These strategies would also ease the imbalance between the existing high livestock population and the declining carrying capacity of natural pasture.

scholarly journals Benefits of wildlife-based land uses on private lands in Namibia and limitations affecting their development

Oryx ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Lindsey ◽  
C. P. Havemann ◽  
R. M. Lines ◽  
A. E. Price ◽  
T. A. Retief ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
Black Farmers ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Legislative Changes

AbstractLegislative changes during the 1960s–1970s granted user rights over wildlife to landowners in southern Africa, resulting in a shift from livestock farming to wildlife-based land uses. Few comprehensive assessments of such land uses on private land in southern Africa have been conducted and the associated benefits are not always acknowledged by politicians. Nonetheless, wildlife-based land uses are growing in prevalence on private land. In Namibia wildlife-based land use occurs over c. 287,000 km2. Employment is positively related to income from ecotourism and negatively related to income from livestock. While 87% of meat from livestock is exported ≥ 95% of venison from wildlife-based land uses remains within the country, contributing to food security. Wildlife populations are increasing with expansion of wildlife-based land uses, and private farms contain 21–33 times more wildlife than in protected areas. Because of the popularity of wildlife-based land uses among younger farmers, increasing tourist arrivals and projected impacts of climate change on livestock production, the economic output of wildlife-based land uses will probably soon exceed that of livestock. However, existing policies favour livestock production and are prejudiced against wildlife-based land uses by prohibiting reintroductions of buffalo Syncerus caffer, a key species for tourism and safari hunting, and through subsidies that artificially inflate the profitability of livestock production. Returns from wildlife-based land uses are also limited by the failure to reintroduce other charismatic species, failure to develop fully-integrated conservancies and to integrate black farmers sufficiently.

scholarly journals Supporting sustainable expansion of livestock production in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa: Scenario analysis of investment options

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolapo Enahoro ◽  
Daniel Mason-D’Croz ◽  
Marloes Mul ◽  
Karl M. Rich ◽  
Timothy P. Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Organic Livestock Production: A Bibliometric Review

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 618
Author(s):  
Carmen L. Manuelian ◽  
Mauro Penasa ◽  
Luciana da Costa ◽  
Sara Burbi ◽  
Federico Righi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Bibliometric Review ◽  
Main Production ◽  
Organic Livestock Production

Due to the increasing interest in organic farming, an overview of this research area is provided through a bibliometric analysis conducted between April and May 2019. A total of 320 documents were published up until 2018 on organic livestock farming, with an annual growth rate of 9.33% and a clear increase since 2005; 268 documents have been published in 111 journals. Germany is the country with the largest number of published papers (56 documents). Authors’ top keywords (excluding keywords used for running the search) included: animal welfare (29 times), animal health (22 times), cattle (15 times), grazing (10 times), and sheep (10 times). This could indicate that more research has been done on cattle because of the importance of this species in Germany. Moreover, the prevalence of the terms ‘animal welfare’ and ‘animal health’ may indicate that the research on organic livestock production has been focused on these two areas. The bibliometric analysis indicates that: (i) countries focused the organic livestock production research on their main production, and (ii) more research in species other than cattle and sheep is needed.

scholarly journals Progress and Challenges in Ex Situ Conservation of Forage Germplasm: Grasses, Herbaceous Legumes and Fodder Trees

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Hanson ◽  
Richard Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Genetic Erosion ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Fodder Trees ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Livestock Feed ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
Increasing Demand

Forages provide an important livestock feed resource globally, particularly for millions of smallholder farmers, and have important roles in natural resource management and carbon sequestration, reducing soil erosion and mitigating the effects of climate change. Forage germplasm remains the basis for the selection and development of new, higher-yielding and better adaptedgenotypes to meet the increasing demand for livestock feed. Rapid rates of genetic erosion of forage diversity due to land-use change from natural pastures and rangelands to crop production to meet the food security requirements of a growing global population, together with pressures from a changing climate, highlight the necessity for ex situ seed conservation of forage genetic resources to provide germplasm for use by future generations. Whilst many forage species have orthodox seeds, the diverse range of genera and species which provide forage is a challenge in terms of the wide scope of information and understanding on conservation methods that genebank managers require—particularly for tropical forages, many of which are comparatively under-researched. We review the challenges to the conservation of tropical forage species by seed in ex situ genebanks and provide information on optimum methods for their management.

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