In most developing countries, there has been a long-standing conflict of interest between using land for agriculture and the conservation of biodiversity. This paper reports on a study of factors influencing farmers’ decisions to integrate trees into their agricultural practice. We also discuss the possibility of protecting and managing planted and naturally regenerating trees on farmland in order to restore degraded land and improve biodiversity. Data were collected from interviews with farmers in the Center-West region of Burkina Faso and analyzed using Principal Component Analysis, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression. The results show that farmers’ decisions to incorporate trees into their farmland were mainly influenced by silvicultural knowledge and skills, participation in farmers’ groups or other social organizations with an interest in tree conservation, the social value of biodiversity in the rural landscape, and the perceived economic benefits of trees on farmland. The most important factors associated with variation in levels of motivation to conserve trees on farms included household wealth, gender, age, education level, marital status, residence status, farmland size, household size and technical support. We conclude that an agroforestry project will be more successful if the local biophysical conditions and diversity of smallholder socio-economic characteristics and their perceptions, needs and preferences are considered in its design. There is also an immediate need for coordinated development of information and training to raise local community awareness of the potential of agroforestry as well as to disseminate information about adding value to tree products in order to encourage farmers to protect on-farm trees.
Tag: dairy production
Logistic modelling of smallholder livestock farmers’ adoption of tree-based fodder technology in Zimbabwe
Based on field data collected from 131 small scale dairy farmers that were randomly selected from four agro-ecological zones, this study assessed the potential of adoption of fodder bank technology as a means for improving livestock production and income generation for smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. Using a logit modelling approach, it also identified the drivers of adoption of the technology by analysing the influence of household characteristics and ecological factors on farmers’ decision to adopt the technology. The model correctly predicted 75% of observed adoption and non-adoption by farmers. Results reveal that dairy herd size, land holding size, membership of dairy association and agro-ecological potential are the key factors influencing farmers’ adoption of fodder bank. Age, sex, household size and educational level of farmers play lesser role. Male and female farmers were equally likely to take up and practice fodder bank if they are given equal access to information and incentives. The study recommends farmer-led extension approaches where farmers who possess certain key characteristics should constitute the initial group for disseminating information regarding the technology in rural communities. The results highlight the importance of access to dairy product markets as a driver for the adoption of fodder banks. It is recommended that forging a strategic partnership with the Dairy Development Programme (DDP) will offer high potential for enhancing the scaling up of the adoption and impact of fodder bank technology in the country.
A simple method of formulating least cost diets for smallholder dairy production in sub-Saharan Africa
Smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are constrained by inadequate supply of good quality protein sources particularly during the dry season. Commercial protein concentrates are expensive and not readily accessible. Multipurpose forage legumes and other non-conventional protein sources available on-farm have been promoted as alternative cheaper protein sources. The major problem faced by smallholder dairy farmers however is the formulation of diets balanced for the key nutrients and also being cost-efficient. This paper presents a step by step spreadsheet based procedure of diet formulation for smallholder dairy production. The procedure ensures that the diet is balanced for all the key nutrients, is low-cost and the user has significant control over the formulation process. An example using this formulation method incorporating the fodder legumes Leucaena diversifolia, Leucaena pallida, Leucaena esculenta, Acacia angustissima and Calliandra calothyrsus indicate a cost reduction from 10% on C. calothyrsus to 30% on L. diversifolia inclusion when compared to the conventional dairy meal concentrate (US
High-yield dairy cattle breeds improve farmer incomes, curtail greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dairy import dependency in Tanzania
Tanzania’s dairy sector is poorly developed, creating reliance on imports for processed, value-added dairy products and threatening food security, particularly when supply chains are disrupted due to market volatility or armed conflicts. The Tanzanian Dairy Development Roadmap is a domestic development initiative that aims to achieve dairy self-sufficiency by 2030. Here, we model different outcomes of the roadmap, finding that adoption of high-yield cattle breeds is essential for reducing dairy import dependency. Avoided land use change resulting from fewer, higher yielding dairy cattle would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy producers’ average incomes could increase despite capital expenditure and land allocation required for the adoption of high-yield breeds. Our findings demonstrate the importance of bottom-up development policies for sustainable food system transformations, which also support food sovereignty, increase incomes for smallholder farmers and contribute towards Tanzania’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Shrubs for Change: What is it all about?
Raising Tree Seedlings using Swazi beds – Key Steps
Key factors that affect milk yields
Feeding Options: Pros and Cons
Amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fresh fruit as new feed source to enhance ruminal fermentation and milk production in lactating dairy cows
This study sought to determine the effect of feeding three levels of the novel feedstuff fresh Phyllanthus emblica (amla) fruit on nutrient digestibility, fermentation parameters, and milk production of lactating dairy cows. Eight ruminally cannulated mid-lactation dairy cows were randomly assigned to two treatment groups in a repeated crossover design. There was a 14-d adaptation phase followed by the start of period 1. In this period, the first group of 4 cows received the control diet, whereas the other group was supplemented with FAF at increasing levels (200, 400, 600 g/d), sequentially, at 14-d intervals. Each period consisted of a cow as the main plot, with three different amla doses representing subplots. In period 2, the control and supplemented groups were exchanged. For each sub-period, the first ten days were adjusted for diet adaptation, and the last four days were assigned to sample milk, feed, rumen, and feces. Supplementation of FAF had no effect (P = 0.92) on feed intake. While, the lowest (P < 0.01) rumen protozoa count was recorded at 400 g/d FAF dose compared to other groups. However, total VFA concentrations varied in a quadratic manner (P = 0.04) with increasing FAF doses. The molar proportion of acetate (P = 0.01) and propionate (P < 0.01) were altered (cubic effect). The effects of FAF supplementation on NH3-N concentration (P < 0.001) were dose-dependent, with the concentration decreasing by 54.9% at 200 g/d and increasing by 29.8% at 600 g/d when compared to controls. There was a quadratic effect of FAF on milk yield (P = 0.02), with the 200 and 400 g/d groups producing higher milk yields than the 600 g/d groups. The inclusion of 400 g/d FAF in the diet led to greater milk protein yield (P < 0.01) and milk nitrogen efficiency (P < 0.01) compared to cows fed 200 g/d FAF. Moreover, the concentration of milk urea nitrogen (MUN) was reduced (P < 0.001) with 200 or 400 g/d FAF supplementation compared with control or 600 g/d FAF. When cows were supplemented with a 400 g/d FAF dose, both ruminal protozoa counts and MUN were reduced, but milk protein and nitrogen efficiency were increased with no reduction in milk production. These results suggest that FAF can be used as an alternative natural feed source up to 400 g/d on an as-fed basis, but beyond that there may have anti-nutritional factors that limit the levels of amla supplementation. © 2021 The Authors
Corn silage quality index: An index combining milk yield, silage nutritional and fermentation parameters
Development of indexes based on milk yield of lactating dairy cows fed corn silage-based diets combined with silage quality parameters can provide clear guidance to assess the overall quality of corn silage produced. This study was done to determine the most important minimum number of silage quality parameters for corn silage quality evaluation among commonly used parameters for nutritional and fermentation quality and to develop an integrated corn silage quality index (CSQI) using standard scoring functions and weighting assignment. Principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis (MRA) were used to select the most important silage quality parameters and to assign parameter weights, whereas standard scoring functions were used to normalize silage quality parameters. A variety of corn silage samples (n = 390) representing spatial and seasonal heterogeneity, were collected from 195 intensive dairy farms in China and analyzed for 16 frequently used chemical and fermentation parameters. Concurrent with silage sampling, average daily milk yield respective to each silage was collected from 50 mid-lactating dairy cows fed corn silage-based diets (i.e., 39–48 % DM corn silage in TMR) and used as the dependent variable in MRA. The silage quality parameters used in developing the index were; digestible NDF after 30-h in vitro incubation (g/kg NDF), and concentrations (DM basis) of starch, crude protein, ether extract, ammonia, and lactic acid. The CSQI was developed by summing normalized and weighted quality parameters. The CSQI was subsequently converted to corn silage quality scores (CSQS, 0–100). Based on the CSQS, silages were grouped into five quality grades; poor, fair, average, good and excellent having grade mean index score of 51, 62, 69, 78 and 89. The new indexes were evaluated against observed daily milk yield measurements and Milk2006 milk yield estimates. The CSQS were found to be positively correlated with observed daily milk yield measurements and Milk2006 index. The linear relationship between MRA based CSQS and observed daily milk yield measurement was higher than that of the relationship between PCA based CSQS and Milk2006 index (R2 = 0.72 vs. 0.60). Further, accuracy and precision of predicting milk yield by MRA based CSQI were higher than those of the PCA based CSQI against both observed daily milk yield measurements and Milk2006 index based on corn silage quality. Thus, among the two multivariate approaches, the MRA based CSQI method was a more accurate method for predicting performance between corn silage of different qualities. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.