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Seasonal feed scarcity and feed quantity

Ideally, forage production should match livestock feed requirements all year round for optimum livestock productivity. However, seasonal shortages of feed has been identified as a major constraint to livestock productivity (Smith, 2002) (Abate et al., 1993) .
The rainy season and the warm season are associated with high biomass production which influences high feed availability and improved livestock productivity (Leonard, 2015). The dry season and the cool season are associated with low biomass production, which lead to high feed scarcity and deceased livestock productivity as the available feed fail to meet livestock nutrition requirements (Lukuyu et al., 2009). The resulting livestock nutrition stress negatively impacts smallholder farmers livelihoods as milk and other livestock products sales decline due to low productivity.
The feed scarcity problem is worsened by lack of farmers’ knowledge on locally available feed interventions which can be adopted to increase or maintain productivity during the dry season or cool season (Lukuyu et al., 2011). Feed scarcity can be addressed through targeting feed option which can close the feed gap during the dry or cool season. For instance, hay-making and silage-making are attractive options which can be adopted in seasons characterized by high biomass production to close the feed gap in seasons with low biomass production (Simbaya, 2002).

Feed quality

The important feed resources for the mixed farming systems are crop residue and natural pastures. However, these feed resources are often characterized by a low nutritive value or quality in the dry season (Simbaya, 2002). Therefore, poor quality feed falls amongst the major constraints of livestock productivity. Crop residues are associated with high fiber and low protein, which fail to support optimal microbial growth and match livestock nutrition requirements for increased productivity (Ball et al., 2001). This is an indication that farmers need of other feed options and interventions which will increase the feeding value of crop residues (Reed and Goe, 1989).

Various studies (Wanapat et al., 2009) (Sarnklong et al., 2010) (Roothaert and Paterson, 1997) have reported on interventions which can be adopted to improve the quality of feed . These interventions include chemical treatment of crop residues using urea, supplementing feed with energy-rich supplements such as molasses, supplementation of feed using protein by-products such as blood and bone and legume leaf meal and the use of fodder trees and shrubs. These feed options improve the nutritive value of feed by increasing digestibility, palatability and crude protein content (Israel and Pearson, 2000).

On the "Mapping of feed constraints and adoption factors" post, I mentioned that I will share the proxy indicators used to map the constraints and factors. The indicators are as follows:

Feed Constraints

Feed quantity

- Net Primary productivity/Dry Matter Productivity
- Land cover
- Cattle density

Seasonal feed scarcity

- Number of months per year where dry matter production is below the requirements of a tropical livestock unit (TLU)

Adoption factors

Land Availability

- Population density
- Crop area

Water Availability

- Rainfall distribution
- Flow accumulation

Source: University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Source: University of Manitoba: Natural Systems Agriculture

The rate of adoption for feed options depends on the potential of the feed options to solve or deal with the core feed constraints which farmers are faced with. For instance, in areas where feed quantity constrains livestock productivity, adoption of feed options such as legumes is likely to be low as legumes deal well with feed quality constraints but do not provide enough herbage to secure high feed quantity. Additionally, in areas where seasonal scarcity limits livestock productivity, adoption of legumes is most likely to fail as legumes provide feed during the growing season, thereby leaving a feed gap after the growing season.

Source: The Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association
Livestock farming contributes significantly to the livelihoods of people in low and middle-income countries. Livestock and livestock products are sold to gain household income, contributes to food and nutrition security by providing protein in a form of meat, milk and eggs, provides traction and returns manure to the soil for future crops in mixed systems. However, changes in the climate affects the livelihoods of people who depend on livestock in the developing world through hampering livestock productivity. High temperatures and altered rainfall distribution causes shifts on rain-fed forage leading to seasonal scarcity of feed and fluctuations in quantity and quality of feed, which in turn affects livestock nutrition, health and eventually productivity

I have been working on finding the proxy indicators of the feed constraints and adoption factors I will be mapping. I must say, it has been quite interesting learning the things one has to consider before the actual production of maps. On my next post I will be sharing the proxy indicators I have settled on.

Predicted changes in rainfall distribution and temperature will have a substantial impact on crop and livestock productivity as they will affect the length of the crop growing season, crop growth, potential crop yield, soil-water availability (Porter and Semenov, 2005), livestock health and nutrition (Thornton et al., 2007). These climatic variabilities are expected to shift ranges of crop suitability, weeds, insects, and crop and livestock diseases. This will negatively affect livestock feed production and food availability, accessibility, utilization and stability (Kotir, 2011). However, parts of the tropical highlands where cool temperatures constrain crop growth will benefit from the rising temperatures as they likely enhance crop growth (Thornton and Herrero, 2014).

On my last update I mentioned that I will be mapping feed constraints and adoption factors to target climate-resilient feeds and forages for the smallholder mixed farming system of East Africa. There are many constraints and factors which limit livestock productivity but this project focusses only on the following:

Feed constraints

-Seasonality of forages
-Feed quantity

Adoption factors
-Land availability
-Water availability