[en] Dry season nutritional stress is a major constraint to ruminant livestock production in semi-arid areas. After the rains finish, quantity and quality of grazing fall rapidly, leaving cereal crop residues as the major feed resource. These residues are low in N and high in crude fibre, characteristics which restrict intake and digestibility, so that underfeeding results. Improved handling and storage procedures as well as chemical and physical treatments can all improve their quality. Other strategies include: rate of offer of stover; compensatory growth; conservation of fodder. Farmer-selection should also consider multiple use of the options available. (author)

[en] The aim of the experiment was to determine the effects of supplementation of di-calcium-phosphate in the form of blocks in late pregnancy (2 months before calving), on production and reproduction parameters of dairy cattle in smallholder farms. The experiment covered 63 animals in 20 smallholder farms, divided into control and supplemented groups. Results showed that mineral supplementation had a significant effect on calf weight, milk fat content and reproduction parameters. Calves born to cattle supplemented with di-calcium-phosphate were heavier by 1.67 kg than those in the control group. Similarly, the average milk fat content in the supplemented group was 5.6 g/L (P<0.01) higher than in the control group. Inter-calving interval was lower by 38 days (P<0.05) in the mineral supplemented cows compared to the control group. The body condition score of the cows and the milk quantity and quality (protein and density) were higher in the supplemented group than in the control group but the effect was not significant (P>0.05). (author)

[en] Fodder tree/shrub legumes have the potential for alleviating some of the feed shortages and nutritional deficiencies experienced in the dry season on smallholder farms. Zambia has a wide range of naturally occurring tree/shrub species that can be used as fodder for ruminants. Over the years a number of trees have been selected for their agronomic qualities and are currently being used in arable farming systems to promote soil fertility and erosion control. There is a need to evaluate them for use as fodder for ruminants in the dry season. Because of their high content of protein, minerals and vitamins and availability in the dry season, fodder tree/shrub legumes have the capacity to complement the feeding of crop-residues and natural pastures. Tree/shrub legumes also have other advantages in that they are available on-farm and can also be used as a source of food, timber and medicines at village level. Being deep rooted, fodder trees are rarely affected by seasonal climatic changes. The main limitation to their use as a feed resource for ruminants is the high tannin content which may have detrimental effects on the performance of animals. A number of techniques including, wilting, sun-drying, treatment with chemicals and ammoniation have been developed to minimize their adverse effects. Controlled intake through stall feeding or mixing of tree/shrub fodder with basal diets could also be used to mitigate their toxic effects. Research is currently under way to establish rumen microbes that have capacity to detoxify tannins. To promote increased use of fodder trees on smallholder farms, farmers must be provided with information on the good quality fodder trees and the approaches to effectively utilise them. They should also be encouraged to start planting fodder trees in their food crop farming systems or establishing fodder gardens on fallow lands. (author)

[en] Three extensive systems of husbandry practices were chosen in the semi-arid rainfed area of Western Sudan (Latitude 11 deg. 15' and 16 deg. 30' N, Longitude 27 deg. and 32 deg. E). Cattle production in sedentary, transhumance and migratory systems were closely monitored through a period of 365 days (June 1999-June 2000). Cattle herders were randomly selected from those who were willing to participate in the project and implementation of supplementary feeding with poultry manure/molasses or molasses alone. Selection was based on different geographical sites around El Obeid city (600 km west to Khartoum capital). In the sedentary system seven groups of cattle herders were selected and were designated as farms SA, SB, SC, SD, SE, SF, and SG. In the transhumance system the cattle herders were designated as TA, TB, and TC and in the migratory system, MA, MB, MC, MD, and ME. In each system the recently calved cows were monitored for post-partum ovarian activity using milk progesterone radioimmunoassay. Days to conception were taken as non-return to oestrus. Regression analyses were done for fertility parameters against body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) at calving, 30, 60, and 90 days from calving, as well as milk yield (MY) at 30, 60, and 90 days from calving. Poultry manure/molasses mixture was used to replace farmer's concentrate diet in farm SB (supplementation) of the sedentary system while in others the concentrate ration usually used by the farmer was partially substituted by molasses. In the migratory system the poultry manure/molasses mixture partially supplemented the farmer's concentrate diet (substitution) of all animals. In the farms belonging to transhumance system molasses alone was used as a substitution diet. The results revealed that there was a wide variation in both days to first ovulation and days to conception in all systems of production. The majority of cows showed delayed post-partum activity and days to conception, especially in the transhumance system. Cows in both sedentary and migratory systems showed gradual increase in BW and MY from calving up to 90 days, while those of the transhumance showed a steady decrease in both these parameters. BCS was found to decrease from calving to 60 days in all systems. Regression analyses showed significant negative correlation between BW and BCS (at calving, 30, 60, and 90 days from calving) and days to ovulation and conception. Dry season showed an adverse effect on fertility compared with the rainy season. Poultry manure/molasses diet as supplementation showed the best increase in milk yield in the sedentary system, but when used as a substituted diet in the migratory system milk yield increased only slightly. Diets substituted with molasses alone increased milk yield remarkably in both sedentary and transhumance systems. Also recently calved cows that received any of the above diets in the sedentary system were found to resume post-partum activity earlier than before supplementation. Cross breds, had shorter days to ovulation and conception than the local ones, but showed lower pregnancy rates. It could be concluded that, poor reproductive performance in cows kept under extensive traditional system was due to poor management practices, which ignored high-energy supplementation during late pregnancy and early lactation, especially during the dry season when rangeland pastures deteriorate drastically. Suckling further exacerbated the effect of poor nutrition resulting in extended post-partum anoestrus and low conception rates. Controlled mating and suckling together with good feeding strategies may greatly enhance reproductive performance of cows kept under extensive systems of management. (author)

[en] The Joint FAO/IAEA programme has supported animal production research in Africa for many years through country Technical Co-operation (TC) Projects, Regional Projects (AFRA) and Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP). These activities have helped to build up the infrastructure needed in the countries concerned to conduct much of the research in animal reproduction and nutrition. In the past the Agency has provided technical assistance in defining reproductive indices of ruminant livestock species and identifying nutritional constraints to productivity of animals maintained on smallholder farms under various topographical and environmental conditions. In view of the satisfactory progress of AFRA Project VIII in identifying the major constraints to livestock productivity in the region, and the recognition of many Member States of the importance of supplementary feeding for improving milk and meat production, a regional strategy was proposed for developing affordable and sustainable supplementation packages for improving productivity from smallholder farms using locally available feed resources. The new Regional Project was initiated in 1997 with the following objectives: 1. To produce a supplementary feed in the form of a convenient and easy-to-use package for improving milk and meat production in peri-urban areas 2. To promote the uptake of this technology through demonstrations of its advantages in terms of increased productivity and benefit: cost ratio 3. To maximize the use of locally available feed material such as molasses, cereal bran, legume tree leaves, oil seed meals, etc. for feeding ruminant livestock, thereby reducing the use of high cost concentrate feeds 4. To promote technical co-operation amongst developing countries (TCDC) in the region and take advantage of established infrastructure and available human and technical resources to solve problems of common interest. From 1997 until 2000 the project has been operational with 13 Member States participating in various project activities. The project activities included Research Planning and Review Meetings, Expert Visits, Regional and National Training Workshops, Fellowship Training and Scientific Visits to National Agricultural Research Systems

[en] Three feeding trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of different feed supplements on the productivity of dairy cows. The trials were conducted in 49 farms located in the Highland zones of Madagascar and comprised of 143 crossbred cows. Milk yield was recorded daily and live weight was measured at the beginning and end of each experiment. Progesterone concentration was measured in milk samples taken regularly for investigating post partum ovarian function. Milk production estimates were evaluated through regression analysis. The daily consumption of 0.6 kg urea-molasses minerals blocks (UMMB) resulted in an additional 30 to 55% milk production during the dry season. The nature of the supplemental feeds had no major effect on the onset of ovarian activity, which ranged from 28 to 95 days after calving. An economic analysis showed that the use of UMMB in addition to the usual concentrates was profitable to the dairy farmers. (author)

[en] Molasses is a major by-product of the sugar industry in Mauritius and is still under-utilized for livestock production because of legislation and handling problems. A combination of urea, molasses and other feed ingredients can be used to produce urea-molasses multinutrient blocks (UMMB) that can be fed to livestock as a supplement. The main objective of UMMB supplementation is to provide a constant source of degradable nitrogen throughout the day, to promote growth of rumen microbes in ruminants fed poor quality forage. In Mauritius, studies were undertaken to evaluate the effect of UMMB supplementation on milk production, reproduction parameters and live weight change. Sixty cows were initially involved, 30 receiving UMMB over and above their normal ration and 30 constituting the control group. These studies have shown that UMMB improved milk yield of cows although the animals were already fed a dairy concentrate. Cows that calved resumed ovarian activity slightly earlier in the treatment group (67±32 days) than those in the control group (73±36 days). Body condition was not affected by UMMB supplementation. (author)

[en] An experiment was carried for 120 days during the dry season of 1998/99, to assess the sustainability of dry season feed supplementation in an emerging peri-urban dairy production system in the Kumasi district of Ghana. Fifty three Sanga cows were divided into four treatment groups T1, T2, T3 and T4, and were fed 0, 1, 1.5 and 2 kg respectively, of a home-made concentrate supplement containing 18% crude protein. The treatment groups contained 12, 14, 12 and 15 cows, respectively. The cows were milked once a day in the mornings and allowed to suckle during the day. Daily partial milk yield was 1.7, 2.1, 2.6 and 2.7 L for cows supplemented with 0, 1, 1.5 and 2 kg concentrate, respectively. Cows fed 1.5 kg concentrate generated the highest net income from milk sales. They produced 53% more milk and 16% more milk revenue than the control cows. Their-daily partial milk yield was not significantly different (P > 0.05) from that of cows fed 2 kg concentrate supplement, but was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that from other groups. It was found that feeding 2 kg concentrate supplement a day to Sanga cows in the Kumasi district may not be economical even though milk yield may be increased. It is suggested that given the large variability observed in individual cow performance, selection of more productive cows or culling of less productive ones could be used in conjunction with feed supplementation to improve the productivity of Sanga cows in less endowed environments. (author)

[en] Inadequate nutrition is one of the major constraints limiting livestock production in African countries. The ruminants in the smallholder sector depend on natural pasture and fibrous crop residues for their survival, growth, reproduction and production. Since quality and quantity of the natural pasture vary with season, animals dependent on it are subjected to nutritional stress in the dry season when feed resources are senesced and in short supply leading to decreased animal productivity. The main objective of the IAEA Technical Co-operation Regional AFRA Project 11-17 (RAF/5/041) was the improvement of ruminant livestock production in AFRA Member States. It had two main components: (a) the development and dissemination of cost-effective and sustainable feed supplementation packages which are based on locally available feed resources; and (b) establishment of the 'Self-coating Radioimmunoassay' technique for measuring progesterone in the milk and blood of ruminants. The project has developed a number of feed supplementation packages using feed resources available on-farm and by-products from agro-industrial processes. The packages involve the use of multi-nutrient blocks containing molasses and urea or poultry litter, ensilage of fibrous crop residues with poultry litter, leguminous fodder, mineral blocks etc. These packages have been evaluated on-station and on-farm to assess their potential to enhance productivity of ruminants. The cost-benefit ratio for feeding supplementation packages has been established. As a result of their use, income of the farmers has been shown to increase substantially. Needless to say, the scientists, agricultural extension officers, policy makers and the governments must work hand-in-hand to capitalize on this and ensure wider application and extension of the packages, and develop strategies for sustaining them. Radioimmunoassay for progesterone has been used in this project mainly for the assessment of ovarian activity in order to evaluate reproductive performance in animals that are subjected to different feed supplementation strategies. It was, however, realised that this technique has potential to monitor and improve existing support services to livestock farmers such as artificial insemination and to introduce new services such as early diagnosis of non-pregnancy and infertility. In order to ensure future sustainability of the RIA for use in such applications, the work on the second component has now been taken under a new project (RAF/5/046). This publication contains the results presented by the scientists of National Agricultural Research Systems of African countries who participated in the Final Review meeting held in Cairo, Egypt from 25 to 29 November 2000, which dealt with only the nutrition component, Development and Field Evaluation of Feed Supplementation Strategies. This publication also contains some selected papers presented at the National Training Workshop on Field Evaluation and Development of the Dry Season Feed Supplementation Packages for Ruminant Animals in the Traditional Smallholder Farms organized with financial assistance from the IAEA, from 25 to 29 July 1999, in Lusaka, Zambia

[en] The effects of forage legume lablab (Lablab purpureus) as a supplement for Bunaji cows was investigated both on-station and on-farm. The results of the on-farm trial involving five herds in each of two villages (control and supplemented) showed that supplementation with 3 kg of lablab increased milk off-take significantly (P<0.001) (1.27±0.09 vs. 0.71±0.1 kg per cow/day for supplemented and non-supplemented cows, respectively). Cows in the supplemented group showed a higher gain in body weight compared to non-supplemented animals (411±1.4 vs. 127±1.8 g/day respectively). They also showed a higher (P<0.001) body condition score than those in the non-supplemented group (3.5-4.5 vs. 2.0-3.5). Overall mean weight gain for calves was however, similar for both supplemented and non-supplemented groups (428±5.3 vs. 428±1.5 g/day). Supplementation of suckling Bunaji cows with lablab improved the performance of the animals and the income of the farmers. (author)