Feed for livestock in urban and peri- urban areas in Uganda Jan Erik Lindberg C. Katongole, R. Lumu, L. Kasule, J. Nambi-Kasozi, F. Bereeba, M. Presto and E. Ivarsson
Jun 24, 2015
Feed for livestock in urban and peri-
urban areas in Uganda
Jan Erik Lindberg
C. Katongole, R. Lumu, L. Kasule, J. Nambi-Kasozi, F. Bereeba, M.
Presto and E. Ivarsson
Background
Livestock keeping is increasing in Kampala – Attributed to rapid population growth and
urbanization Need to increase food production
– To improve food security – To improve nutrition of rural and urban poor
Increasing demand for livestock products
Background
Lack of feed is the main constraint for smallholder livestock production in Uganda – Purchase of feeds is not an option
By-products from food crops and food waste are potential feed resources Exists locally Limited knowledge on nutritional properties
Aim
To get more insight into farmers knowledge of the nutritional quality of available feed resources.
To identify and nutritionally classify available feed resources in peri-urban and urban areas of Kampala.
To produce a data-base with chemical composition of selected feeds, and their predicted energy and nutritive value.
Methodology
Stakeholders’ workshop Held at Makerere University (July, 2011) Attended by farmers, parish chiefs, extension
workers & local leaders Discussions on project objectives, activity plan,
dissemination strategy, selection of project sites (parishes) for data collection
Methodology
Focus group discussions (FGDs) 1 FGD per division (6 farmers, 1 extension workers
& 2 local leaders) Questionnaire interviews 120 households (4 divisions)
Kawempe (32), Makindye (24), Nakawa (34), Rubaga (30)
Indigenous knowledge on nutritional quality Available cattle, pig and chicken feed resources
Methodology
Collection of feed samples Most commonly used feed resources in cattle, pig
and chicken production Nutritional quality evaluation Chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and
rumen degradability
Key findings
Constraints to livestock production Constraint Rank
Feed scarcity 1st Diseases 2nd High cost of feeds 3rd High cost of drugs 4th Space limitation 5th Poor quality feeds 6th Expensive labour 7th Conflict with neighbours 8th
High cost of feed was ranked highly by chicken farmers: Chicken production depends on concentrate feeds, which are expensive. As a cost-saving strategy many mix their own feeds: The feeds did not conform to recommended nutrient levels.
• Lower in protein and energy • Higher in fibre and ash
Key findings
Coping strategies to feed scarcity Coping strategy Rank
Change feed resources based on availability and cost
1st
Purchase feed ingredients in bulk 2nd Use crop/food wastes 3rd Reduce herd size 4th Forages in open access lands 5th Grow fodder 6th Resort to free-roaming 7th
Strategies deal with the constraint of feed scarcity on a day-by-day basis. Strategies are not sustainable.
Key findings
Major feed resources used % of responses
Cattle Pigs Chickens Banana peels 100 86.8 23.4 Elephant (Napier) grass 74.1 - -
Open access forages 43.1 23.7 10.1 Sweet potato vines 34.5 39.5 2.1
Brewer’s waste 20.7 2.6 -
Sweet potato peels 13.8 26.3 -
Maize bran 3.9 30.0 65.9
Left-over food - 67.5 4.3
Own-mixed feed - - 65.9
Banana peels for dairy cattle rations Use of elephant grass is affected by:
• Access to land • Poor agronomic practices • Napier stunt disease
Left-over food is vital for pig production
Concerns over contamination risks
Key findings
Indigenous knowledge for judging nutritional quality Cattle Pigs Chickens
Resistance to diseases yes yes yes Rate of growth/body condition produced yes yes yes
Amount of feed taken in yes yes yes Not too firm or watery faeces yes yes -
Extent to which a feed is liked by the animals yes - -
Amount of faeces produced yes - -
Litter size produced - yes -
Amount of lean on the carcass - yes -
Number of eggs laid - - yes
Number of eggs with broken shells - - yes
Key findings
Despite the indigenous knowledge Farmers put more importance on
availability and cost: They perceived banana peels to be of low
nutritional quality, but they were the most commonly used feed resource.
They were aware that adding banana peels to chickens feeds compromises the quality, but continue to use it in the feed.
They perceived brewer’s waste to be of excellent nutritional quality, but it was not used by many because of cost.
Recommendations
To ensure better and more efficient utilization of available feed resources; Encourage farmers to adopt coping strategies
that can deal with the challenge of feed scarcity more sustainably.
Sensitize the farmers on the importance of nutritional quality.
Training in feed formulation.
Acknowledgements
Swedish ministry of Foreign Affairs for the funding
Farmers in Kampala
Thank you for Listening!