Scenario analysis of crop-livestock integration system for increased high-quality fodder productivity among smallholder cattle farmers in Rwanda.

Description

There is a perennial shortage of fodder among smallholder farmers in most sub-Saharan countries, including Rwanda. Forage and crop residue production and their cattle requirement per year were investigated in the Eastern Savanna and the Volcanic highlands. Eastern Savana had a larger land size (0.6vs 0.3 ha; p<0.001), greater area under forage (0.08 vs 0.04 ha; p=0.008), and higher cropped area (0.6 vs 0.3 ha; p<0.001) than Volcanic highlands. Consequently, Eastern Savanna achieved higher fodder production (1 428 vs 906 kg DM/HH/year; p=0.027), crude protein (171 388 vs 108 750 g CP/year; p=0.027), and metabolizable energy (9 569 vs 6 072 MJ/year; p=0.027). Daily dry matter intake requirements were higher in the Eastern Savanna (11.0 vs 9.6 kg/day; p=0.004), reflecting higher livestock demand. Both agroecological zones exhibited persistent feed shortages. Dry matter gap was highly significant (p < 0.001), with the largest deficits in lactating (−3513 kg DM/year) and dry cows (−3753 kg DM/year). Crude protein and energy gaps were also negative across all categories, though not statistically significant (p > 0.05), indicating widespread insufficiency of nutrients. Predictive values of the intercropping system show that the production of fodder annually can increase more than 5 times, from 822 to 4 459 kg DM/year; from 78 650.5 g CP to 528 389 g CP/year, and from 5 385 MJ to 33 035 MJ per year. The present study proposed planting on contour strips a grass fodder that yields at least 60 tons DM per ha per year, and using a cover fodder that yields around 20 tons of dry matter per ha per year. The adoption of the crop/fodder integration system would lead to the year-round availability of fodder for livestock across all seasons.

Steps to reproduce

A minimum sample size of 385 households was determined according to Fisher et al. (1998). Thereafter, a total of 248 and 145 households in the lowlands and the highlands, respectively, were selected for data collection using a simple random sampling procedure according to Mohsin (2021), where each household owning a dairy cow had an equal opportunity to belong in the study. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey, and farmers were interviewed on general land management, which included total cropping area, fodder area, cereal crop area, perennial crop area, unused area under cereals and perennial crops. Cattle categories and their number were recorded through interviews. Cattle body weight was estimated by trained enumerators using tape measures. The cropping area was recorded as told by farmers. The crop yields per hectare were documented in the National Institute of Statistics, Rwanda reports (2023). Biomass yield of crop residues was calculated according to Alemu (2021) (Supplementary Table S1). The fodder yields were estimated based on frequent yields by farmers. The body maintenance requirement of cattle categories was determined according to modelling equations by NASEM (2023) for the dry matter intake and Van Del Linden et al. (2021) for the crude protein and metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance (Umunezero et al., 2025). Nutrient adequacy was assessed using a feed balance approach, where dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and metabolizable energy (ME) gaps were calculated as the difference between supply and requirement at the household level. The mean gaps were tested against zero using one-sample t-tests. Differences in nutrient gaps across sites and cattle categories were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models, with households as a random effect; covariates appearing in the model are: area of planted fodder, fodder DM, CP an ME content/household and their requirement per year. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare nutrient gaps before and after the predicted values if the fodder integration scenario is adopted by using a cover crop that yields at least 20tons of DM/ha and a grass fodder that yields at least 60 tons of DM per ha.

Institutions

• University of Nairobi

  Nairobi County, Nairobi

Categories

Licence