box-baling forage improves profitability of … forage improves profitability of smallholder milk...

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Project R6619 High Potential Production System

Using farmer-evaluated strategies,a practical and economical methodfor transporting animal feedmaterial was developed. Box-balingnot only reduces transportationcosts but also increases on-farmstorage. This is one example ofhow to increase the profitability ofsmallholder milk production fromcows and goats through improvedutilisation of cultivated forages androadside grasses.

BackgroundMilk production is progressively moreimportant on crop/livestock smallhold-ings in Tanzania as it increases cashincome to women, improves childnutrition and produces manure forcrops. However, profitable and sus-tainable milk production is constrainedby the lack of farmer-evaluatedstrategies on how to make best use ofindigenous forages and on how toapply new technologies, developedfrom on-station research, for better

Box-Baling Forage Improves Profitability ofSmallholder Milk Producers

University of ReadingDepartment of AgricultureReading, UKE. Owen

Selian Agricultural ResearchInstituteArusha, TanzaniaN.F. Massawe

Sokoine University of AgricultureMorogoro, TanzaniaL.A. Mtenga

Livestock in DevelopmentCrewkerne, UKS.J. Holden, S.D. Ashley

Natural Resources InstituteUniversity of GreenwichChatham, UKD.L. Romney

Project completed in1999

utilisation of forage. With better use offorages, livestock nutrition can beimproved, particularly in the dryseason when feed is generally scarce.There are a number of options forimproving the use of indigenousforage but uptake of research findingshas been hampered by the lack ofinformation on economic viability andby the farmers’ poor acceptability ofthese new technologies.

Research highlightsUsing Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) methodology with smallholderfarmers in the regions of Kilimanjaro,Mwanza and Morogoro, the projectidentified some of the reasons for thelow uptake and use of improvedtechnologies. One of the majorconstraints identified regarding forageproduction and utilisation was the highcost of transportation. Other commonconstraints included inadequacies ofdissemination, farmer resources,marketing and roads. Based on ananalysis of resources available andthe technology developed, farmer-

evaluated strategies weredeveloped for increasing milkproduction from cows andgoats through better use ofindigenous forages.

Maize stover was identifiedas the most important feedresource during the dryseason. In Kilimanjaro,maize is grown 15–20 kmfrom the homesteads and isstall-fed. The high cost oftransportation from thelowlands to upland small-holdings, where the animalsare kept, is a major con-straint to its utilisation.Manual baling in a woodenbox increased the weight thatcan be carried in a pick-uptruck by 63% and reducedthe cost of transport by 33%

when compared with transportation ofloose stover. Stripping of leaf, sheathand husk from the stover together withbaling increased the pick-up load by140%. Baling in boxes also reducedon-farm storage space and thusfacilitated budgeting of feeds. Labourcosts and total costs of handlingstover changed with baling. Loosematerial had the highest cost per kgdry matter (DM) and bales from themedium size box (75 x 50 x 40 cm)recorded the lowest cost per kg DM.

In case studies with six smallholderfarmers in Kilimanjaro, data werecollected for a dairy ‘enterprise budget’– this type of budget ignores fixedcosts that cannot be attributedspecifically to the enterprise (unlike awhole farm budget), making it moremeaningful for smallholder farmers.Manual box-baling of whole stoverincreased the annual enterprisebudget (margin) per 400-kg cow(average live weight of local cows) by11%. For leaf, sheath and husks ofstover the improvement was 22%.

Manual box-baling of forage reduces transport costs. Farmersare cutting twine used to secure the bale (maize stover) whichis compacted by trampling, then removed from the box.

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This Project Summary is an output from the Livestock Production Programme funded bythe United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit ofdeveloping countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID.

between researchers, extensionists,policy makers, farmers and otherstakeholders.

Relevance to sustainablelivelihoodsUtilisation of maize stover will begreatly enhanced by baling thematerial; this facilitates transport andreduces costs. Meanwhile, increasedon-farm storage space fromcompaction of stover will liberatestorage space for other feeds, thusovercoming the fluctuation in animalfeed supplies. Livelihoods of resource-poor farmers will improve from theapplication of this cost-effectiveappropriate technology to maximisethe use of available animal feedresources for increased milk produc-tion. Farm and household incomes willbe improved with increased cashincome to women and improved childnutrition.

Selected project publications• Masswe, N.F., Owen, E., Mtenga,L.A., Romney, D.L., Ashley, S.D. andHolden, S.J. (1997) Developingsustainable forage utilisation toincrease profitable milk production onsmallholder farms in Tanzania: ap-proach using Participatory RuralAppraisal (PRA). pp. 23–31. In:Proceedings of Twenty-third ScientificConference, Tanzania Society ofAnimal Production, 1996. vol. 23.Tanzania Society of Animal Produc-tion, Morogoro, Tanzania.

• Massawe, N.F., Owen, E., Mtenga,L.A., Ashley, S.D., Holden, S.J. andRomney, D.L. (1999) Identifiedconstraints to improving forageutilisation for milk production in threelocations of Tanzania: approachtowards partipatory livestock research.pp.161–162. In: BSAS/KARIProceedings of InternationalConference on Food, Lands andLivelihoods: Setting ResearchAgendas for Animal Science, KenyaAgricultural Research Institute,Nairobi, 27–30 January 1998. BritishSociety of Animal Science, Edinburgh,UK.

• Massawe, N.F. (1999) Strategiesbased on Participatory Rural Appraisalfor improving the utilisation of foragesto increase milk production on small-holder farms in Tanzania. PhD thesis,University of Reading, UK.

• Massawe, N.F. and Owen, E.,Mtenga, L.A., Holden, S.J. and Ashley,S.D. (2000) Cut costs of feedingstover. Leaflet. Swahili (18,000 copies)and English (2000 copies). 4 pp.Development Communications Ltd.,Nairobi, Kenya.

UptakeManual box balingtechnology not onlyreduced transport costsbut also reduced thespace required forstorage and thusassisted in feedbudgeting. The storageand budgeting compo-nent associated withmanual box-balingcould therefore contrib-ute towards reducingthe fluctuation of feedoffered and, hence,avoid poor animalperformance associ-ated with feed fluctua-tions.

LinkagesThe case studies in Kilimanjarorevealed that weeds contributesignificantly to the annual supply offeed on smallholder farms. There is,however, a shortage of literature onthe use of weeds as a potential animalfeed and the project identified a needfor basic information on this. In recentresearch in Kenya, animal perform-ance declined as a result of fluctua-tions in feed offered. Future investiga-tion into the effects of frequentfluctuations in animal feed offeredshould complement research on theuse of weeds in livestock feeding. Theoutputs of this research developed bythe Livestock Production Programmecontribute to the basket of technologi-cal options which are now available forsmallholder milk producers (ProjectsR6775, R6993, R7010).

This study also identified the need forstronger linkages to be established

Problem linkage diagram for smallholders in Kilimanjaro.

For further information on the Programme contact:The Programme Manager

Livestock Production ProgrammeNR International

Park House, Bradbourne LaneAylesford, Kent ME20 6SN

<w.richards@nrint.co.uk or lpp@nrint.co.ukwww.nrinternational.co.uk