Overview of feed resources condition and feeding practices among the smallholder dairy farmers in Tanzania

Abstract

In Tanzania, most smallholder dairy farmers rely on on-farm resources for feeding their livestock. These on-farm feed resources include grasses, legumes, crop residues, cereals and oilseed byproducts. These feed resources, in particular pasture and crop residues, do often fluctuate seasonally both in terms of quantity and quality. For example, pasture tends to be plenty in wet seasons but becomes very scarce in dry seasons. This fluctuation results in a reduction of over 40% in milk yield during the dry season. Despite a number of research and development interventions for curbing the problems of dry season fodder scarcity, the culture of forage production and preservation in terms of hay or silage, leaf-meal or feed blocks as a dry season feeding strategy is still limited among the Tanzanian smallholder dairy farmers. This study aimed at getting an overview of feed resources and dairy cattle feeding resources in two districts of Tanzania. It is hoped that information generated would inform development of future innovative solutions for curbing the identified challenges. A reconnaissance survey was conducted in eight villages in Tanga region including six in Lushoto and two in Korogwe district. The survey revealed that feed resources are plenty in the wet season (December to July) but very scarce in dry season (August to November) in both two districts. The findings suggest that poor feeding strategies and inadequate knowledge on dairy nutrition exists among the smallholder dairy farmers. Therefore, promoting on-farm research and development interventions in the areas of feeding strategies, fodder production and conservation are of paramount importance if sustainable dairy production is to be achieved in the study sites.