Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Oct 25;55(6):377.
doi: 10.1007/s11250-023-03781-3.

Feed resources used for small ruminant nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: a case study of Uganda

Jacob Matovu  1   2 , Ahmet Alçiçek  3
Affiliations
Review

Feed resources used for small ruminant nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: a case study of Uganda

Jacob Matovu et al. Trop Anim Health Prod. .

Abstract

Small ruminants are of great importance to the livelihoods of many people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since they act as a source of meat, income, hides and skins and for cultural identity. Despite their great importance, especially to rural smallholder farmers, their production in Africa is hindered by poor nutrition. The first stage of establishing development strategies to increase feed quality and quantity is to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the feed resources that are currently available, especially in SSA. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the availability and nature of the common feed resources that are used in the feeding of small ruminants in Uganda. This study involved a comprehensive review of various scientific, technical and economic literature that has been published up to date. Our results show that the available feed resources in Uganda can be grouped mainly into:- crop wastes and residues, agro-industrial by-products, conserved feeds, natural pastures and browse. The main feed resources for small ruminants in Uganda have been identified as natural pastures, which are generally characterised by a low nutritive value. However, browses are seen to have a high crude protein content and could be used as a supplement to grass forages and crop residues. It has been noted that farmers lack knowledge related to feed processing and management, in addition to a lack of policy governing feed quality. Therefore, there is a need to train farmers on how to process and utilise crop residues, in addition to proper feed management practices like pasture cultivation and conservation. It is also necessary to introduce widely new pasture species with better nutritional values that are suitable for the local production systems.

Keywords: Crop residues; Feed resources; Left-over food; Natural pastures; Small ruminants; Uganda.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Amata, I. A., 2014. The use of non-conventional feed resources (NCFR) for livestock feeding in the tropics: a review. Journal of Global Biosciences, 3(2), 604-613
    1. Armson, B., Ekiri, A. B., Alafiatayo, R., & Cook, A. J., 2021. Small ruminant production in Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia: A systematic review of constraints and potential solutions. Veterinary Sciences, 8(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci8010005 - DOI
    1. Asizua, D., Mpairwe, D., Kabi, F., Mutetikka, D., Bareeba, F. B., Hvelplund, T., Weisbjerg, M. R., & Madsen, J., 2018. Effects of feeding systems on rumen environment, degradability and passage kinetics in Ankole × Friesian crossbred steers. Livestock Science, 210, 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2018.02.006 - DOI
    1. Asizua, D., Mpairwe, D., Kabi, F., Mutetikka, D., Kamatara, K., Hvelplund, T., Weisbjerg, M. R., Mugasi, S. K., & Madsen, J., 2014. Growth performance, carcass and non-carcass characteristics of Mubende and Mubende×Boer crossbred goats under different feeding regimes. Livestock Science, 169, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2014.09.010 - DOI
    1. Bakyusa, C., Nambi-kasozi, J., Lumu, R., Bareeba, F., Presto, M., Ivarsson, E., & Erik, J., 2012. Strategies for coping with feed scarcity among urban and peri-urban livestock farmers in Kampala , Uganda. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 113(2), 165–174. https://kobra.uni-kassel.de/handle/123456789/2012092441842

LinkOut - more resources