Conservation of forage resources for increasing livestock production in traditional forage reserves in Tanzania

Abstract

Traditional reserved pastures namely ‘Olopololi/Alalili’ for Maasai, ‘Ngitili’ for Sukuma and ‘Milaga’ for Gogo have been in use among the pastoral and agropastoral communities for many years. These reserves provide dry season feed for ruminant livestock especially cattle, sheep and goats. Apart from the provision of forage materials, these reserves provide fuel wood, construction material and medicinal plants. These traditional forage conservation practices also contribute to soil conservation and forage species biodiversity. However, studies conducted in these traditional forage reserves at Tingatinga (Maasai), Makang’wa (Gogo) and in Mwamishali/Mwanyanhina (Sukuma) in Tanzania show limitations of the reserves especially, in providing adequate dry matter and proteins for both maintenance and production of livestock. Nevertheless, there are opportunities for improvement on these traditional practices through introduction of improved grasses, legumes and tree/shrub species as well as proper maintenance of the superior local species and cultivars.

Impacts of management and enclosure age on recovery of the herbaceous rangeland vegetation in semi-arid Kenya

“…The grass is harvested to be used as fodder or for thatching houses. All private enclosures also act as reserve pastures that are occasionally grazed during the dry season by the young stock, sick animals and milking cows, a practice that is also known in Ethiopia (Angassa and Oba, 2008) and Tanzania (Mwilawa et al, 2008). The herders commonly use cover, grass height and percentage of flowered grass to take decisions on stocking densities.…”

Enclosures as a land management tool for food security in African drylands

“…Studies by Gaani (2002) in Somalia, Mwilawa, Komwihangilo, and Kusekwa (2008) in Tanzania, Behnke (1986) and Nedessa, Ali & Nyborg (2005) in Sudan, Mengistu et al (2005), Mekuria, Veldkamp, Halle, Muys & Gebrehiwota (2007), and Beyene (2009) in Ethiopia, and Meyerhoff (1991), Makokha et al (1999), Macharia and Ekaya (2005), Kigomo and Muturi (2013), Mureithi et al (2015), and Nyberg et al (2015) in Kenya all illustrate that enclosures are indeed a successful tool for the restoration of degraded rangelands.…”

On the difference between “exclosures” and “enclosures” in ecology and the environment

“…These communities set aside some of their grazing land during the rainy season so that it can be grazed during the dry season. These temporary grazing exclosures, where recovery of palatable species is the primary goal, are more appropriately called (traditional) (communal) feed, fodder or forage reserves (Müller et al, 2007;Tefera et al, 2007;Mwilawa et al, 2008).…”