Nutritional values of available ruminant feed resources in smallholder dairy farms in Rwanda

Abstract

Smallholder dairy farmers in Rwanda use diversity of resources to cope with endemic feed shortages. However, there is inadequate real farm data to support farmer decisions on choices of options. The main objective of this study was to evaluate nutritional quality of feed types that farmers use in different agro-ecological zones of Rwanda. Samples of feed types were collected from 90 randomly selected households in the low- and mid-high-altitude zones of Rwanda and analysed for proximate composition, contents of metabolisable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and neutral detergent fibre digestibility (NDFd). Rumen fermentation characteristics and efficiency of energy utilisation were examined by determining partitioning factor (PF). Results showed that only five out of 24 feed types were common in both districts. Chemical composition, OMD, ME, NDFd and PF of these feed types differed significantly (P < 0.05) in their nutritional attributes. This suggests that a common feed composition table can be used as a component of the decision support tool for rational feed resource development and utilisation in the smallholder farms in the selected agro-ecologies of Rwanda.

Effect of cutting time on agronomic and nutritional characteristics of nine commercial cultivars of Brachiaria grass compared with Napier grass during establishment under semi-arid conditions in Rwanda

“…Mulato II. The ME values observed in these grasses were higher than those reported on available forage grasses in smallholder farms in Rwanda (Mutimura et al, 2015).…”

“…Mulato II and cv. Basilisk was much lower than that reported in previous research on Napier grass (Mutimura et al, 2015). The time taken to produce half of gas volume (T 1/2 ) suggests that cv.…”

“…In tropical areas, the most sensitive attributes to management are metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) contents as well as macro and microminerals. In case these attributes are low in forages grown in warm-environment, including Napier grass, they can compromise milk yields of cows fed on these forages (Mutimura et al, 2015).…”

“…In tropical areas, the most sensitive attributes to management are metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) contents as well as macro and microminerals. In case these attributes are low in forages grown in warm-environment, including Napier grass, they can compromise milk yields of cows fed on these forages (Mutimura et al, 2015).Improved Brachiaria grasses are commonly grown in Latin America (Cezário et al, 2015) (Djikeng et al, 2014).Results on dry matter production and nutritional quality of some of these grasses have been reported under different cutting regimes of 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks (OrtegaGomez et al, 2011). However, the effect of cutting age on nutritional attributes of the mentioned Brachiaria cultivars including commercial hybrids (cv.…”

Effect of cutting height on nutritional characteristics of three agroforestry tree legume species and their feed supplement value on Chloris gayana Kunth.

“…This rate is dependent on the fermentability of their chemical constituents, especially proteins, sugars and cellulose (Mauricio, 1996). Acacia angustissima, Leucaena pallida and Mimosa scabrella are promising tree legumes that can provide protein-rich feed for ruminants, as well as fuelwood, nutrient-rich mulch, erosion control and land stabilisation (Niang et al, 1998;Gusha et al, 2013;Mutimura et al, 2015). However, information on their nutritional quality and productivity under different agroecological conditions and management strategies is limited (Mokoboki, 2011;Mutimura et al, 2013a).…”