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Second FAO Electronic Conference on Tropical Feeds
Livestock Feed Resources within Integrated Farming Systems
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Abstract of the seventeenth paper, from E.L.K. Osafo et al.

Questions that might stimulate discussion on this topic
include:

1. Is the excess feeding strategy currently practised by
farmers and what are its benefits in your area?

2. Do you have the same observation as the authors on the fact
that chopping sorghum stover increases the intake in sheep but
decreases it in cattle?

3. What is the use of refused stover in your area?

4. Would it be worth to treat the refused stover with urea?

5. How do you assess the benefit of stover urea treatment
compared to stover excess feeding?

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EXCESS FEEDING OF STOVERS FROM SORGHUM AND MAIZE FOR SMALL
RUMINANTS AND CATTLE IN CEREAL BASED INTEGRATED FARMING
SYSTEMS IN AFRICA

E.L.K. Osafo (1), E. Owen (2), J. Methu (3), A. Abate (4),
J.C. Tanner (5) and A.A.O. Aboud (6)

(1) Department of Animal Science, University of Science and
Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;
E-Mail: USTLIB@UST.gn.apc.org

(2) Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading,
Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading, RG6 6AT, UK;
E-Mail: E.Owen@reading.ac.uk

(3) Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, NARC, Muguga, PO
Box 30148, Nairobi, Kenya;

(4) Department of Animal Production, University of Nairobi, PO
Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya;

(5) International Livestock Research Institute, PO Box 30709,
Nairobi, Kenya;

(6) Department of Animal Science and Production, Sokoine
University of Agriculture, PO Box 3004, Morogoro, Tanzania

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ABSTRACT

Surveys of small-scale farmers growing sorghum in Ethiopia and
maize in Kenya showed that stover was used as livestock feed
during the dry season. Feeding method generally involved
offering crudely-chopped (i.e. machete), stover in large
quantities, with refusals either re-offered to less valuable
animals (eg. donkeys in Ethiopia), and/or used as fuel, mulch
or compost with excreta. Experiments were undertaken to
quantify the effect of varying extents of excess feeding on
stover intake and livestock production; cottonseed cake and
minerals supplementation was provided. In Ethiopia, using
machine-chopped sorghum stover, sheep offered 25, 50 or 75 g
stover/kg live weight (M), daily (d), increased their intake
and growth rate with increasing excess rate (intake, g DM/kg
M.d: 22.1, 31.1 and 32.5; growth rate, g/d: 28.2, 54.1 and
62.2). With increasing excess rate, sheep consumed more leaf
and less stem. Amount of stover refused also increased with
excess rate (g/kg offered: 51, 318 and 526). Goats responded
similarly. In another study, the effects of increasing the
excess rate (25 vs 50 g/kg M.d) and chopping were additive in
improving intake and growth rate of sheep. However, with
cattle, chopping reduced intake of stover, but increasing the
excess rate of unchopped stover improved performance. In a
comparison of stover from a bird-resistant and
non-bird-resistant variety, there was no difference in intake
by sheep, but in the same trial, increasing the excess rate
from 25 to 50 g/kg M.d increased intake. In Kenya, when
mid-lactation, cross-bred cows were fed minerals and 3.2 kg
DM/d cottonseed cake and offered 30, 60 or 90 g DM/kg M.d of
unchopped maize stover, intake of stover (kg DM/d: 8.1, 11.3
and 13.2) and yield of milk (l/d: 10.0, 11.3 and 12.3)
increased with increasing excess rate. The experiments
demonstrate improved animal productivity from an excess
feeding-rate strategy for sorghum and maize stovers. It is
concluded that integrated farming systems involving excess
feeding strategies now need to be modeled, so that
interventions to improve the systems may be identified.
However, to develop the models, it will be necessary to
generate further input/output information, especially
regarding strategies for utilising refused stover.

KEY WORDS: Excess feeding, straw, sorghum, maize, stover

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FAO ELECTRONIC CONFERENCE:
LIVESTOCK FEED RESOURCES WITHIN INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEMS
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