Abstract 305

Mohamed-Saleem,-MA; Suleiman,-H

ILCA, Subhumid Zone Programme, Kaduna, Nigeria.

World-Animal-Review. 1986, No. 59, 11-17; 6 ref.

Cropping in the subhumid zone of Nigeria is bound to increase at a rapid rate in the future as a result of the increasing human population. Reduced trypanosomiasis challenge because of cultivation and government-sponsored spraying programmes will also favour this trend which will aggravate the existing nutritional problems of livestock. Fodder banks (concentrated units of forage legumes established and managed by pastoralists near their homesteads for dry-season supplementation of selected animals) are a simple way of providing renewable supplementation for traditionally managed livestock; results obtained by the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) indicate the usefulness of fodder banks to livestock and crop enterprises, and the possibility of increasing their value with legumes that are more productive than the currently used Stylosanthes guianensis cv. Cook, or S. hamata cv. Verano. However, the long-term prospects of fodder banks being adopted as a common practice will depend on the cost of establishment, land availability and adaptable forage species that could readily be made available. So far, the demonstrated benefits have led to the adoption of fodder banks at an increasing rate within the West African subhumid zone, since their inception in 1980.