J.H. Rasambainarivo and R. Razafindratsita
Department de Recherches Zootechniques et Veterinaire
P.O. Box 4, Antanarivo 101, Madagascar
Introduction
Pastures
Agro-industrial by-products and crop residues
Rice straw
Cotton-seed cake
Cotton-seed
Groundnut cake
Livestock by-products
Crops used as livestock feeds
Conclusion
References
The Malagasy small-scale farmer is both a rice producer and a cattle owner. This means that in most cases a mixed animal-crop system is used. The main outputs required from livestock, particularly Zebu cattle, are manure and draught power for paddy cultivation.
Estimated livestock populations (MPAEF 1984) are: 10,363,000 cattle, 1,379,000 pigs, 1,340,000 goats, 550,400 sheep and 14,486,000 poultry.
Feed requirements for all these animals vary widely, but over the last two decades no feedstuff has been imported except for micro-ingredients such as vitamins, antibiotics, trace minerals and amino acids.
Generally speaking, there is no special fodder for the small-scale producer, but the use of any particular feed depends mainly on its availability and its price. Feed resources can be divided into three classes:
1. Pastures;
2. Agro-industrial by-products and crop residues; and
3. Agricultural products.
Natural grazing land occupies the largest part of the island and artificial pastures are very localized.
Natural Grazing Lands
Of the 587,000 km² total surface area of Madagascar, nearly 58%, or approximately 340,000 km², are occupied by natural grassland. Four main zones can be identified (Granier, Lahore and Dubois 1968; Bosser 1969; Morat 1972).
The Western Region
This is the largest region where the prevalent grasses are Hyparrhenia dissoluta, Heteropogon contortus and Chrysopogon serrulatus.
The Southern Region
In this region the main grasses are Aristida congesta, Cenchrus ciliaris and Heteropogon contortus.
The Mid-Western Region
This region is dominated by Hyparrhenia rufa, Heteropogon contortus and Aristida rufuscens.
The Highland Areas
These are defined as all land above 1,000 m, and the most common grasses are Aristida similis, Aristida rufescens and Ctenium coucinuum.
The common features of these grazing lands are, on the one hand, the absence of productive indigenous legumes and, on the other, their very low nutritive value during the dry period which lasts 5-8 months according to region. Uncontrolled burning, even if it limits bush encroachment, leads to a reduction of useful grass species (Granier 1969).
Zebu cattle are raised on these grazing lands without receiving supplements. Generally, animals are on pasture day and night, but recently, because of an increase in cattle thefts, they have been kraaled at night.
Animal production on natural pastures were studied particularly in the mid-western region (Granier, Lahore and Dubois 1968; Granier 1969; Sarniget et al (1969); de Reviers 1970; Granier and Gilibert 1976; Rasambainarivo et al 1984).
Annual liveweight gains range from 41 to 98 kg per animal. The most important problem is the quality and availability of dry-season fodder. Crude-protein content of the pasture may be as low as 2.5% dry-matter and the loss of weight may reach 60 kg per animal. Calf mortality is high.
Artificial Pastures
More than 70 species and varieties have been introduced to Madagascar during the last three decades. They have been tested in more than 50 localities. Among these introduced species, ten are in common use in the highland and mid-western regions by small-scale dairy producers.
No pasture irrigation is practiced. The most cultivated species are Pennisetum purpureum, Tripsacum laxum, Chloris gayana and maize. Perennial grasses (Pennisetum purpureum and Tripsacum laxum) are cultivated alone, not in association with legumes. They are used as green fodders which is cut and carried to the herd. Chloris gayana is established for hay making. Three to five cuts can be realized and the annual dry-matter yield may reach 12 t/ha. Maize (Zea mays) is mainly grown for silage for dairy cattle. In the mid-western region dry-matter production ranges from 15 to 20 t/ha. Maize silage was tested as the basal ration for fattening cattle and the daily liveweight gain was about 0.7 kg (Rasambainarivo, Rakotoarivelo and Rakotozandrindrainy 1980).
Oats (Avena saliva) is cultivated on rice fields just after the rice harvest (Granier and Razafindratsila 1970). It produces well and may be the only green cattle fodder available during the dry season. In the mid-western and western areas Stylosanthes guianensis and Stylosanthes hamata are cultivated and used in the late rainy season and in the first part of the dry season (Granier 1970; Rasambainarivo et al 1983). In the southern region, spinny, Opuntia ficus, is cut, burnt and distributed to some lactating Zebu cattle.
Annual liveweight gains on artificial pasture ranges from 81 to 602 kg/ha (Rasambainarivo et al 1984).
Even when pastures are cultivated, cattle graze for a part of the day on natural grassland or crop residues. So it is difficult to estimate the potential stocking rate on artificial pasture under this system. It is observed that when farmers grow artificial pasture, they also give some supplements to their cattle during the dry season, and if the artificial pasture is not sufficient, they buy some green forage cut in the lowlands.
Rice is the Malagasy staple food and annual consumption is estimated at 135 kg per capita. Consequently the most important agro-industrial by-products and crop residues are those which come from rice, followed by those from cotton and groundnuts. Other crop residues are available in relatively small quantities and they are not produced throughout the year.
Rice Brans
Three main grades of rice bran can be identified: soft, roughed and mixed (De Riviers and Gaulier 1970; Laurent 1975). There is no clear standardization in milling processes, so there is great variability in these feedstuffs between mills. Mongodin, Lobry and Pergent (1980) reported that the total amount of rice bran available is approximately 376,000 t (Table 1). It is noteworthy that the highest yield comes from many small and widely scattered manual mills. Under these conditions the bran is not commercialized but fed directly to poultry and pigs. The commercial rice brans come from a variety of mills. They produce a total of about 46,000 t per year. Rice polishings and rough rice brans are produced by large mills (rizeries) and the mixed bran by small mills (decortiqueries) and hand mills. Rice polishings have a high fat and crude-protein content up to 17 and 14% dry matter, respectively. Meanwhile, rough and mixed brans are lower grade and contain more crude fibre, as high as 22% DM (Table 2).
Table 1. Extraction rates of rice brans in different milling processes
|
|
Large mills |
Small mills |
Hand milling | |||
|
Rice |
|
70% |
|
60% |
|
60% |
|
Rice bran |
Rice polishings |
3% |
Mixed bran |
25% |
Mixed bran |
15% |
|
|
Rice bran |
4% |
|
|
|
|
|
Rice husk |
|
23% |
|
15% |
|
25% |
|
Total bran available |
13,000 tonnes |
33,000 tonnes |
330,000 tonnes | |||
Table 2. Chemical composition of rice brans (% DM)
|
Sample |
Dry matter |
Ether extract |
Crude protein |
Crude fibre |
Ash |
|
Rice polishings (n=54) |
89 |
15.6 |
12.0 |
6.9 |
9.2 |
|
Rice bran (n=36) |
91 |
5.9 |
8.1 |
18.9 |
17.4 |
|
Mixed rice bran (n=22) |
92 |
5.3 |
6.0 |
22.4 |
16.0 |
Source: Laurent 1975
Rice brans are used for all farm animals. They may be the only component of pig and poultry diets, but, generally, 80% rice bran is combined with 15-20% seed cake and minerals (Tillon 1972). A recent review of Zebu-cattle fattening shows that a ration of 0.4-0.8 kg/100 kg liveweight gave a daily gain ranging from 0.5-0.8 kg (Rasambainarivo and Rakotozandrindrainy 1985). The best gain was obtained with a ration consisting of rice polishings and molasses (Serres et al 1971; Meissonnier and Godet 1972). Rice brans were also combined with cassava and gave high liveweight gains (Godet 1971).
Rice straw is extensively used for Zebu cattle and particularly for draught and lactating animals. National rice production is estimated at 2 million tonnes and if we assume a 1:1 straw/grain ratio, the total yield of rice straw is equivalent to the total yield of grain. The straw is all cut and dried before threshing, then the straw is left to the cattle for ad libitum consumption without any treatment. There is a high level of wastage. Experiments are now being conducted to see if the nutritive value of this straw can be improved by the addition of ammonia.
Cotton-seed cake is the most common seed cake used for animal feeding. In 1983 cotton-seed cake production was estimated at 5,000 t. It is produced principally in the western region, but it is extensively used for all livestock. For growing and finishing pig diets (Tillon 1971) recommended no more than 10% of cotton-seed cake in the complete feed. For beef feed-lot fattening up to 1 kg of cotton-seed cake is essential if the basal ration is maize silage. With this use of cottonseed cake the liveweight gain may reach 0.72 kg (Rasambainarivo et al 1980).
The use of whole cotton seed prevents weight loss in Zebu grazing dry-season pasture. A daily ration of 1.5 kg per animal leads to 0.075 a liveweight gain ranging from 0.75 kg to 0.191 kg in mature animals. For young animals 0.5 kg of cotton seed seems sufficient and gives a daily liveweight gain of between 0.21 and 0.31 kg (Rasambainarivo and Rakotozandrindrainy 1985).
Groundnut cake is highly valued and together with rice bran constitutes a regular ingredient of poultry and pig rations (Daumas 1963; Gaulier and Serres 1971). Generally the groundnuts are not decorticated, crude fibre content is relatively high (up to 18% dry matter) and there is a constant risk of aflatoxin-induced diseases.
Although here attention has been focused on rice, cotton and groundnut by-products, other by-products such as wheat bran, soybean cake, coconut cake and brewer's grains are also used.
Four well-equipped abattoirs are operational, but the numbers of animals slaughtered in them represent only 15-20% of the total number of slaughtered animals. The majority are not slaughtered in these abattoirs and the byproducts are not recovered. The estimated data on available livestock byproducts are presented in Table 3. The majority of these by-products come from Zebu cattle. A 300-kg animal produces around 1 kg of dry bloodmeal (Raveloson 1980) and 25 kg of bonemeal (Ranaivoson 1985). Meatmeal quantity is variable and is estimated at a total of 855 t (Mongodin, Lobry and Pergent 1980).
Fish Products
Dried fish is produced in the western region and at Alaotra Lake. The fish are generally sun dried or smoked, but there are no industrial facilities. Consequently, the dried fish are sold whole and without any removal of oil or heads. Total dried fish available varies between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes per year.
Table 3. Estimated production of animal processing by-products
|
By-product (tonnes) |
Annual production |
|
Meatmeal |
855 |
|
Bloodmeal |
98 |
|
Bonemeal |
147 |
|
Fish |
1,500 |
|
Waste shrimp meal |
200 |
Source: Mongodin, Lobry and Pergent 1980
Waste shrimp meal comes principally from processing plants on the north-western Malagasy coast. Production is estimated at about 200 t per year (Mongodin, Lobry and Pergent 1980). All of these animal byproducts are commonly used in pig and poultry rations.
When rice brans became scarce, the research and extension services proposed the use of maize and cassava (Serres, Zebrowska and Sejourne 1966). The former is mainly used in pig and poultry diets and the latter is used for all livestock except for the extensively raised Zebu (See Table 4).
Table 4. National production and animal consumption of root tubers
|
|
Cassava |
Sweet potatoes (tonnes) |
Potatoes (tonnes) |
Maize (tonnes) | |
|
Estimated national production |
Fresh |
1,322,355 (40% DM) |
333,000 |
132,190 |
100,040 |
|
Estimated for live-stock feeding |
Dry |
599,000 |
32,700 |
19,000 |
|
|
Percentage used for livestock feeding |
|
10-15 |
10-15 |
10-15 |
30-60 |
Source: Mongodin, Lobry and Pergent 1980
Maize
National maize production is approximately 100,000 t, of which 60% is for animal feeding.
Cassava
Cassava is the only agricultural product traditionally distributed to cattle and particularly to lactating female, fattening and draught cattle. It may be distributed green or dried, with quantities distributed ranging from 3 to 5 kg per day. A feed-lot review indicates that if the quantity of cassava increases without any corresponding increase in protein sources, the Zebu's liveweight gain may be low.
Other Agricultural by-products
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, Colocassia and Canna edulis are in some cases fed to pigs and Zebu cattle in some areas. Rejected banana fruit are commonly fed to growing and fattening pigs.
Numerous feed resources are available in Madagascar. It is clear, however, that protein deficiency is a major problem. Dry-season pasture does not meet the maintenance requirements of ruminants and leads to a loss of weight and mortality in young animals. Protein seed cakes are produced but they are expensive and not always available. Zebu and dairy cattle suffer from a second major nutritional deficiency caused by a shortage of phosphorus. In addition, transport costs are a bottleneck for wider utilization of these various feedstuffs.
Intensive research is needed to increase our knowledge on the use of locally available raw materials. Information is required on yields nutritive value and management of pastures and multipurpose fodder trees. Studies on the use of crop residues and non-conventional feeds should continue. The tendency seems to be to maximize the use of available feedstuffs to meet the nutritional requirements of livestock and reduce the input cost. To this end, an interdisciplinary approach, at national and international level, is needed to improve the small-scale farming system of Madagascar.
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