Improving small ruminant productivity and livelihood through feed and health interventions in northern Ghana

United States Agency for International Developmen

Managing local fodder species for a competitive gender-sensitive goat value chain: achievements and lessons learnt from Climate-Smart Villages in northern Ghana

In Ghana, women participation in the small ruminant value chain as a poverty reduction strategy is increasing. However, fodder of good nutritive value is relatively unavailable. Considering this need, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has been using its Climate-Smart Village (CSV) approach to test and promote the adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) interventions such as the management of useful fodder tree and shrub species. This research for development work was initiated in 2016 and implemented through various steps. We started with the analysis of ruminant production systems and identification of predominant feeding practices in order to identify and prioritize potential browse species for quality in terms of their nutrient profile, preference and digestibility by goats. This was followed by an evaluation of the goat value chain in the context of climate change and variability, with suggestions on improvement options for farmers especially women. We also investigated the potential availability of the prioritized browse species and interventions needed. The development of a multispecies fodder bank that concentrates preferred species on the same farm management unit alongside forbs, grasses and fast-growing fodder legumes was then identified and initiated for ensuring sustainable all-year-round fodder and propagule availability for small ruminant producers and traders against increased future demand for meat. A combination of desktop review, questionnaire interviews, direct field observations and experiments was therefore used between 2016 and 2019 to generate findings presented in this info note

Candidate fodder species for goat production in Northern Ghana

Livestock production employs over 60% of rural house-holds in the three northern regions of Ghana, making in-vestment in this industry critical for alleviating poverty and enhancing food security. Among other factors, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture reports access to sustainable feed supply as one of the livestock industry’s key constraints. As most livestock are kept on a free-range system, forage of fair nutritive value is normally scarce in the dry season due to recurrent droughts, continuous over-grazing and lack of range improvement interventions. Often, palatable and productive perennial grasses, legumes and herbs be-come replaced with unpalatable, low quality annual spe-cies, with a concomitant loss of soil fertility. The nutritive value of available pasture species is therefore often poor with low levels of crude protein. The predominant small scale, subsistence livestock producers are also challenged with the financial resources to afford a continuous supple-mentation of concentrate feeds to their animals. Recent re-search has been directed to using tree leaves as fodder for livestock due to many advantages such as supply of good quality green fodder even in the dry season as well as high crude protein and minerals contents. In the Lawra and Jirapa Districts of the Upper West Region of Ghana, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change and Agriculture (CCAFS) established a Climate-Smart Village (CSV), an agriculture research for develop-ment site where various agricultural innovations are tested on their potential to deliver on any of the 3 pillars (produc-tivity, adaptation and mitigation) of climate-smart agricul-ture (CSA). Among many CSA options at the CSV, the in-tegration of multipurpose trees on farmlands is promoted as a CSA practice for improving fodder availability, increas-ing overall farm productivity, improving ecological resili-ence and providing farmers with important safety net op-portunities against climate-related risks. In this study, we used a participatory approach to document and character-ize fodder trees and shrubs that are prioritized by farmers for livestock production. Documentation of fodder species was based on question-naire interviews, focus group discussions and desktop re-views. Top fodder species selected by farmers were char-acterized for the nutritional composition and intake by farmer preferred livestock

Effect of feed and health packages on the performance of village small ruminants in northern Ghana

The objective of this study was to assess the productivity of small ruminant through the introduction of improved health care and feeding strategies into small ruminant production systems. The General Linear Model of SAS was used to compare means after fitting sources of variation to models. Growth rate of treatment animals was higher than that of control animals (P<0.05). Lambs grew about twice as fast as kids (P<0.05). Lower mortality rate was observed in treatment animals compared to control (P<0.05), partly contributing to higher birth rate observed in treatment animals (P<0.0001). A strong interaction was observed between community and type of animal (P<0.001). A net gain of US$5.65 was observed for each treatment animal compared to US$8.58/control animal (P<0.05). However, these profit margins were significantly affected (P<0.05) by the management practices of the farmers. The package resulted in increased birth rates so the concentrate feed could be tried on pregnant and lactating females

Water balance dynamics in mixed crop-livestock systems of northern Ghana: Unraveling the interactions between farm-level and landscape fluxes in the face of climate change

Agro-ecosystem productivity is highly dependent on moisture fluxes yet climate variability and climate change induce unpredictable dynamic interactions between farm-level and landscape-level flow of water resources. In this study, water balance dynamics at the farm level were investigated using real-time in-situ data collected with automated data loggers while the Water-World model populated with long-term hydrological and climatic data was used to ascertain the impact of climate change on moisture fluxes at landscape level on agro-ecosystems of Northern Ghana. On-farm seasonal water balance estimates within intercropped maize-soybean stands revealed that with the 716 mm of rainfall receivedin the season, evapotranspiration (ET) was the predominant factor accounting for about 78% of the fluxes. We demonstrate that runoff levels were not significant for intercropped stands where farmers had conducted soil and water conservation measures which translated to 30% lower runoff levels compared to the control treatments. From a bioclimatic standpoint, study results indicate a steady increase in temperature and a projected increase in rainfall over the next 40 years to the 2050s. Increment in rainfall amount could be desirable considering the recurrent dry spells in the Northern parts of Ghana. However, the shorter term impacts, particularly changes in the frequency and severity of rainfall events remain uncertain since increased amounts over short durations may translate into regional extreme events and could increase runoff severity in an area that is already prone to flooding. We surmise that managing variability in terms of innovative water storage solutions that complement soil and water conservation measures will reduce runoff levels and erosion and also help farmers with better coping mechanisms and adaptation to climate change, particularly among the poor resource farmers in these vulnerable landscapes