Nitrogen prediction model in smallholder farming system integrating pig and fish farming in the urban and rural areas of Kinshasa

peer reviewedThe modelling of nitrogen flow within integrated farms in aquaculture allows monitoring of the nitrogen evolution, which is one of the limiting elements in the farm production. This is one of the important ways to improve production in small integrated agricultural farms in rural and peri-urban areas of Kinshasa with limited financial resources. The model is built in order to use the nitrogen produced by the pig for fertilizing fish farming ponds. The pig module was calibrated, validated and ready to be used, contrary to the fish module which is not validated due to the lack of appropriate experience data. Result of pig module prediction, gives the cumulative N amount of the fattening period to 861.85 gN/pig for fecal nitrogen and 765.39 for urinary production very close to the measured value of 988.68 gN/pig and 887.55 gN/pig for N fecal and N urinary. The model shows that the variation in feed content leads to the variation in the N fecal and urinary production to the farm. Combined to the N from pig, N water in the fish pond is sensitive to N from pig addition and fish biomass. Change in factors that affect pig consumption and pig growing performance lead a variation in both N production by a pig and N water evolution in the pond water column

Diversity of farming systems integrating fish pond aquaculture in the province of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Agriculture and aquaculture systems are used by many farmers in various tropical countries of Asia, America and Africa. They have proven their relevancy to increase the productivity of farms by optimising nutrient fluxes and reducing requirements for external fertilisers. This article analysed the current state of fish farming and the way it is integrated with other farm subsystems in the urban/peri-urban and rural areas of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. More precisely, it examined the allocation of resources at the farm level, the recovery of helophytes plants, and the fate of fish production choices and it explored the possibility of intensifying these existing integrated farming systems. After a census of ponds in the urban and rural areas of Kinshasa, an on-site survey was conducted on 150 fish pond farms to assess the different activities practiced on farms, the impact of integrating crops and livestock to fish pond aquaculture and the constraints of the system. A total of three thousand and twenty (3020) fish ponds were recorded in the urban and rural areas of Kinshasa. Among these farms integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems exist with a wide diversity of practices (about 79% of farms combined fish with livestock and/or vegetable production). No striking differences between fish farms according to the allocation of resources, fish production method such as monoculture or polyculture, the recovery of helophytes plants and the fate of fish production choice were found depending on the location. However, fish farms were differently managed when combined with agriculture and/or livestock. Regarding the integration of the different subsystems through nutrient fluxes, 11 different movements of material between subsystems were found in integrated farms. However, not all fluxes are equally used in all farms and therefore improvements cannot be generalised. Improvements to be explored are such as making better use of manure pond mud and helophyte plants. For this purpose, proper training of farmers might be critical. Finally, bringing farmers together in cooperatives could also contribute to reduce the cost of purchase and transportation of fish fry and feed

Évaluation d’espèces fourragères tropicales utilisées comme ingrédients dans l’alimentation du porc dans les provinces de l'Ouest de la République démocratique du Congo

The use of forage species to feed pig goes back to immemorial times. If forage is no longer used in industrial farms with genetically-improved breeds, its accounts for an important part of pig diets in smallholder pig production systems in tropical areas including the Western provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The aim of this research thesis was to assess the relevancy of the use of local forage resources as a strategy to reduce reliance of pig production systems on concentrate feed ingredients in tropical environment, by identifying plant species available to smallholders with interesting nutritional value that could partly replace concentrates in the diets. First, smallholder pig production systems in two western provinces of the DRC were characterized and the most used forage species in pigs identified. Their nutritional value was determined using an in vitro model of the pig’s gastro-intestinal tract. It was concluded that Manihot esculenta, Ipomoea batatas, Moringa oleifera, and legume species exhibit an interesting profile for feeding pigs while grasses, Eichhornia crassipes, Acacia mangium and Cajanus cajan should be discouraged. Feeding values of Psophocarpus scandens, Vigna unguiculata, Stylosanthes guianensis, and Pueraria. phaseoloides were measured by assessing the voluntary feed intake of forage hays-based diets and their digestibility. Finally, the economic impact of feeding Psophocarpus scandens, Vigna unguiculata, and Stylosanthes guianensis, was measured through growth performance, carcass quality, and production costs determination. It is concluded that although forage species reduce the nutritive value and the growth of animals, the investigated legumes do not impact negatively the economical balance of concentrate-fed pigs when forage accounts for approx. 10 % of the diet. The ability of some forage species to improve performances of animals fed ill-balanced diets as usually practiced by smallholder farmers in the DRC should be investigated as it is suspected that under less favourable conditions, conclusions on the usefulness of forage legumes in pigs might be more positiv

Smallholder pig production systems along a periurban-rural gradient in the Western provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), pigs are raised almost exclusively by smallholders either in periurban areas of major cities such as Kinshasa or in rural villages. Unfortunately, little information is available regarding pig production in the Western part of the DRC, wherefore a survey was carried out to characterize and compare 319 pig production systems in their management and feeding strategies, along a periurban - rural gradient in Western provinces of the DRC. Pig breeding was the main source of income (43 %) and half of respondent were active in mixed pig and crop production, mainly vegetable garden. Depending on the location, smallholders owned on average 18 pigs, including four sows. Piglet mortality rate varied from 9.5 to 21.8% while average weaned age ranged between 2.2 and 2.8 months. The major causes of mortality reported by the farmers were African swine fever 98%, Swine erysipelas (60%), erysipelas trypanosomiasis (31 %), Swine worm infection (17 %), and diarrhoea (12 %). The majority of the pigs were reared in pens without free roaming and fed essentially with locally available by-products and forage plants whose nature varied according with the location of the farm. The pig production systems depended on the local environment; particularly in terms of workforces, herd structure and characteristics, production parameters, pig building materials, selling price and in feed resources. It can be concluded that an improvement of Congolese pig production systems should consider (1) a reduction of inbreeding, (2) an improvement in biosafety to reduce the incidence of African swine fever and the spread of other diseases, and (3) an improvement in feeding practices

Ecological intensification of fish production : Fertilization strategies in Africa fish farms

Ponds fertilization has been found as strategies of intensification fish production for farm in Africa were commercial feeds are not available and ingredients for formulate completed feed are cost. However, farmers are not safe to any danger because the efficiency of these strategies is not always known owing to the associated risk of eutrophication. An experience was making to assess how various fertilization practices would impact fish growth and physicochemical parameters of water in the pond.Intensification écologique des systèmes de productions intégrées porc-poissonProjet PIC/SYSTEME INTEGR

Dynamic vapour sorption isotherms and isosteric heats of sorption of two edible insects (Cirina forda and Rhyncophorus ferrugineus)

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Dynamic vapour sorption isotherms and isosteric heats of sorption of two edible insects (Cirina forda and Rhyncophorus phoenicis)

Cirina forda and Rhyncophorus phoenicis are widely consumed insects in tropical Africa. Drying is one of themain conservation techniques to improve the availability of these insects, which are harvested seasonally in thewild. The main goal of this study was to investigate the sorption isotherms and to estimate the shelf-life of thesetwo dried insects. Sorption isotherms were determined at 25, 30, 40 and 50 °C by using dynamic vapor sorption.Amongst five isotherm sorption models that were selected to fit the experimental data, Peleg’s equation was foundto give the best fit for both insect species. It was observed that all insects exhibited type III sorption isotherms,indicating monolayer-multilayer behaviour with a progressively decreasing biding energy as the number of layersrises. Using the Heiss-Eichner model, dry base initial moisture contents of 8 and 7%, are proposed for C. fordaand R. phoenicis respectively. These conditions ensure a shelf-life of 12 months at 30 °C when insects are packagedin polyethylene films.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Contribution of traditional goat farming systems to the sustainable intensification of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: The example of the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo

International audienceIntegrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) increase smallholder yields and environmental benefits by enabling positive interactions between livestock and crops. As goat farming is popular in Africa, in this study, we aimed to characterise goat-rearing systems and further understand the role of goat management and the relevant drivers in ecological intensification processes. We conducted an exploratory snowball sampling of 147 goat breeders in the western provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The smallholders used five agroecosystem components: animal husbandry (100%), croplands (100%), rangelands (73%), fishponds (22%) and beekeeping (2%). In 97% of the cases, the agroecosystem of a single farmer was fragmented, with an average of 3 ​± ​1 plots of land. In 31% of the cases, the plots of land were 2.5 ​km apart from the others, 40% were 2.5–5 ​km apart, and 29% were over 5 ​km apart. The short distance (<2.5 ​km) between animal husbandry land and cropland was positively associated (p < 0.05) with the use of manure as fertiliser and crop residues as animal feed, contributing to ecological intensification. Additional factors (training, breeding pigs and goats, vegetable gardening) were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the aforementioned agroecological practices. Consequently, three categories of goat breeders were distinguished. The first group, not committed to ecological intensification, had free-grazing goats. The second group also had free-grazing goats, whereas the third tethered or kept goats in confined areas, and both were committed to ecological intensification. Traditional goat farming contributes to ecological intensification when smallholder farmers follow best management practices

The edible caterpillar “Mikombidila”, one of the caterpillars consumed in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo : Description, life cycle and breeding

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), caterpillars provide up to 40% of all animal protein consumed and contributes to addressing the problems of food insecurity and poverty in the country. A great proportion of western part population of the DRC consumes caterpillars on a daily basis in their feeding habits. In this region of the country, the edible caterpillar called Mikombidila is also consumed by the inhabitants and are highly appreciated for its excellent taste. Nevertheless, this species is only available in small quantities. This species naturally feeds on a semi-recumbent annual grassy plant with ascending or erect stems up to 60 cm high, called Boerhavia diffusa L., belonging to the Nyctaginaceae family. Research on this caterpillar species is almost non-existent. Very few authors have described its life cycle. After rearing them under laboratory conditions, an identification of the adults has been carried out. This identification indicates that individuals belong to the Noctuidae family and Agaristinae subfamily and represents potentially the Aegocera rectilinea Boisduval 1836 species. The preliminary data on the biology of this species obtained at the end of the observation phase are as follows: it is a multivoltine species with a developmental cycle of ≈30 days (egg incubation ≈ 3 days, larval development ≈ 15 days, pupation ≈ 12 days) and an adult life span of≈ 6 days. Therefore, furthers studies are currently under process to characterize precisely its life cycle parameters and feeding preferences in order to set up a efficient and inexpensive breeding system for a rural and sustainable exploitation of the Mikombidila caterpillar in DRC.Système de production durable d'insectes comestibles dans la partie Ouest de la RD