Effect of Acacia tortilis pods on intake, digestibility and nutritive quality of goat diets in southwestern Eritrea

Fresh Acacia tortilis pods were mixed with low quality native grass hay to form the following five rations: 100% hay (T 1), 25% pods and 75% hay (T 2), 50% pods and 50% hay (T 3), 75% pods and 25% hay (T 4) and 100% pods (T 5) on ‘as fed’weight basis. Fifteen male Barka goats, approximately one year old and 10–15kg body weight, were randomly assigned to the five rations and fed in individual pens. Chemical composition, dry matter intake (DMI), in vitro dry and organic matter digestibility and body weight changes of the animals were evaluated. The average crude protein content of the pods was about 47% higher than the 7% minimum required for normal rumen function, while that of the hay was about 13% below. Percent ash, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), hemi-cellulose (HC), cellulose (CL) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) contents were higher in the hay than in the pods. The pods were, however, generally higher in Ca, P, Mg and Na than the hay. Average DMI (g d -1 and g kg-1 LBW), percent in vitro dry and organic matter digestibility and body weight gains (total kg and gd -1) increased with an increase in A. tortilis pods, up to 75% level and then begun to decline. However, despite the decrease, T 5 still had significantly (P< 0.05) higher feed digestibility and body weight gains than T 2 and T3. Thus, supplementing low quality range herbage with Acacia pods can considerably improve the nutritive value of range livestock diets, particularly during the dry season when other types of fodder are of extremely low quality

Combining Sustainable Land Management Technologies to Combat Land Degradation and Improve Rural

Drylands occupy more than 80 % of Kenya’s total land mass and contribute immensely to the national economy and society through agriculture, livestock production, tourism, and wild product harvesting. Dryland ecosystems are areas of high climate variability making them vulnerable to the threats of land degradation. Consequently, agropastoralists inhabiting these ecosystems develop mechanisms and technologies to cope with the impacts of climate variability. This study is aimed to; (1) determine what agropastoralists inhabiting a semi-arid ecosystem in Kenya attribute to be the causes and indicators of land degradation, (2) document sustainable land management (SLM) technologies being undertaken to combat land degradation, and (3) identify the factors that influence the choice of these SLM technologies. Vegetation change from preferred indigenous forage grass species to woody vegetation was cited as the main indicator of land degradation. Land degradation was attributed to recurrent droughts and low amounts of rainfall, overgrazing, and unsustainable harvesting of trees for fuelwood production. However, despite the challenges posed by climate variability and recurrent droughts, the local community is engaging in simple SLM technologies including grass reseeding, rainwater harvesting and soil conservation, and dryland agroforestry as a holistic approach combating land degradation and improving their rural livelihoods. The choice of these SLM technologies was mainly driven by their additional benefits to combating land degradation. In conclusion, promoting such simple SLM technologies can help reverse the land degradation trend, improve agricultural production, food security including access to food, and subsequently improve livelihoods of communities inhabiting dryland ecosystem