Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
The sustainability of the livestock sector is negatively affected by insufficient quality and quantity of feeds. The effects of population growth and climate change further exacerbate the availability of feeds. Therefore, developing feasible low-cost strategies to improve year-round feed availabilit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2219910 |
| _version_ | 1797680460480905216 |
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| author | Didier Kichochi Barwani Catherine Nyambune Maindi Samy Bashizi Bacigale Dieudonné Musale Katunga Mathew Gitau Gicheha Isaac Maina Osuga |
| author_facet | Didier Kichochi Barwani Catherine Nyambune Maindi Samy Bashizi Bacigale Dieudonné Musale Katunga Mathew Gitau Gicheha Isaac Maina Osuga |
| author_sort | Didier Kichochi Barwani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The sustainability of the livestock sector is negatively affected by insufficient quality and quantity of feeds. The effects of population growth and climate change further exacerbate the availability of feeds. Therefore, developing feasible low-cost strategies to improve year-round feed availability for enhanced livestock production is necessary. The use of trees and shrubs fodder has been recommended as a potential strategy to address feed scarcity. This study evaluated the perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by employing a survey of 805 randomly sampled cattle farmers. The findings revealed that farmers utilized about 62 trees and shrubs for animal fodder. The farmers employed experience-based perceptions to evaluate the suitability of trees and shrubs for fodder based on animal and tree-related criteria. A probit model analysis results indicated that the utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds were influenced by several household demographic factors, livestock farms, farming system factors, and institutional characteristics. The findings provide relevant insights into informing policy formulation and implementation that promote tree and shrub fodder utilization for improved livestock production under smallholder production systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:30:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed1465c4f6644fdd9d066342ee269e7b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1473-5903 1747-762X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:30:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed1465c4f6644fdd9d066342ee269e7b2023-09-20T10:18:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Agricultural Sustainability1473-59031747-762X2023-12-0121110.1080/14735903.2023.22199102219910Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the CongoDidier Kichochi Barwani0Catherine Nyambune Maindi1Samy Bashizi Bacigale2Dieudonné Musale Katunga3Mathew Gitau Gicheha4Isaac Maina Osuga5Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyJomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyInternational Institute of Tropical AgricultureINERAJomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyJomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and TechnologyThe sustainability of the livestock sector is negatively affected by insufficient quality and quantity of feeds. The effects of population growth and climate change further exacerbate the availability of feeds. Therefore, developing feasible low-cost strategies to improve year-round feed availability for enhanced livestock production is necessary. The use of trees and shrubs fodder has been recommended as a potential strategy to address feed scarcity. This study evaluated the perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by employing a survey of 805 randomly sampled cattle farmers. The findings revealed that farmers utilized about 62 trees and shrubs for animal fodder. The farmers employed experience-based perceptions to evaluate the suitability of trees and shrubs for fodder based on animal and tree-related criteria. A probit model analysis results indicated that the utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds were influenced by several household demographic factors, livestock farms, farming system factors, and institutional characteristics. The findings provide relevant insights into informing policy formulation and implementation that promote tree and shrub fodder utilization for improved livestock production under smallholder production systems.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2219910milk productionsmallholder cattle farmersprobit modelprotein supplementstrees and shrubs |
| spellingShingle | Didier Kichochi Barwani Catherine Nyambune Maindi Samy Bashizi Bacigale Dieudonné Musale Katunga Mathew Gitau Gicheha Isaac Maina Osuga Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability milk production smallholder cattle farmers probit model protein supplements trees and shrubs |
| title | Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_full | Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_fullStr | Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_short | Smallholder cattle farmers’ perceptions, adoption potential, and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_sort | smallholder cattle farmers perceptions adoption potential and utilization of trees and shrubs as livestock feeds in the eastern democratic republic of the congo |
| topic | milk production smallholder cattle farmers probit model protein supplements trees and shrubs |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2219910 |
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