Seasonal scarcity of quality feed continues to be a bottleneck for agro-pastoralists and is the most important limitation to livestock production in agro-pastoral systems in the West African Sahel. In this regard, diverse promising technologies to increase the production and availability of quality feed have been introduced. Despite the introduction of various feed technologies in the region, the adoption rate by smallholder farmers is very low. The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting the likelihood of using improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households in two regions of Niger. A logit model was employed using data collected from randomly selected 218 agro-pastoral households between February and April 2023. The study revealed low awareness and use of improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households. The findings suggested the positive impact of education level, membership of farmer groups and ownership of small ruminant on enhancing the probability of using improved livestock feed technologies. Households’ geographical area was one of the determinant factors in using improved livestock feed technologies. The use of improved livestock feed technologies was also influenced by family size.The study provides guidance to inform strategies by the decision-makers to enhance the utilization of improved livestock feed technologies among agro-pastoral households in the West African Sahel. Suggested strategies may in turn alleviate the current problem of low productivity of livestock, contribute to improving household food security and nutrition among agro-pastoral communities.

For development projects, an action research approach is often encouraged to enhance participation of end-users or beneficiaries at various stages of the project to realize the desired social transformation in the target communities. The project under consideration in this study adopted action research for some of its activities. A review of the project action research activities was conducted as part of the strategic reflection for lesson learning and to inform modification where necessary. The objectives of this study were (i) to assess the relevance of action research approach to implementation of project activities and, (ii) to draw lessons for agricultural development projects applying participatory approaches. Fifty-one participants involved in the project action research activities were interviewed on their understanding of action research, its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and level of participation in action research activities. The perception of the participants interviewed regarding action research approach was that it is relevant and important for the project, and that it has provided a good platform for learning by all participants. Some key lessons from this study for development projects when applying action research approach include the need to focus on a limited number of issues or activities that can produce social transformation in the target communities, and the necessity of adequate planning for monitoring and documentation of learning by participants. From our study, action research is a pertinent approach in community development projects, but it should be well-planned to achieve the desired objective of social transformation in the target communities.

Demand for animal source foods and livestock feed are forecast to increase across sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, there is a need to estimate the availability of livestock feed to support decision making at local, sub-national and national levels. In this study we assess feed balances for ruminant livestock in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. Feed availability was estimated using remotely sensed products and detailed feed composition data. Feed requirements were estimated for maintenance, growth, lactation, gestation and locomotion using a data intensive model. Biomass available as animal feed was estimated to be 8.6 tonnes dry matter (DM) per hectare in the Ethiopian highlands and midlands, 3.2 tonnes DM per hectare in the Ethiopian lowlands, 2.9 tonnes DM per hectare in Burkina Faso’s Sudanian agro-ecological zone and 1.0 tonne DM per hectare in the Sahel. The energy requirements of lactating cows were estimated to be 62.1 Megajoules (MJ) per animal per day in the Ethiopian highlands and midlands, 62.7 MJ in the Ethiopian lowlands, 88.5 MJ in Burkina Faso’s Sudanian agro-ecological zone and 53.1 MJ per animal per day in the Sahel. Feed scarcity hotspots are most prominently located in the Ethiopian highlands and the Sahelian agro-ecological zone of Burkina Faso. Demand side policy and investment initiatives can address hotspots by influencing herd sizes, nutritional requirements and herd mobility. Supply side policy and investment initiatives can secure existing feed resources, develop new sources of feed and incentivise trade in feed resources. Improving feed balances will be of value to decision makers with the aims of optimising livestock productivity, minimising exposure to climatic shocks and minimising greenhouse gas emission intensity.

Sustainability assessment of dairy systems is necessary to understand bottlenecks and to identify measures to enhance sustainability of the systems. The Dairy Sustainability Assessment Tool (DSAT) was developed with a focus on the facilitation of discussion on sustainability among dairy sector actors in East Africa. DSAT has been applied in several case studies, but the tool has not been systematically evaluated. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of DSAT and to compare its main features with similar dairy assessment tools for Africa. This evaluation consisted of a literature search to identify relevant assessment tools and an online survey about the tool among its users. DSAT was different from other tools compared with as it does not require input data from farm surveys as the assessments rely on expert opinion, and it can conduct assessments at farm, regional and national scales. Results also showed that DSAT was appropriate for holistic assessments of the sustainability of dairy systems in Africa by providing a good overview of threats to sustainability. Weaknesses were mainly the scoring of indicators, which tends to be subjective and the absence of numerical reference values for indicators. Therefore, improving DSAT requires addressing the identified weaknesses.

Livestock form a major means of livelihood in Burkina Faso where almost 80% of the rural population keep sheep and goats. However, the major constraint to livestock productivity is seasonal feed scarcity. To bridge the increasing feed gap, particularly in the dry season, livestock keepers are increasingly turning to purchase of feeds from markets, which has led to emergence of feed markets in peri-urban towns and cities in the Sahel. To characterize the dynamics of these livestock feed markets, to inform and guide the development of efficient feeding systems in peri-urban livestock production, we conducted surveys in feed markets in four major towns and cities of Burkina Faso across all the agro-ecological zones. Results from this study showed that the feed types on sale included browse, bush hay, bran of maize, millet, sorghum, rice and wheat, legume residues, cereal straw and agro-industrial by-products such as cottonseed cake and concentrate feed for ruminants. The average number of feeds sold per vendor ranged from 1.5 ± 0.1 in early dry season to 3.5 ± 0.4 in late dry season. More than 80% of the feed sellers in each location reported that generation of additional income for the household was the principal reason for feed sale. The price of livestock feeds sold at different locations in Burkina Faso varied significantly with season, market location and feed type. Cottonseed cake had the highest crude protein content in all locations and across seasons ranging from an average of 16.3 to 31.9% while cereal straw (millet, maize and sorghum straw) had the lowest crude protein content of 3.5%. The results also showed a lack of a clear trend in terms of relationship between price and nutritional quality which confirms the absence of quality standardization for feeds on sale in our study sites. In developing feed industry in the region, the issue of quality standardization needs to be addressed to facilitate establishment of nutritive value-based pricing and to ensure that consumers pay a premium for quality products.

In the context of sustainable agricultural development, much has been made of the need to apply agroecology or regenerative principles to improve rural livelihoods and to align the sector with critical planetary health boundaries. This movement is a reaction to the perceived private and social costs arising from both production and consumption associated with industrialised agriculture, mostly in upper-income countries, with several default assumptions being apparent about applicability elsewhere. The notion of circularity, or the circular economy, is frequently conflated with agro ecological rhetoric, often overlooking a longer tradition of circular resource use efficiency in traditional mixed crop–livestock farming in low-income settings. This paper examines the concept and origins of circularity and reviews some examples of historic circular economy research within the international agricultural research system as applied to smallholder agriculture. These include (i) studies focusing on the impact of crop residue retention, (ii) work on residue incorporation and/or mulching and their effects on crop yields and soil fertility, (iii) research on the effects of manure use on crop yields and soil fertility and (iv) work on the feeding of crop residues to livestock. We consider some promising innovations or practices adhering to circular economy principles. Candidate innovations focus on the improvement of livestock feeding practices including the breeding of dual-purpose crops to enhance livestock nutrition, conversion of cereal straw residues to high-quality feed, use of cassava waste as livestock feed and use of insects as livestock feed. We conclude by considering how circular bio-economy principles might be maintained in the future evolution of food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

AbstractLimited supply of quality feed is the most important factor limiting livestock productivity in many sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries. Having a systematic inventory of available feed resources, identifying main challenges and potentials for improvement is the first step towards designing development strategies to improve feed quality and quantity. The objective of this study was to review the available feed resources and their quality in West African Sahel across different agro‐ecological zones and to identify the research gaps and strategies to improve feed resource availability. The West African Sahelian zone is home to 135 million people who herd 173 million head of ruminant livestock. The main feed resources for grazing ruminants are pastures and crop residues; commercially formulated feeds are increasingly being used in poultry and pig production, particularly in peri‐urban areas. Feed resources for livestock are diverse and vary markedly across agro‐ecological zones in the West African Sahel and across seasons in terms of type, quantity, and quality. Given that crop residues are among the most important feed resources, there is need to invest in promoting adoption of proven methods for improving their quality and preserving it. Given poorly developed feed markets in the Sahelian rural areas and cities, strengthening the feed value chain is critical for improving the feed resource base in West Africa. Additional critically important needs are to increase awareness about the importance of feed quality, to create quality‐based feed marketing systems, and to appreciate and enhance women's roles in feed production.

An on-farm study was conducted in the northern and Upper East regions of Ghana to investigate the productivity and nutritive value of irrigated ruzi grass [Urochloa ruziziensis (R. Germ. and C.M. Evrard) Crins] (syn. Brachiaria ruziziensis (R. Germ. and C.M. Evrard)] and forage sorghum (Sorghum almum) grasses as options against dry season feed scarcity and to understand associated market opportunities. Sixty participating farmers each established 100-m(2) plots which were sown at 15 kg ha(-1) drilled in 60-cm rows in the dry season of 2016 and 2017. Irrigation was by flooding of soil surface every alternate day throughout the period of the trial. At both regions, herbage accumulation and nutritive value of forage species were determined at four harvesting stages: 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after planting (WAP) followed by 4-wk intervals between harvests. At the end of the trial, fresh biomass was weighed, bundled, and sold in major livestock feed markets to estimate market price. Allowing forages to establish for only 8 wk resulted in two 4-wk regrowth harvests with dry matter accumulation (DMA) ranging from 4.5 to 8.1 Mg DM ha(-1) from both species and in both regions. Generally, herbage nutritive values in terms of crude protein, metabolizable energy (ME) concentration, and in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM) declined (P < .05) while DMA increased linearly with delay in harvest. While both grasses adapted well in the regions under irrigation, 8 WAP harvests provided the best balance between nutritive value and DMA. Irrigated fodder must be marketed more effectively since currently market prices are not closely related to nutritive value.

Despite a long history promoting improved forages, their adoption in sub-Saharan Africa remains limited. Identifying cultivars and developing the right agronomic practices suited to specific forage systems can help reduce the feed gap in this region. This 2-yr study was performed under rainfed conditions at the Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research research station in Farakoba, Burkina Faso. Treatments included two planting methods (continuous rows 40-cm apart vs. open pits spaced 40 x 40 cm) and three perennial grasses: Urochloa spp. cultivar Mulato II, Congo grass [U. ruziziensis (R. Germ. and C.M. Evrard) Crins] and Guinea grass [Megathyrsus maximus (Jacq.) B.K. Simon & S.W.L. Jacobs] cultivar C1. The experimental design was a randomized complete block under a split plot treatment arrangement, and planting method was the main plot (3 x 7 m) and the grass varieties the subplots (3 x 3 m). Plots were established in August 2018, and herbage accumulation (HA) and nutritive value (NV) were measured in 2018 and 2019. Regardless of planting method, Mulato II had greater total herbage mass (26 Mg ha(-1)) after 2 yr than did Congo grass (15 Mg ha(-1)) and cultivar C1 (12 Mg ha(-1)) (p <= .05). Mulato II had the greatest crude protein (170 g kg(-1)), in vitro digestible organic matter (635 g kg(-1)), and metabolizable energy (89 MJ kg(-1)), and least neutral detergent fiber (537 g kg(-1)) concentrations, as compared to other cultivars (p <= .05). Both HA and NV were greater (p <= .001) for open pits spaced 40-cm apart than the continuous rows for all cultivars, indicating that this planting method seems more appropriate to establish forage grasses. Mulato II showed potential to increase forage productivity and NV in Burkina Faso.

Limited supply of quality feed is the most common problem limiting livestock productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Routine feed evaluation is indispensable for formulating balanced rations, feed characterization, safety, and minimizing the environmental impact of livestock. Traditional wet chemistry has not met this demand in SSA because it is time consuming, expensive, reliant on imported reagents and equipment that requires regular maintenance. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid and accurate alternative. The NIRS can help meet the need to characterize locally available forages and feeds on the continent, thus allowing formulation of optimally balanced and safe rations, facilitating establishment of nutritive value-based pricing, and improving feed marketing and environmental stewardship. Though several NIRS systems have been purchased in many SSA countries, few are currently used. Reasons include high upfront costs, lack of requisite technical capacity, lack of access to comprehensive wet chemistry-based databases to develop and validate robust and accurate predictive equations, lack of access to or relevance of existing validated equations, and limited awareness about the value of NIRS. Recently developed portable devices can dramatically reduce cost, while providing flexibility and comparable accuracy to benchtop systems. Formation of NIRS consortia and communities of practice including public-private partnerships that link equipment, pool resources, and provide periodic training and troubleshooting, can address many of these problems. This paper elaborates the potential for using NIRS to improve feed analysis in SSA countries, the reasons for the low use of existing systems, and strategies to improve the adoption and use of NIRS.

Livestock productivity in West African Sahel is constrained by seasonal scarcity of feed and by its low quality in the dry season. Feed resources scarcity in the region has also been aggravated by the increase in livestock population, which has heightened the demand for feed, particularly in periurban areas. Livestock feed markets have thus sprung up in many cities and towns. To understand the dynamics of these markets, surveys were conducted in five of them in Maradi and five others in Niamey, Niger, in the early dry season (October-November 2019), late dry season (March-June 2020), and wet season (August-September 2020) with a semi-structured questionnaire. Results showed that diverse feed types were sold or bought, and mainly by adult male vendors or buyers, in both markets across seasons. The buyers gave as major reasons for purchasing livestock feed the insufficient household feed biomass, the poor-quality household feed, and the need for supplementary feeds to maintain and improve animal performance. Prices of livestock feeds at both markets varied significantly with season, market location and feed type. In both sites, prices of legume residues (cowpea hay, cowpea husk, groundnut haulm) were higher than the other feed types. Results further showed that there was no clear relationship between price and nutritional quality across seasons.

Forage conservation is an important potential solution to seasonal variation in feed quality and quantity and herder-farmer conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Considerable variations exist in the type of forages conserved and the preservation methods across SSA. Hay from cultivated forages is commonly made with mechanical mowers and balers by large-scale commercial farms. In contrast, smallholder farmers, who dominate farming on the continent, make hay from natural pastures and straw from crop residues or stockpiled forage. Mechanized harvesting and storing of silage are also practiced by commercial farmers in various countries including South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Smallholder farmers rarely make silage, despite repeated recommendations about its potential to bridge the dry season feed gap. This is due to the limited resources, knowledge, and skills. Hay and silage produced by smallholders is typically poor in quality due to use of lower quality forages, improper storage methods, and lack of an economic incentive because feed prices do not reflect quality in most regions. This paper discusses the status of forage conservation across SSA and recommends strategic interventions and technologies to improve the quantity, quality, safety, pricing, and utilization of preserved forages in SSA. Key deductions include the need to raise awareness about their role in bridging the feed gap, to build capacity and invest in appropriate technology, to optimize their production and use, to develop mechanisms to relate prices to quality, and to incentivize women and youth and the private sector to engage further in making and selling preserved forages.

The ruminant feeding systems of smallholder farmers in mixed crop and livestock systems in Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa are characterised by waste. To promote efficient feed use, the use of improved feed trough for small ruminants was demonstrated in Sirakele, Zanzoni and M’Pessoba in Koutiala district in southern Mali in the late (March/April 2019) and early dry (February 2020) seasons. Forty-five farmers were selected randomly in the study sites and were each provided with one improved feed trough which was then compared with the conventional or commonly used feed trough. The quantity of feed offered, and that was wasted during the feeding were measured for six consecutive days, both for the conventional and improved feed troughs. The perceptions of all participating farmers about the technology were documented through response to a series of questions on the potential benefit of the improved feed trough based on the five-point Likert scale. The results showed that the improved feed trough reduced feed waste significantly in all the three sites in both seasons. The percentage of waste in feeding crop residues to sheep and goats using the conventional feed trough were 7.73 ± 0.9, 26.13 ± 3.3, and 13.32 ± 1.4 in Sirakele, Zanzoni and M’Pessoba, respectively in the late dry season compared to less than 1% with the improved feed troughs during the same season in Sirakele and M’Pessoba, respectively while it was 3.33% in Zanzoni. Feed saved by using improved feed trough gave net return of 13,020, 12,384 and 17,892 FCFA/household/year for Sirakele, Zanzoni and M’Pessoba, respectively. The participating farmers confirmed the benefits of the improved feed trough which are consistent with our results.

Land endowments held by African rural communities affect the constraints and incentives they face, which in turn influence their response to development and conservation programs and policies. Availability of land with different qualities varies at different social organizational scales. While much work has focused on differences among households within villages, there has been little empirical work on variation among villages despite the fact that villages are often the sites through which land is accessed. This reflects serious difficulties in delineating village territories. Using a newly developed approach, this study estimates per capita cropland and rangeland availability of villages within two study areas in northern Burkina Faso: the provinces of Seno and Yatenga. Using georeferenced village population data, "village influence zones" were estimated taking account of each village's population and that of surrounding villages. Combining these with land-cover classifications allowed for estimations of average per capita cropland and rangeland for 725 villages. Large variation of land endowments is observed at fine spatial scales within the two provinces. For a subset of twenty-four villages, these values were compared with informants' estimates of cropland (fraction of cropland fallowed, fraction of cropland manured, and fraction of cropland from which crop residues are harvested) and rangeland management (seasonal presence of village livestock in village territory) parameters. Rates of crop residue harvesting were found to increase with cropland scarcity and small ruminant presence during the cropping season declined with less rangeland accessibility. The results of this study raise questions about one-size-fits-all approaches to rural development by revealing fine-scaled mosaics of village land endowments and management needs.

The feeding systems of small ruminants in Northern Ghana are characterized by waste which necessitates efficient use of the available feed resources, particularly in the dry season. To this end, the use of improved feed trough was demonstrated in three communities in Northern Ghana, namely Duko and Tibali in Northern region; Gia in Upper East region in the late dry, wet, and early dry seasons between March 2019 and February 2020. This study involved 10 farmers randomly selected in each community. The participating farmers were provided with one improved feed trough each which was then compared to the traditional feed trough. Data were collected on the quantity of feed offered, amount wasted, and time spent feeding the animals for six consecutive days in the three study sites across seasons. To document the perception of the farmers on the improved feed trough, a semi-structured questionnaire was administered. Results showed that improved feed trough reduced feed waste significantly in the study sites across seasons. For example, the percentages of waste in feeding the animals using the traditional feed trough were 35%, 22%, and 27% in Duko, Gia, and Tibali, respectively, in the late dry season compared to less than 1% with the improved feed trough during the same season. The farmers' perceptions were similar to the findings of this study which suggest that efficient feed utilization by small ruminants can be enhanced with the use of improved feed trough.

The expected increase in livestock production to meet its increasing demand could lead to increased water depletion through feeds production. This study aimed at estimating the amount of water depletion through feeds and its corresponding productivity in livestock within the three dominant livestock management systems namely sedentary-intensive, sedentary-extensive, and transhumance in Yatenga and Seno provinces in the Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso. Using a participatory rapid appraisal and individual interview, beneficial animal products, and services were estimated, and consequently, livestock water productivity (LWP) as the ratio of livestock products and services to the amount of water depleted. Our results showed feed resources are mainly natural pasture and crop residues are common in all the management systems though the proportion of each feed type in the feed basket and seasonal preferences varied. Consequently, water depleted for feed production was similar across the systems in both provinces and ranged from 2,500 to 3,200 m −3 ha −1 yr −1 . Values for milk (40 US$US$/household) and flock offtake (313 US$/household) derived from the transhumant system were higher ( P < 0.05) than those from other systems in the Seno province. With higher returns from the beneficial outputs, LWP was higher (0.11 US$ m −3 ) in the transhumant system than other systems in Yatenga, but similar with sedentary-intensive in Seno Province Multiple regression analysis results showed that LWP had a significant positive relationship with flock offtake in Yatenga but milk and flock offtake in Seno. The study concluded that sedentary-intensive and transhumant system with more market-oriented beneficial outputs and much dependence on less-water-depleted feed resources will improve livestock water productivity in dry areas. Besides, interventions to improve livestock water productivity through beneficial outputs must recognize the unique socio-cultural context of the livestock farmers.

Inequalities in food access and consumption underlie the persistence of food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. While there has been important work documenting differences among rural households and demographic groups, there remains comparatively little work documenting differences of food consumption within rural African households. To address this gap, a novel approach was developed to monitor differences in food consumption within 120 rural households in Burkina Faso with a focus on women and children. At monthly intervals (across 11 months), 24-hour recall data were collected of the amount of grain prepared and allocated among eating groups, the groups of household members eating from separate bowls. Seven-day recall data were also collected for the instances of major food groups accompanying grain dishes and allocation of these accompaniments among eating groups. Eating groups are generally segregated by gender and age. Multi-level regression analyses (with household and month as random effect variables) were performed with grain consumption and food group bias regressed on the fixed factors of female and child fractions of eating group adult-male equivalents and the genealogical position of eating group leaders. Results show eating group composition significantly affects grain consumption as mediated by the genealogical position of eating group leaders. Depending on genealogical position, female- or children- dominated groups can display higher, or more commonly, lower consumption rates than male groups. Consumption of non-grain accompaniments shows no significant bias by gender or age except for meat, which is consumed more by male groups led by a member of the household head’s generation. These results illustrate the complex interplay of gender, age, and household structure in shaping differences in food consumption within rural households.