Year-Round Access to Quality Feeds

Milk processors and dairy cooperatives should embrace efforts made to enhancing Farmers' Access to Improved Forage Seed, advice farmers to adopt improved forage production, forage conservation and feeding balanced rations to their dairy cows because it will reduce seasonal milk supply fluctuations, thereby improving operational profits.

Most of the milk in East Africa is produced by smallholder farmers but when producing forages for their dairy cows they face several challenges, including limited land space, labour shortages, inadequate access to quality seeds and planting materials and unawareness of the cost benefits of ration formulation. ​ These constraints hinder their ability to establish and preserve enough forage for and feed their dairy cattle with cost effective rations.

To address the feed gap on small holder farms in East Africa a commercial forage sector is emerging. This includes large-scale commercial forage producers, forage distributors, dairy cooperatives, out-grower models, and dairy processors establishing their own forage crops or cooperating with large-scale forage producers. ​The Service provider enterprise (SPE) model, agricultural contracting services and integrated services model farm are highlighted as potential solutions, but they need to be equipped with the right tools (e.g. handheld NIRS soil and feed scanners and Rumen8 ration formulation software application) that link cost of quality forage production to cost effective rations for dairy cattle.

Effective farmer training and coaching models are essential to improve forage crop management practices among large-scale forage producers and smallholder farmers but also to incorporate quality forages in cost effective rations for dairy cows. ​ NEADAP partner ProDairy will train a new generation of Senior Advisors Climate Smart Dairy farming for the SNV BRIDGE+ and AGRITERA Act Now projects. The training takes an integrated approach of the mixed crop-livestock farm taking the future climate smart dairy farm advisors from seed to feed to milk and meat.

NEADAP and its partners recommend investing both the demand and supply sides of the emerging commercial forage sub-sector (link to ppt VIV Africa for NFP “Investing in a sustainable, low-carbon feed and livestock sector in East Africa”) This includes improved agronomic practices (soil, seed to feed) reduce inefficiencies (low yields), spoilage and waste in forage production, storage, and distribution as well as formal agreements between commercial forage producers, finance institutions (e.g. livestock insurance) and dairy societies to ensure value (quality) for money, consistency and use of balanced ration for dairy (and beef cattle). ​ Additionally, the establishment of a sector-led information platform to facilitate data sharing and market information regarding the feed and forage sector in East Africa. ​