Forage production in West Africa: Systematic review of advances, challenges, and perspectives for resilient agropastoral systems

Forage production in West Africa is essential for the region's agricultural economies and livestock systems but is greatly affected by climate variability, land degradation and increasing demographic pressures. Understanding current advances, challenges and perspectives is crucial to promoting sustainable agriculture, strengthening the resilience of livestock systems and improving the economic and social well-being of rural communities. An analysis of 169 published documents on natural and artificial pastures identified 488 forage species consumed by livestock, of which 301 herbaceous species and 187 woody species. Despite such vast diversity very few forage species, local or exotic, are integrated into production systems. Cultivated herbaceous species are selected for their agronomic qualities, nutritional value and digestibility, palatability, geographical origin, local availability of strains or seeds, drought and grazing resistance, and the ability to control invasive species. For legumes, their capacity to enrich soils is an additional criterion. Herbaceous species are primarily grown in monocultures, while legumes can be combined with other crops to maximize yields. In order to ensure sustainable and resilient forage production in West Africa, it is essential to integrate adapted local forage species, promote agroecological practices and strengthen the capacities of producers to address growing climatic and socio-economic challenges.