Fodder production and conservation practices for smallholder dairy farmers in the Imbo plain of Burundi

Abstract: The study was conducted on 384 smallholder dairy farms located in five Provinces of the Imbo Plain of Burundi. It assessed the status of livestock feeding and identified potential dry season feed interventions by smallholder dairy farmers. A survey using a structured questionnaire was used to collect information on fodder production, fodder conservation, feeding management, feed resources, and marketing. The Kobo collect tool was used to facilitate the activity. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using the association of some variables by using cross-tabulations. Results from the study showed a high level of availability of natural fodder (96.9%) and established fodder (94.5%) during the wet season with scarcity during the dry season (87.2% and 85.7% respectively). It was observed that there was a low level of adoption of fodder conservation and marketing. The study concluded that the low adoption level of fodder production, conservation, and marketing practices may be a result of the low education level and consequently increased poverty among smallholder dairy farmers. To prevent dry season feed scarcity, smallholder dairy farmers, were encouraged to adopt new technologies of conservation of surplus fodder available in the wet Season. They were also inducted to new technologies of treating crop residues for use as animal feed during the dry season period.