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Establishing high-density protein banks for livestock in Burkina Faso (West Africa): agronomic performance under contrasting edaphoclimatic conditions

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Abstract

West African livestock keepers need forage sources to feed animals without degrading the local fragile ecosystems. Establishing high-density forage protein banks for animal feeding was evaluated in three contrasting zones of Burkina Faso. The agronomic performance of the fodder species Leucaena leucocephala (leucaena) and Morus alba (mulberry), planted for intensive forage production (25,000 plants/ha) was monitored through plant height (HEI), stem diameter (DIA), branch number (BrN) and branch length (BrL). Once plots were considered established (at 7 months) all trees were coppiced. Biomass yield subsequently was monitored over three bi-monthly harvests which began approximately 1 year after planting. For both species, a highly significant interaction between experimental site and dates was observed for all variables except BrN. Average HEI (103 cm) were similar. DIA (7 ± 0.4 cm) and BrL (55 ± 2.2 cm) were higher in mulberry (6 ± 0.1 and 29 ± 1.0 cm, respectively), whereas the BrN remained higher in leucaena (7 ± 0.2 vs. 2 ± 0.1 cm). No differences were observed in HEI between sites from June to August. However, from September to October, both species displayed a stronger growth rate at site 1. The biomass yields (t DM/ha/year) in three consecutive harvests were lower than values reported in other tropical regions (1.8 ± 1.2 and 8.1 ± 3.9, for mulberry and leucaena, respectively). Differences between sites were due mainly to soil properties, rainfall pattern and termite attacks. This study demonstrated that L. leucocephala and M. alba, planted in high-density forage banks, successfully establish and have high forage yield across several edaphoclimatic conditions in Burkina Faso. Our findings suggest that this technology could significantly contribute to livestock feeding systems in the region, thus reducing negative effects of over-grazing on landscape degradation.

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Acknowledgements

Authors appreciate the financial grant STRADIV (System approach for the TRAnsition to bio-DIVersified agroecosystems) from Agropolis Foundation (France) (Grant No. 1405-018). They also acknowledge their colleagues from the DP ASAP, the Research Station Indio Hatuey (Matanzas, Cuba) and CIRDES of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso for their contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche sur les Productions Animales (URPAN), Centre International de Recherche-Développement sur l’Élevage en Zone Subhumide (CIRDES), 01 BP 454, Bobo-Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso

    Ollo Sib & Melanie Blanchard

  2. Institut de Développement Rural (IDR), Université Nazi Boni (UNB), 01 BP 1091, Bobo-Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso

    Ollo Sib & Valerie M. C. Bougouma-Yaméogo

  3. SELMET, CIRAD, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, 2 Place Pierre Viala, 34060, Montpellier Cedex 2, France

    Ollo Sib, Eric Vall, Melanie Blanchard & Eliel González-García

  4. Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes “Indio Hatuey”, Universidad de Matanzas, Central España Republicana, CP 44280, Matanzas, Cuba

    Marlen Navarro

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  1. Ollo Sib
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Correspondence to Eliel González-García.

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Sib, O., Vall, E., Bougouma-Yaméogo, V.M.C. et al. Establishing high-density protein banks for livestock in Burkina Faso (West Africa): agronomic performance under contrasting edaphoclimatic conditions. Agroforest Syst 94, 319–333 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-019-00394-4

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