CHAPTER 2. EVIDENCE FOR FORAGE SEED PRODUCTION
2.6 Why forage seed production?
Forage production is becoming increasingly important in many farming systems (Jensen, Peoples, Boddey, Gresshoff, Hauggaard-Nielsen, Alves and Morrison, 2012; Mulugeta, Tesfaye and Dagne, 2015), including the smallholder farming systems (Kabirizi, Ziiwa, Mugerwa, Ndikumana and Nanyennya, 2013; MacLeod, Waldron and Wen, 2015). This is because of the several functions they play in the farming system. Forages provide feed for livestock, forage legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, act as cover crops to conserve moisture, reduce erosion and weed densities.
Firstly, in developing countries, demand for livestock and livestock products is increasing, thus causing a tremendous rise of the subsector in the agricultural industry (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012). Forecasts reveal that demand for livestock food products (particularly beef and poultry) will continue to increase and may double by 2050 (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012; Gardner, 2013). Consumption of meat is projected to increase from 25 to 37 kg person-1 annum-1 from 1999 to 2030, in developing countries.
Consumption of dairy products is set to rise from 45 to 66 kgperson-1annum-1. Improved livestock production systems will inevitably increase demand for adequate quality feed and forage seed to sustain the system. In Southern Africa, where 60.0-70.0 % of the population own livestock (FAO, 2015), grazing areas are dwindling as a result of increased population who are turning these grazing areas into human settlements. This has been a result of widespread environmental degradation in many African farming systems, causing a major drawback in improving livestock production (Maitima, Olson, Mugatha, Mugisha and Mutie, 2010). In Zimbabwe, with
a population of 5.4 million cattle, of which 90.0 % is in smallholder areas [Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimSTAT), 2013; Ministry of Agriculture Mechanization and Irrigation Development (MoAMID), 2014], there is need to develop strategies to sustain the livestock numbers on the available land area and meet product demand.
Secondly, the Southern Africa region has experienced a rise in temperatures (over 0.5 0C) in the last 10 years associated with erratic rainfall and frequent droughts. Vegetation cover has declined and livestock productivity is thus reduced, creating an opportunity for farmers to increase livestock production in an environment of high demand (Adugna, Yami, Mengistu, Alemu, Geleti, Assefa, Gizachew, Bediye and Woldesemaya, 2012).
Grazing declines in quality during the dry season, increasing the scarcity of feed for cattle (Bacigale, Paul, Muhimuzi, Mapenzi, Peters and Maass, 2014). In a study conducted in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi, Kabirizi, Mugerwa, Ndikumana, Njarui, Kaganda, Mwilawa, Minani, Nijimbere, Wanyama, Zziwa (2014) observed that use of drought tolerant forages improved fodder availability as a strategy for coping with climate change and further suggest that policies should be put in place that enhance adoption of technologies and improve livelihoods.
Thirdly, forages provide feed for livestock, food for human consumption, and act as cover crops. Forages, especially legumes, contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of small-scale farmers as the forages provide improved fodder and improve the soils through nitrogen fixation (Jensen et al., 2012;
Gebreyowhans and Gebremeskel, 2014; International Livestock Research Institute, 2014).
Scarce feed resources and the poor quality of available non-commercial feed are the major constraints to increased livestock productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (Lamy et al., 2012; Valbuena et al., 2015). This has been coupled with socio-cultural factors in such areas (Makwara and Gamira, 2012). Thus it requires farmers to resort to cheap and sustainable livestock feed sources. Planted pastures offer an alternative to increase the supply and quality of feed to livestock, and pasture development depends on reliable seed supply. Use of forages has been identified as a way to improve livestock production (Tavirimirwa, Mwembe, Ngulube, Banana, Nyamushamba, Ncube and Nkomboni, 2012). It is projected that livestock production, particularly dairy, can significantly improve with increased utilisation of improved forage seed. Cattle fed forages at 1.5 % body weight as daily requirement, have improved on body condition and conception rates Mashanda, 2014). Effect of feeding forages to dairy cows is comparable to commercial feed, at a lower cost (Mashanda, 2014; Gusha, Katsande, Zvinorova, Halimani and Chiuta, 2015).
Forage crops (plant material grown and conserved as feed livestock feed) support livestock productivity directly as feed or by-products and raising household income when marketed. These include forages such as Mucuna
pruriens (mucuna), Lablab purpureus (lablab) and Panicum maximum (panicum), which are self-pollinating, drought tolerant and can produce good quality seed under average management levels. Modern agricultural systems have promoted a few crop species that have a high input requirement (Chivenge, Mabhaudhi, Modi and Mafongoya, 2015) at the expense of other desired species like forages. Seed vigor is becoming an important aspect in Seed Technology advancement (Marcos-Filho, 2015) although associated costs should be low especially when it involves smallholder farmers (Welu, 2015). As seed production is a specialised enterprise, farmers need to have adequate inputs, the know-how of seed production, infrastructure in order to meet set quality standards. With lack of irrigation facilities in most smallholder systems, seed varieties should match the climatic conditions (Munyaka, Mvumi and Mazarura, 2015). They cannot be compared to commercial farmers whose production is large-scale, mechanized and market oriented. Companies prefer to deal with large farmers who have non-farm assets, have irrigation facilities and produce large volumes. Establishing forage markets in poorly developed markets presents challenges as farmers may be subjected to exploitation (Singh, Singh, Jha, Singh and Singh, 2012), although forage seed value chains have been successful in Asia and Kenya. It is hypothesised that the participation of smallholder farmers in agriculture-related value chains can reduce poverty and improve livelihoods (Guidi, 2011). It is essential to have a stable and reliable seed supply system to enhance adequate and quality of livestock feed production. Thus, an opportunity arises for smallholder farmers to improve productivity to meet demand in livestock and livestock products.
However, the adoption and use of improved forages has been limited to a few species found in the commercial farming sector as a result of a number of factors including unavailability of quality germ plasm, difficult socio- economic environment and limited knowledge on production and maintenance of forage fields (Kamanzi and Mapiye, 2012; Bacigale et al., 2014). Quality seed production by farmers is crucial as it determines the success of crop yield, market value and contributes to ensuring food security (Beyene, 2010; Louwaars and de Boef, 2012), as seed is considered a basic unit of crop production. Challenges also include limited land area, socio- cultural norms, limited resources and limited access to markets to ensure full participation (Jones, 2014;
Shiferaw, Kebede, Kassie and Fisher, 2015). Forage seed demand has not been matched to production in the countries through national programs (Haque, Jutzi and Neate, 1986). Even when agriculture input programs have been designed, they have not included forages as these programs have focused on emergencies and meeting immediate household food security.
Some prior studies have suggested that forage seed supply remains one of the major challenges affecting adoption of forage technology as a viable enterprise (Hacker and Lochi, 1997; Franzel, Carsan, Lukuyu, Sinja and Wambugu, 2014; FAO and ICRISAT, 2015). Similar findings in Ethiopia (Welu, 2015) revealed that forage seed production and marketing by commercial companies is often hampered by the risky nature of forage seed production, the long value chain between forage seeds and livestock commodities and distorted forage seed
prices due to lack of information and market value. In Zimbabwe, despite some studies indicating the benefits of forages as a feed source (Buwu, 2014; Mashanda, 2014; Gusha et al., 2015), access to seed remains a major challenge as there is no seed on the market. Smallholder farmers have been engaged in seed production in some developing countries such as Thailand (Hare, Phengphet, Songsiri, Sutin, Vernon and Stern, 2013; Welu, 2015), Ethiopia (Alemu, 2015; FAO and ICRISAT, 2015) and Nigeria (Oyekale, 2014) and it is emphasised that this has not fully developed as a result of factors that includes poor investment in infrastructure and capacity development, communication mismatch and weak linkages. There is therefore, need to frame strategies that enhance the competitiveness of forage seed business and engage smallholder farmers with other value chain players for positive benefits. Involvement of smallholder farmers in forage seed production will improve livestock and crop productivity, improve market participation and household income through seed sales.