Indigenous knowledge of browse species and nutritional quality of dominant indigenous browse species in the Kavango West Region of Namibia
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Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Discover Sustainability
Abstract
Livestock production is crucial to the livelihoods of rural Namibians but highly constrained by feed shortages due to
climate change and bush encroachment. The study investigated the grazing and feeding practices and indigenous
knowledge of browsable and non-browsable species by interviewing 30 small-scale farmers in the Kavango West Region.
It assessed the nutritive value for the three most commonly identified browsable species. The study observed that
livestock relies on communal rangeland, roadside, and riverside grazing, with supplements from crop residues during
the dry seasons. However, most farmers experience feed shortages mainly in the dry season, which results in decreased
livestock productivity. Farmers are knowledgeable on browsable and non-browsable woody species in their locality, but
most do not harvest pods, leaves and twigs to supplement their animals in the dry season, citing labour shortage, and
they are not aware that the bush species resources can be harvested and be used during seasons when feed resources are
scarce. The nutritive value analysis indicated that there is a need for strategic supplementation of the browsable species
for them to be effectively utilised as livestock feed, thus farmers must be capacitated on when and how to utilise these
species when herbaceous pasture grasses and legumes are senescent as well as how to harvest forage alongside rivers
and roads for stall feeding to avoid accidents. Our findings will be important for policy formulation in trying to come up
with better ways of mitigating the consequences of climate change
Description
The objective of the study was to identify potential browse resources, and determine
the nutrient composition and in vitro digestibility of dominant indigenous browse species livestock feed on in the
KWR of Namibia. The findings are intended to guide policy on how best to assist these communities in meeting their
livestock feed requirements without competition with humans
Keywords
Livestock production, Grazing challenges, Woody plants, Feed constraints, Browsable species nutritive value, Namibia, University of Namibia