Livestock
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Browsing Livestock by Subject "Agriculture"
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Item Agriculture in the Somaliland Protectorate(1943/1944) Peck, E. F.The Somali land Protectorate is potentially a rich grazing land, from which Somalis obtain their livelihood by raising sheep, camels and other stock; arable agriculture plays only a small part in its internal economy, but with the steady adoption of sorghum as the staple diet of the people farming is more general. There are not, however, many places in which farming can be carried on, but there still remains a number in which arable agriculture would be worth trying. That enterprising person, the so-called Mad Mullah, who caused considerable trouble and expense to us in past years, cultivated many places which are not worked to-day, but which could yield crops of grain. The urge to settle seems to be latent in Somalis and if they are given suitable conditions many of them would prefer the sedentary life of a farmer to the hard nomadic life which is now their lot. This nomadic life amongst depleted pastures continually necessitates the breaking up of families in order to tend the stock, the camels being sent to one grazing and the rest of the stock to other more suitable pastures. It is this arduous life and the search for grazing which is driving the Somalis southwards; they do not want to leave their country, and usually in their later years they return to it, but when there is not enough grazing the compulsion to push on southwards is irresistible. The present lot of the Somali, particularly that of the women, is extremely hard, their environment is grim and cruel, comfort and real happiness are not theirs, and those who decry the Somali would do well to remember his environment. To the south of Somali land lie many miles of rich grazing land which the Pax Britannica has made available to everyone. This land is sparsely watered and so is to a very great extent unused, but with a little imaginative foresight it is capable of arresting the southward drive. Should many large dams be constructed in this area and markets be provided for the excellent Somali mutton, the reason for the exodus from home would cease to exist, that is always provided that the grazing and water were properly controlled.Lastly, the problem of the migrating Somali affects, and will affect, in increasing degree, all the East African territories. One of the major solutions to the problem clearly lies in making Somali land a better place for the Somali to live in, by turning him into an arable farmer where this is possible, and where this cannot be done, by developing markets, water supplies, and a system of controlled grazing based on natural boundaries.Item The potential of improving napier grass under smallholder dairy farmers' conditions in Kenya(Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, 1998) Kariuki, J.N.; Kenya Agricultural Research InstituteDairy farming is the main livestock enterprise in the mixed crop/livestock farming system in the high rainfall areas of Kenya. These areas are characterised by a high human population density and very small farms. As a consequence, napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) has been widely adopted because of its relatively high dry matter yield and suitability as a cut fodder. The conventional methods of improving napier grass quality through fertilization or use of concentrates to supplement napier grass diets is limited because most farmers cannot afford these inputs. This has led to poor animal performance mostly attributed to the low protein content in napier grass. The most vulnerable group are heifers which receive far less attention compared to calves and cows. This is reflected by low weight gain (less than 0.25 kg day-1) and poor reproductive and life-time performance. Fortunately, several protein-rich forages (PRF) which have the potential to improve the quality of napier grass-based diets have been identified. These include Desmodium spp., Calliandra calothyrsus, Leucaena leucocephala, Ipomoea batatas, Medicago sativa, Musa sapienta, Trifolium semipilosum and Canna edulis. The benefits of using PRF include improved rumen function, increased energy and protein intake, improved feed efficiency, increased availability of minerals and vitamins, and generally enhanced animal performance. Appropriate and adequate information on the nutritive value of napier grass at different stages of growth and the PRF would facilitate ration formulation, allow more reliable prediction of subsequent animal performance and assist in the planning of suitable feeding strategies for the resource poor dairy farmers. Therefore, the overall objective of the study was to evaluate the nutritive value of napier grass and determine the potential for improvement in animal performance using PRF. Results from this thesis indicated that intake and utilization can be improved by manipulating the cutting regime of napier grass and varying the levels of PRF supplements. Indeed, PRF had a profound effect on fermentation and subsequently improved the intake of organic matter fermented in the rumen by up to 50%. Protein supplementation strategies for low crude protein tropical grasses should first target at optimising microbial protein production and then consider supplements containing a combination of ruminally degradable and bypass protein for high animal performance. Inadequately fed heifers grow poorly and show poor reproductive performance. The positive growth response obtained from the supplemented heifers were attributed to additional rumen degradable protein and/or bypass protein from PRF that overcame protein deficiency in napier grass. It was concluded that PRF could play an important role in the improvement of the utilization of napier grass and the subsequent animal performance. The data provided in this study, on the nutritive value of these forages will, consequently, facilitate making appropriate choices for diet formulation at the farm level.Item Training In Agriculture and Animal Husbandry at the Government Teachers' Training School, Mpwapwa, Tanganyika Territory(1943/1944) Harvey,R.J.Situated in the Central Province, one of the driest areas in Tanganyika, Mpwapwa has a rainfall varying between 17 and 35 inches annually, averaging from 20 to 25, and falling almost entirely between December and March. I! is at an altitude of approximately 3,500 feet above sea level on a slope which averages 1 in 17 and on highly erodible soil. To the north lies the Kiburiani massif, rising to 6,500 feet. The people of the Central Province are mainly pastoral, and though boys are admitted to the school from other provinces, it is the local background which has to be borne in mind in any system of agricultural training. Tl1is may be summed up as dry, highly erodible land, subject to heavy rain storms; miles and miles of bush producing an ephemeral pasture during the rains, but through which half starved cattle eke out a bare subsistence during most of the year; its main needs are anti-erosion work and pasture making.
