Inventory and diversity of forages utilized by farmers raising goats in Halal way: The case of Region XII, Philippines.

Abstract

In small ruminant production, resource inventory is necessary. Among these, forage inventory and assessment are essential considering the fact that it is a major source of feedstuff for animals. In the Philippines, pioneering Halal goat research have been conducted in Region XII, however, forage inventory utilized in Halal goat production has not been done. This study aims to provide information on different species of plant utilized by goat raisers as forage. The study was conducted in 3 provinces of Region XII, namely North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato, and General Santos City. Four (4) municipalities/cities in each province were included in the assessment. Respondents in each area were selected based on the following criteria from the drafted Philippine National Standards for Halal goat production: a.) a believer of Islam b) with 5 to 24 breeder does; and c.) willingness of the farm owner to participate in the survey in addition to the established basic consideration for Halal goat raising. Respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 61 species of plants belonging to 19 families were utilized as forage by the respondents. Carabao grass (Paspalum conjugatum Bergius) is the most common species of forage with a relative abundance of 0.0949. This was followed by walis-walisan (Sida acuta Burm.f.) (0.0586), napier (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) (0.0566), paragrass (Brachiaria mutica (Forssk.) Stapf.) (0.0566), ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit-) (0.0545), and paragis (Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.) (0.0525). Higher diversity of forage species was recorded in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat based on the computed Simpson's Diversity (0.05322), Simpson's Index of Diversity (0.9468) and Shannon-Weiner Index (3.097). Differences in forage species diversity in all sampling sites were observed. Although all sampling sites are within one region, variability in land covers and climatic conditions can be attributed to species diversity difference.

Challenges in Goat Production Faced by Halal Goat Raisers in Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN), Philippines

“…Most of the respondents do not plant improved and domesticated forage species and rely on open vegetated areas. These common species of forages were also observed in the study of Salvaña et al (2019) and Navarra et al (2019). Kumar and Pant (2003) noted that goats were generally reared in rain fed areas by landless or resource poor farmers whose average agricultural holding was either very less or not sufficient to devote for cultivation of crops.…”

Survey on the Halal Goat Production System in the Province of Maguindanao, Bangsamoro (Barmm), Philippines

“…Most popular forage grasses cultivated include napier (Pennisetum), Brachiaria and Panicum species. Although there are similarities, species of forages grown and cultivated in any country and region varies depending on climate and livestock needs [6]. In other municipalities of Mindanao, goat raisers utilized available plant species within spaces of crop plantations.…”