Nutritional Quality of Indigenous Legume Browse in the Southern Ethiopia: Farmers’ Preference and Correlation of Local Valuation of Feed Value with Scientific Indicators

Abstract

The research was carried out in southern Ethiopia to determine farmers' preferences for indigenous legume fodder trees and shrubs (ILFTS), as well as the relationship between local feed valuation and scientific parameters. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with ten farmers in each agro-ecological zone to determine the benchmarks for the preference ratings. The respondent farmers used the preference score sheet to rate all the ILFTS on an individual basis. Twenty farmers with extensive experience in ILFTS took part in the preference score ranking of each plant species in each agroecological zone. Dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), Ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and metabolizable energy (ME) content of samples were determined. The standard two-stage in-vitro approach was used to measure the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of samples. ANOVA was used to analyze the variation among the species in agroecosystems. Farmers evaluated the ILFTS using a variety of parameters, according to the study (feed value, growth rate, biomass output, compatibility, and multifunctionality). The farmers ILFTS preference score with the evaluation criteria differed considerably (P<0.05) in agro-ecological zones. The nutritive value of ILFTS was in acceptable range for feeding ruminants though exhibited a wide variation among the species in agroecological zones. The CP content was above the minimum requirement (8%) to support the normal function of rumen microorganisms. Moreover, CP exhibited positive significant correlation with IVDMD, IVOMD and DOMD unlike the CT and ADL which exhibited negative significant correlation. Thus, ADL and CT were identified as feed fractions that inhibit IVDMD by either by depressing the activity of rumen microorganisms or restricting enzyme access to cell wall components. Conversely, the DM, OM, CP, IVDMD, IVOMD, DOMD and ME were shown a positive significant correlation with farmers feed value preference score, unlike the ADL and CT which exhibited a negative significant correlation. In conclusion, Farmers' indigenous knowledge of feed value is therefore relevant to some extent for judging the nutritive value of the ILFTS and could complement the scientific indicators.

Nutritional Quality of Indigenous Legume Browse in the Southern Ethiopia: Farmers’ Preference and Correlation of Local Valuation of Feed Value with Scientific Indicators

“…Thus, the purpose of this research was to determine nutritional quality, farmer preferences, and the relationship between local feed valuation and laboratory outcomes in a semihumid environment. A preprint of this manuscript has previously been published (Abraham et al, 2023).…”

Nutritional Quality of Indigenous Legume Browse in the Southern Ethiopia: Farmers’ Preference and Correlation of Local Valuation of Feed Value with Scientific Indicators

“…Thus, this research was conducted to determine nutritional quality, farmer preferences, and the relationship between local feed valuation and laboratory outcomes of indigenous legume fodder trees and shrubs (ILFTS) in a semi-humid environment. A preprint of this manuscript was previously published (Abraham et al, 2023).…”