Resource use efficiency in urban and peri-urban sheep, goat and cattle enterprises

Abstract

Urban livestock husbandry receives growing attention given the increasing urban demand for livestock products. At the same time, little is known about the resource use efficiency in urban livestock enterprises and eventual negative externalities. In livestock production, feeds are an important resource whose nutrients are transformed into products (meat and milk) to generate financial return to the producer. The lack of knowledge on nutrient supply through feed might lead to oversupply with severe environmental impacts. In Niamey, a typical West African city and capital of the Republic of Niger, urban livestock production is constrained by feed scarcity, especially during the dry season. Here, the issue of resource use efficiency was studied in 13 representative and differently managed sheep/goat and cattle enterprises characterized by high and low feed inputs, respectively, during a period of 28 months. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) inflows into each farm through livestock feeds and outflows through manure were determined using a semi-structured questionnaire; interviews were accompanied by regular weighing of feed supplied and dung produced. Live weight gain (LWG) and efficiency of conversion of total feed dry matter offered (kg TDMO/kg LWG) were computed along with nutrient balances (NBs) per metabolic body mass (kg 0.75 ). NBs (per kg 0.75 /day) in the high-input (HI) sheep/goat enterprises were 11762.4 mg N, 1127.2 mg P and 11363.5 mg K and were significantly greater (P , 0.05) than those in low-input (LI) units (169.1 mg N, 298.3 mg P and 116.5 mg K). In HI cattle enterprises, daily balances averaged 1454.1 mg N, 140.1 mg P and 1341.8 mg K compared to 134.4 mg N, 29.0 mg P and 168.3 mg K (P . 0.05) in LI cattle systems. All systems were characterized by poor conversion efficiencies of offered feed, which ranged from 13.5 to 46.1 kg TDMO/kg LWG in cattle and from 15.7 to 43.4 kg TDMO/kg LWG in sheep/goats. LWG in HI sheep/goats was 53 g/day in the rainy season, 86 g/day in the hot dry season and 104 g/day in the cool dry season, while HI cattle lost 79 g/day in the hot dry season and gained 121 g/day and 92 g/day in the cool dry and rainy seasons, respectively. The data indicate that there is nutrient wasting and scope for improvement of feeding strategies in Niamey's livestock enterprises, which might also decrease nutrient losses to the urban environment.

Intra-urban and peri-urban differences in cattle farming systems of Burkina Faso

“…While the major constraints of the system were identified as limited availability and high prices of feed resources (Schiere and van der Hoek, 2001;Thys et al, 2005), a study by Diogo et al (2010) in Niamey (Niger) revealed that farmers operating in this system provide excessive feed and nutrients to their animals.…”

Cross-Location Analysis of the Impact of Household Socioeconomic Status on Participation in Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in West Africa

“…2005; Graefe et al 2008; De Bon et al 2010; Diogo et al . 2010, Predotova et al 2010). It has also been widely argued in the general UPA literature and in several case studies that urban farmers are among the poorest of poor urban dwellers who have no other livelihood alternatives (Lado 1990; Rogerson 1993; Enete and Achike 2008).…”

Production objectives and breeding practices of urban goat and sheep keepers in West Africa: regional analysis and implications for the development of supportive breeding programs

“…However, the two species have not received equal attention in studies on urban small ruminant production in the West African context. Respective studies (Siegmund-Schultze and Rischkowsky 2001; Touré and Ouattara 2001; Killanga et al 2004; Rischkowsky et al 2006; Diogo et al 2010), which are limited in number, mainly focused on sheep, neglecting goats. They are also limited in their scope: some to just the socio-economic characteristics of the keepers, most to one city, others to the management practices and flock productivity, providing therefore a patchwork view of the prevailing production systems.…”