Scenario analysis of crop-livestock integration system for increased high-quality fodder productivity among smallholder cattle farmers in Rwanda.

There is a perennial shortage of fodder among smallholder farmers in most sub-Saharan countries, including Rwanda. Forage and crop residue production and their cattle requirement per year were investigated in the Eastern Savanna and the Volcanic highlands. Eastern Savana had a larger land size (0.6vs 0.3 ha; p<0.001), greater area under forage (0.08 vs 0.04 ha; p=0.008), and higher cropped area (0.6 vs 0.3 ha; p<0.001) than Volcanic highlands. Consequently, Eastern Savanna achieved higher fodder production (1 428 vs 906 kg DM/HH/year; p=0.027), crude protein (171 388 vs 108 750 g CP/year; p=0.027), and metabolizable energy (9 569 vs 6 072 MJ/year; p=0.027). Daily dry matter intake requirements were higher in the Eastern Savanna (11.0 vs 9.6 kg/day; p=0.004), reflecting higher livestock demand. Both agroecological zones exhibited persistent feed shortages. Dry matter gap was highly significant (p < 0.001), with the largest deficits in lactating (−3513 kg DM/year) and dry cows (−3753 kg DM/year). Crude protein and energy gaps were also negative across all categories, though not statistically significant (p > 0.05), indicating widespread insufficiency of nutrients. Predictive values of the intercropping system show that the production of fodder annually can increase more than 5 times, from 822 to 4 459 kg DM/year; from 78 650.5 g CP to 528 389 g CP/year, and from 5 385 MJ to 33 035 MJ per year. The present study proposed planting on contour strips a grass fodder that yields at least 60 tons DM per ha per year, and using a cover fodder that yields around 20 tons of dry matter per ha per year. The adoption of the crop/fodder integration system would lead to the year-round availability of fodder for livestock across all seasons.