Improving adoption of technologies and interventions for increasing supply of quality livestock feed in low- and middle-income countries

Mulubrhan Balehegn; Alan Duncan; Adugna Tolera; Augustine A Ayantunde; Salissou Issa; Moctar Karimou; Nouhoun Zampaligré; Kiema André; Isidore Gnanda; Padmakumar Varijakshapanicker; Ermias Kebreab; Jose Dubeux; Kenneth Boote; Muluneh Minta; Fekede Feyissa; Adegbola T Adesogan

doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100372

Improving adoption of technologies and interventions for increasing supply of quality livestock feed in low- and middle-income countries

Glob Food Sec. 2020 Sep:26:100372. doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100372.

Authors

Mulubrhan Balehegn^{1

2}, Alan Duncan³, Adugna Tolera⁴, Augustine A Ayantunde⁵, Salissou Issa⁶, Moctar Karimou⁷, Nouhoun Zampaligré⁸, Kiema André⁸, Isidore Gnanda⁸, Padmakumar Varijakshapanicker⁹, Ermias Kebreab¹⁰, Jose Dubeux¹¹, Kenneth Boote¹², Muluneh Minta¹³, Fekede Feyissa¹³, Adegbola T Adesogan^{1

12}

Affiliations

¹ Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, University of Florida, 2250 Shealy Drive, Bldg 459, Room 125, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
² Department of Animal, Rnageland and Wildlife Sciences, Mekelle University, Ethiopia.
³ International Livestock Research Institute, Ethiopia.
⁴ School of Animal and Range Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
⁵ International Livestock Research Institute, Burkina Faso.
⁶ L'Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger/National Institute of Agricultural Research, Niger.
⁷ Mercy Corps, Niger.
⁸ Institut de l'Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Burkina Faso.
⁹ International Livestock Research Institute, India.
¹⁰ University of California Davis, USA.
¹¹ Department of Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, USA.
¹² Department of Animal Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 2250 Shealy Drive, Bldg 459, Room 125, University of Florida, USA.
¹³ Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia.

Abstract

The global increase in the demand for and production of animal-source foods (four-to five-fold increase between 1960 and 2015), which has been mostly concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), provides smallholder livestock producers with an opportunity for improving their livelihoods and food and nutrition security. However, across livestock production systems in many LMIC, limited supplies and high cost of good quality feed severely constrains exploitation of this opportunity. In many of such countries, feeds and feeding-related issues are often ranked as the primary constraint to livestock production and increased consumption of animal-source foods. Here we review the complex biophysical, socio-economic and technological challenges related to improving quality feed supply and the reasons for generally low adoption of apparently proven feed enhancement technologies. We describe also successful interventions and conclude by recommending strategies for improving quality feed supply in LMIC that account for and overcome the prevailing challenges.

Keywords: Feed; Feed improvement; Smallholder livestock producer; Technology adoption.