Pasture management strategies for sustainable livestock production in Karamoja pastoral system, Uganda

A M Atuhaire, P Boma¹ and S Mugerwa

National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) P O Box 96 Tororo, Uganda
aatuhaire@gmail.com
¹ Nabein Zonal Agricultural Research Development Institute P O Box Moroto, Uganda

Abstract

A study was done to examine the influence of climatic changes and non-climatic transformations in Karamoja pastoral system on pasture variations in sward composition, plant height, biomass, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). The effect of ecological knowledge on strategic and tactical pasture management strategies was also assessed. Irrespective of the season the mean biomass yield on dry matter basis was 0.17 t DM ha^-1 yr^-1 and crude protein (CP) was 63 g/kg DM. Dominant pasture species were Hyparrhenia spp, Brachiaria spp, Pennisetum spp and Chloris spp. The sward height, biomass, CP, NDF and IVOMD were dependent on both season and specie. Whereas the sward height and biomass of H.rufa, B.decumbens, C.pycnothrix and S.sphacelata peaked during the rainy season, that of C.afronardus, S.pyramidalis and Imperata cylindrica peaked in dry season. The CP values of most of pasture species were below 70.0 g/kgDM irrespective of the season, expect for B.decumbens, which had 81.3 g/kgDM of CP in the rainy season and 60.1 g/kgDM during the dry season. Livestock in Karamoja pastoral system is the source of livelihood, income and food security. Results suggest that the livelihood options of pastoralists are generally becoming narrower because of increased human population, persistent unfavorable climate change and sluggish adaptation that overrides the main reason of rearing livestock under pastoral system. This makes Karamajong pastoralists vulnerable therefore, livestock management strategies to address the underlying challenges should embrace value addition to Brachiaria spp and Chloris spp preserve them in form of hay to offers an opportunity for economic transformation in Karamoja semi arid area.

Keywords: ecological knowledge, integrated system, native pastures, pastoralists

Introduction

Although pastoralism is claimed as disappearing due to climatic and non-climatic drivers, but its foundations and perseverance in unfavorable, fragile, marginal areas were livestock rely exclusively on natural pastures qualify it as a better suited land use (Pica-Ciamarra et al 2011). In Karamoja semi-arid region pastoralism is a major land use that portrays fine polished symbiotic relationship between local ecology, domesticated livestock and people in resource-scarce environment almost at threshold of human survival. Range utilization by pastoralists is often open grazing, where livestock is grazed on communal land, resources like pastures and water are shared (Abusuwar and Ahmed 2010). This takes care of seasonal nutritive quality that is a vital facet in animal production to ensure meat and milk quality. However, the quality and quantity of pastures in semi-arid areas fluctuate seasonally with poor quality pastures dominating in dry season due to prolonged droughts or floods, continuous over-grazing and lack of range improvement interventions (Konlan et al 2016). Consequently, highly palatable and productive perennial pasture species are replaced by unpalatable, low quality annual species with associated loss of soil fertility (Estell et al 2014). This leads to poor livestock nutrition with a chain of negative consequences comprising of low production and reproductive performance, slow growth rate, poor body condition and increased susceptibility to diseases (Thornton 2010). Thus, livelihood options are narrow and vulnerable hence qualifying for investment in this system so as to contribute to poverty alleviation, employment and food security. Although pastoralists’ strategies that utilize scarce distinctive resource base like livestock mobility (transhumance and nomadism), diversification, communal pooling and community-negotiated approaches geared towards to survival have stood a taste of time modern approaches that focus on value creation and maximization must be expedited (Valdivia et al 2010). Pastoralists, however, have untapped into extensive ecological knowledge on pasture use, palatability, phenology and availability (Thomas and Twyman 2004; Linstadter et al 2013). Improving livestock productivity in pastoral system requires shift from known community-negotiated approach to strategic and tactical feed management strategies that provide alternative nutrients and energy flows. Therefore, attention should focus on climatic and non-climatic drivers that are location-specific and acceptable. Heitschmidt et al (1995) pointed out that species composition was a primary determinant of the ecological conditions of rangeland, the kinds, size and density of plants at a particular location influenced the quantity and quality of pastures. The objective of this study was to understand drivers of pasture management strategies and their implications in the transitional pastoral system of Karamoja semi arid region.

Materials and methods

Study area

Karamoja sub-region in North East of Uganda is characterized by sporadic annual rainfall that rang between 350-1,000 mm of rain and lies on Latitude 1° 30’ and 4° N and Longitude 33° 30’ and 35° E, covering an estimated area of over 27,200 km². The study was conducted in Katido (03°30’ 59.99”N, 34°06’60. 00”E) and Kaboong (2°43’59. 99”N, 33°39’59. 99”E) districts of Karamoja sub-region which forms Uganda’s cattle corridor that stretches diagonally from the Uganda-Tanzania boarder in the South through the plains of Lake Kyoga Region, to Karamoja in the North Eastern part of the country. The topography of the area is a mix of undulating plains, sloping to moderately steep terrains with valleys (Mubiru 2010). The area has one rain season, from June to September that range between 350-1000 mm per annum (Kotido meteorological site; 1963-2008). The lowest circadian minimum and maximum environmental temperature were 32°C with a variation of 2-7°C, respectively and both experienced during dry season.

Survey on native pastures and management

This study commenced with mapping excise of associated attributes that depicted the conditions of the native pastures using 300 meters compass direction based transect-walks. Riginos and Herrick (2010) methodology to monitor and assess rangeland health was adopted. In each of the transect walk, using 1m² quadrant, grazing intensity was assessed on a likert scale that ranged from high, moderate and low presence. Similarly soil cover conditions were assessed using a likert scale from soft, moderate and hard. Meanwhile, exposure and cover were assessed using percentage estimates. Plant height for pastures and shrubs were assessed using rapid counts and height estimates.

The study was conducted in five parishes per district, which were purposively selected by District Livestock Production Officer who provided a sampling frame, which contained all livestock-keeping households from the selected Districts. After consultation with the district extension staff, scouts and elders, twelve (12) households were selected from each parish following systematic random sampling procedures.

Quantitative and qualitative data on temporal and spatial variability, quality and quantity of native pasture were obtained using semi-structured pre-tested questionnaires administered by way of one on one interview that were conducted in the Karamojang vernacular language by trained enumerators.

Participants were asked to identify native pastures species available among their grazing area using local names. They were then tasked to identify those available during the dry season, wet season and both as well. Each participant was then provided with 10 small stones (each stone representing 10%) and was asked to proportionately pile stones to a particular pasture species based on its perceived abundance during wet, dry and both seasons relative to other species. Further, participants were asked to provide a brief description of location characteristics of the identified species and preferred soil type. The native pastures with their botanical names were matched with a botanist in Makerere University herbarium.

Herbage Sampling, Measurement and Nutrient Composition Analysis

Pasture samples were collected in two seasons: at the peak of the rainy season between 7^th and 23^rd September 2017 and in dry season between 22^nd March and 9^th April 2018. Sampling interval on the same plot/blocks was between 170 and 180 days. One block was selected from each selected community grazing area in each parish. Areas located near watering points and cattle handling facilities were avoided because of frequent disturbances by cattle activity. Quadrant of 1m² (0.2 m x 0.5 m) was thrown into five randomly selected sampling areas. During both sampling rounds, pasture composition was measured using point sampling method. Tallest culm heights of 10 pasture plants per species per quadrant were measured using a common ruler. Further, the herbage enclosed within quadrant was harvested to ground level, weighed and submitted to the laboratory. In the laboratory pasture samples were oven dried at 65°C to a constant weight, weighted to determine biomass, ground to pass through 2 mm sieve and pooled according to transect site. Dry matter (DM, g/kg) content was determined according to (AOAC 1990) while organic matter (OM) and ash were determined according to (AOAC 2006a; method ID 984.13). Crude protein (CP) content (g/kg DM) was calculated as 6.25 x N (Kjeldahl nitrogen) content in the feed. The N content was determined according to (AOAC (2006b; method ID 942.05). Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) were determined following procedures of Van Soest et al 1991.

Data analysis

We hypothesized that use of indigenous knowledge in pasture management as well as spatial and temporal variability was farmer’s perception and function of specific explanatory variables such as dominant pasture species in wet, dry and both seasons. In characterizing farmers’ perceptions on use of ecological knowledge in pasture management, spatial and temporal variability, a general linear model (GLM) that assumed binomial error distribution of farmers’ responses was used. Identification of the dominant pasture species in wet, dry and both seasons were used as dependent variables and nutritional quality of native pasture species as explanatory variables. The data was then subjected to logistic regression following the requirements of probit model of SAS 2002. Data on pasture composition were analyzed using General Linear Model (GLM) procedures in statistical analysis (SAS, 2002). The model used was as follows:

Υ_ijk = μ + α_i + β_j + αβ_ij + ε_ijk

Where Υ_ijk is the pasture variable measured, μ overall mean, α_i effect of the season (wet, dry and both), β_j effect of pasture species, αβ_ij interaction between pasture species and season and ε_ijk residual.

Results

Pasture use

Farmers assign grazing areas to livestock especially cattle based on reasons presented in Table 1. Reasons advanced for assigning land to grazing were; absence of shrubs/weeds, quality pastures, vicinity to the homestead and water source. Most of the grazing areas were infested with shrubs, dominated by low-quality pasture while good grazing areas with highly nutritious pastures were a distance away from watering points and homesteads (Manyatta). All the farmers were herding cattle without any supplementation of any type or source.

Farmers’ pasture quality grading

Respondents classified 10 native pasture species in the study area as ‘good’ (desirable) pasture species in Table 2. Common attributes of ‘good’ desirable pastures were palatability, phonology and availability, biomass yield and resilience against drought/floods.

Respondents identified 08 native pasture species as ‘bad’ (undesirable) species in Table 3. Common attributes for undesirable pasture species in Karamoja pastoral system include being poisonous to livestock and causing diarrhoea, poor biomass yield and high potential of invasiveness.

Pasture-quality classification as perceived by Karamajong pastoralists

Respondents graded native pasture as poor, medium and good quality Table 4. Farmers in Lolelia parish, Kaboong district and Nakwakwa parish, Kotido had no poor native pastures in their grazing areas. While respondents in Sangar and Nakwakwa parishes, Kaboong district graded their native pastures as good quality only.

Spatial and temporal variability of common native pastures in wet, dry and both seasons as per Karamajong pastoralists’ assessments

Native pasture species identified as being abundant in wet season included Emaa (Hyparrhenia newtonii), Erereng (Hyparrhenia rufa), Elet (Brachiaria brizantha), Ekode (Chloris pycnothrix) and Nyesiloit (Setaria sphacelata) Table 5. Respondents acknowledged that certain native pastures are gradually decreasing and disappearing from grazing areas. Some of the native pasture species identified to be highly palatable and nutritious were reported as gradually reducing, whereas unpalatable species were on increase. Native pasture species scored as being abundant in dry season included Lojokopolon (Hyparrhenia diplandra), Ekatukutachwe (Brachiaria decumbens), Lomurio (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Neymuria (Cynodon dactylon).

Karamoja pastoralists’ assessments on nutrient value of native pastures

Pastoralists’ assessment on pasture quality and laboratory derived calculations are presented in Table 6. Farmers graded their pastures based on herbage yield and were categorized as; low, medium or high. Although the results are not clear-cut, in grazing areas with medium and high quality pastures had higher DM yields compared with grazing areas with low and medium quality pastures. Respondents’ pasture quality assessment concurred only with laboratory analysis where pastures were categorized as medium and high-quality classes (up to CP 71.1 g/kg DM) and relatively low NDF (up to 690 g/kgDM) Table 6. Grazing areas on which pastures were graded as low and medium quality had lower CP (up to 5.0 g/kg DM) and relatively high NDF (up to 755 g/kgDM).

Pasture yield estimation and laboratory calculated yield

Laboratory analysis showed a significant (p<0.05) difference between parishes Table 7. None of the parishes in Kaboong apart from Lolelia graded pasture as low-quantity class. Kotido pastures were dominated by Ajanet (Sporobolus pyramidalis) and Najmuria (Cynodon digtaria) species described by farmers as less palatable.

Quality and quantity of pasture species during dry and rainy season in Karamoja region

The mean ground cover of all the pasture species and biomass yields were not significantly affected by season (Table 8). However, there were significant (p<0.05) seasonal variations on DM, CP and NDF. Sward heights of all the pasture species were above 20 cm though plant-heights were affected by season. The effect of season on biomass and dry matter (DM) content of forage depended on pasture species (Table 8). Apart from poor defoliation, S. pyramidalis and B. decumbens offered high biomass in the dry season, B. brizantha and C. ciliaris provided the highest biomass (p<0.001) among the most grazed species in the rainy season. The dry matter (DM) contents of all the pasture species were above 830 g/kg DM in the dry-season but declined to below 420g/kg DM during the rainy season.

Discussion

It is apparent that Karamajong pastoralists are undergoing severe pressure of feed scarcity, poverty, unfavorable policies and equally true that they are actively facing economic transformation. The survival-adopted strategies are diverse and include mobility, diversification, communal pooling and extensification practices. However, its evident that pastoral adaption draws a distinction between coping and adaptation strategies. Furthermore, the forage species varied in relative abundance and could be attributed to climatic variability in the sub-region. The sub-region has considerable total rainfall variability between rainy and long dry season. This kind of variability in rainfall at different periods of the year has been noted to influence phonological vegetation parameter, that include germination, growth and seed production (Holmgren et al 2006). Rainfall gradient leads to a high prevalence of Hyparrhenia spp in wet season. However, Setaria spp was documented to be high in relative abundance in drier eastern Karamoja (Roschinsky et al 2012). This study also revealed abundance of Setaria spp in addition to Sporobolus spp and Chloris spps.

Field assessment shown non-exclusive land tenure use system in Karamoja sub-region, which was critical in allowing the mobility of herds towards transitory concentrations of rich pasture resources. Besides, relative number of pasture species were revealed, which conforms to the fact that pastoral communities have detailed information on native pasture species resources available in their grazing land cover (Roschinsky et al 2012). Equally, Karamajong pastoralists were conversant with the state of the rangeland and application of ecological knowledge in management of the resources. Besides, they posses enormous knowledge on plant diversity arising from practical use of pasture resources over time, hence, prudent to be involved in strategic planning and management of the rangeland resources. Previous studies undertaken among pastoralists in East Africa have similarly revealed detailed community understanding of plant diversity in the rangeland (Mapinduzi et al 2003). Fehmi et al 2002 reported that availing quality pasture and their agronomic practices to a farming system, does not only minimizes the impact of temporal fluctuations in livestock feeds, but also an effective management strategy.

Although reported that livestock are always accompanied to grazing areas and watering points following perception and interpretation of the forage qualities and indicator species. Herding has the potential to produce major shifts in species composition (Corsi et al 2000) since grazing animals are conditioned to select the most palatable species, which are nutritious, leaving less-preferred species (Wurzinger et al 2008). However, almost all examined pastures were low in crude protein during the dry season, suggesting the need for supplementation, irrigation and conservation in agreement with Yiruhan et al (2004) who reported that season and pasture species decline in crude protein, organic matter and digestibility, and increase in fibre content. Implying that during long dry seasons, livestock in the sub-region are subjected to poor pasture with low nutritive quality. Thus exposing them to poor nutrition that negatively affects production and performance in milk yield, body condition and growth rates as well as reproduction (Thornton, 2010).

Although it was noted that there were abundant grass species in the sub-region, leguminous plant species were relatively scarce or absent in most of the grazing land cover. This could be attributed to the frequency of disturbance associated with intense fires that ravage the region destroying seeds to limit recruitment (Egeru et al 2016). Leguminous plants have an important role of mediating livestock diet, soil erosion control, biological nitrogen fixation and reduction of greenhouse gas emission (Abusuwar and Ahmed 2010). Absence of leguminous plants in the grazing land and presence of grass species with low nutritive quality leads to poor livestock nutrition particularly during dry season. However, it was documented that some pasture species significantly stabilize forage quantity and quality during seasonal variations (Okello et al 2005; Roschinsky et al 2012). However, amongst the studied species, B. decumbens and the “other species” were the only ones that met the minimum crude protein of 70 g/kgDM requirements of cattle and only in the rainy season (Bowman et al., 1995). Furthermore, the study discovered that B. decumbens and “other species” were the only species with organic matter digestibility of more than 600 g/kgDM in both seasons which underscored the close linkage between crude protein content and digestibility of forages in earlier reports (Cochran 1995). Thus, implied that when B. decumbens was not dominating there was low pasture digestibility and utilization. The study did not ascertain whether different varieties of pasture species were always on the same grazing area, but it was reviled that all forages reported to have disappeared had been classified as ‘good’ forage and the recently emerged pastures were classified as ‘bad’ forage providing an insight on ongoing decline in rangeland productivity. This affirmed the desire to maintain dominant B. decumbens integration with drought-tolerant nitrogen fixing fodder legumes such as Stylosanthes spp. (Roschinsky et al 2012). The biomass and crude protein content of B. decumbens was above that of the sward average in the rainy season. Perception of positive and negative compositional changes on pasture plants indicated as ‘bad’ forage species were not subjected to intensive feeding stress caused by grazing (defoliation) and over time, they out-competed ‘good’ species. This caused the pattern of selective utilization of pastures to persist in the rainy season (Ganskopp and Bohnert 2009) signifying the abundance of S. pyramidalis in the dry season. Appearance of new plants and disappearance of known forages during the past decade clearly indicated the influence of not only pasture seasonal abundance on grazing land but also livestock nutritional challenges. Pasture qualities attributes of each species offer an opportunity of conservation and utilization during feed scarcity recommending Brachiaria spp, to be harvested during the rainy season, conserved as hay and supplement to Hyparrhenia rufa during the dry season.

Conclusions

• Understanding pasture management strategies, utilization of ecological knowledge and their impact on pastoralists was a benchmark in designing a sustainable livestock production system in Karamoja semi arid area to address challenges of poverty, food and nutrition insecurity.
  
  
• Native pastures supply adequate nutrients to livestock throughout the year, therefore, feed scarcity especially in dry season stems from poor pasture management strategies, overstocking and unfavorable climatic conditions.
  
  
• B. decumbens featured as the most competitive, resilient and nutritious pasture species in the dry and wet season.
  
  
• Introduction of small-sized paddocks for rotational grazing, value addition to B. decumbens to hay for dry season feeding and introduction of suitable forage legumes will transform livestock production in Karamaja semi arid region.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participating respondents for their cooperation. We also wish to acknowledge the NARO-NaLIRRI and Nabuin-ZARDI for the support given to complete this study.

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Received 21 September 2018; Accepted 22 September 2018; Published 1 October 2018

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