different types of fodder species used

Fodder cultivation (Nepal)

Daale ghans utpadan

Description

It is a technology where slope, waste land, remains of crop land, marginal lands, rising terraces are protected by fodder cultivation.

This technology involves the cultivation of various trees, grasses, legumes and shrubs that can be used as livestock feed. The slopes in the hills, rising terraces, waste and barren land and other land types with many limitations that cannot be used for agriculture are used for fodder cultivation. In this way, the land is protected from landslide, erosion by wind and water and the loss of soil fertility due to over-compaction of soil and overgrazing is reduced. In addition, the feed quality and quantity of the livestock is improved and their productivity consequently is also increased.

Purpose of the Technology: This technology is practiced:
-mainly for protection of land from erosion or landslide,to protect from over-compaction and overgrazing leading to soil fertility loss i.e. for land management
-for the purpose of providing food for livestock even during the winter months.
-for increasing the quality of feed for livestock and thus, improve their productivity.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: This technology involves the plantation of trees, legumes, shrubs and grasses in the wastelands and lands deemed unfit for agriculture. The suitable plant seedlings are planted at a particular season i.e during spring mainly in the month of Baisakh. Depending upon the amount of nourishment and the nutritional content requirement and availability of seedlings,the nutrient contents of feeds and fodders on the basis of soil composition, use of manures and fertilizers on the land, irrigation facilities, stage and speed of growth frequency of cutting the variety and strain of feed resources are determined. It needs watering and removal of unwanted weeds for some months and the plant needs no further caring. They grow by themselves. These plants are mostly rain-fed and have no other economical or aesthetic values as such and hence, these can be used only exclusively for fodder cultivation. The tree branches, leaves, twigs, shrubs, legume plant bodies used for feed can either be cut and harvest either from time to time when required or they may also be cut and stored in fodder storages for the winter months when other sources of feed are scarce or during the planting season (Asar) when labor is scarce.

Natural / human environment: We need not to create any human or artificial environment for cultivation. The trees grow naturally and create a pleasant environment in nature. Sometimes, for crop fodder cultivation, agricultural lands may come in use. For example, in maize crop used as fodder supplement, the main plots were sown with maize varieties, and the subplots were cutting of added rows of maize after different days after sowing. Thus, young maize plants were cut before drying out in the sun and may be used as fodder. Tropical grass species and improved grasses and legumes are also introduced in barren terrace landscape during the off season after harvesting.

Location

Location: Kavre, Chyamrang besi, Nepal

No. of Technology sites analysed:

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 85.4557, 27.4769

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (2.0 km²)

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation: more than 50 years ago (traditional)

Type of introduction
Fodder cultivation in wastelands from crop land

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Cropland
    • Annual cropping: cereals - maize, fodder crops - grasses, fodder crops - other, rice
    • Tree and shrub cropping: fodder trees (Calliandra, Leucaena leucocephala, Prosopis, etc.), coffee
    Number of growing seasons per year: 2
Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation

Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion, Wm: mass movements/ landslides
  • physical soil deterioration - Pc: compaction
  • biological degradation - Bc: reduction of vegetation cover, Bs: quality and species composition/ diversity decline
SLM group
  • improved ground/ vegetation cover
  • use of wasteland for agriculture
SLM measures
  • agronomic measures - A1: Vegetation/ soil cover
  • vegetative measures - V1: Tree and shrub cover, V2: Grasses and perennial herbaceous plants
  • management measures - M1: Change of land use type, M3: Layout according to natural and human environment, M5: Control/ change of species composition

Technical drawing

Technical specifications

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated:
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Rupees
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 97.0 Rupees
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 500
Most important factors affecting the costs
Tthe labour and the cost for seeding. The manure requried is prepared naturally
Establishment activities
  1. Plantation of the fodder plants in barren wastelands (Timing/ frequency: Spring(Chaitra-Baisakh))
  2. Cutting of the twigs, branches, legumes, crops and grasses (Timing/ frequency: Throughout the year)
  3. Enrichment planting of tree seedling (Timing/ frequency: None)
  4. Introduction of higher quality feed species (Timing/ frequency: None)
Establishment inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Rupees) Total costs per input (Rupees) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Plantation of the fodder plants in barren wastelands persons/day/ha 51.0 500.0 25500.0 100.0
Cutting of the twigs, branches, legumes, crops and grasses persons/day 1.0 200.0 200.0 100.0
Enrichment planting of tree seedling persons/day/ha 51.0 500.0 25500.0 100.0
Introduction of higher quality feed species persons/day/ha 10.0 98.03 980.3
Equipment
Spade pieces 1.0 1000.0 1000.0 100.0
Tools pieces 1.0 500.0 500.0 100.0
Plant material
Seedlings pieces/ha 200.0 600.0 120000.0 100.0
Seedlings pieces/ha 200.0 25.0 5000.0 100.0
Seeds pieces/ha 200.0 25.0 5000.0 100.0
Fertilizers and biocides
Compost / manure kg/ha 5.0 750.0 3750.0 100.0
new Compost/manure kg/ha 100.0 300.0 30000.0 100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 217'430.3
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 2'241.55
Maintenance activities
  1. Watering the seedlings (Timing/ frequency: Till 2 to 3 month after plantation)
  2. Manuring (Timing/ frequency: Till 2 to 3 month)
Maintenance inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Rupees) Total costs per input (Rupees) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Watering the seedlings persons/day/ha 2.0 200.0 400.0 100.0
Equipment
Pipes and buckets pieces/ha 2.0 200.0 400.0 100.0
Plant material
Manuring kg/2m 1.0 300.0 300.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 1'100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 11.34

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
n.a.
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to:
Is salinity a problem?
  • Ja
  • Nee

Occurrence of flooding
  • Ja
  • Nee
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
x
good
education

poor
x
good
technical assistance

poor
x
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
x
good
markets

poor
x
good
energy

poor
x
good
roads and transport

poor
x
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
x
good
financial services

poor
x
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
x
increased


Good composting

fodder production
decreased
x
increased


Everyone is using the slope land

fodder quality
decreased
x
increased


People are getting more knowledge

animal production
decreased
x
increased


Increasse in food resources

wood production
decreased
x
increased


Wood are available from fodder

product diversity
decreased
x
increased

land management
hindered
x
simplified


No more time waste by searching for fodder

workload
increased
x
decreased


No more time waste by searching for fodder

Socio-cultural impacts
cultural opportunities (eg spiritual, aesthetic, others)
reduced
x
improved

recreational opportunities
reduced
x
improved

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
x
improved


People are getting experiance

conflict mitigation
worsened
x
improved


Cultivation in own land and land management

Ecological impacts
water quantity
decreased
x
increased


Roots of tree absorb

water quality
decreased
x
increased


Different varieties of plant purify the water

harvesting/ collection of water (runoff, dew, snow, etc)
reduced
x
improved


Absorption increased

surface runoff
increased
x
decreased


Due to absorption increased

evaporation
increased
x
decreased


Absorption increased

soil moisture
decreased
x
increased


Absorption increased

soil cover
reduced
x
improved


Leaves and plant provide

soil loss
increased
x
decreased


Roots of plant saves loss

soil compaction
increased
x
reduced


Plantation reduces

nutrient cycling/ recharge
decreased
x
increased

soil organic matter/ below ground C
decreased
x
increased


Tree leaves acts as organic matter

biomass/ above ground C
decreased
x
increased


Plantation increase

plant diversity
decreased
x
increased


Various plants are planted

animal diversity
decreased
x
increased


Availability and increase of food

flood impacts
increased
x
decreased


Trees blocks the path of flooding

emission of carbon and greenhouse gases
increased
x
decreased


Increase in photosynthesis

fire risk
increased
x
decreased

wind velocity
increased
x
decreased


Tree block high velocity

Off-site impacts

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Fodder plants do not need further maintainence and up keeping after they have been allowed to gow. Most are annual and some grasses are perennial. In the long term, the initial costs are duly covered and yield major economic benifits.

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
x
very well
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
local rainstorm

not well at all
x
very well
local windstorm

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
drought

not well at all
x
very well
general (river) flood

not well at all
x
very well
Other climate-related consequences
reduced growing period

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
9 percent of stated area
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Ja
  • Nee
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • decrease in waste as animals fees almost all
  • increase in number of animal husbandary
  • Stall-feeding has been encouraged
  • Availabitlity of fodder even during harsh winter when there is scarcity of forage plants and during harvest season when there is lack of labour
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • This technology has been able to manage and utilize the waste land
  • the livestock production has increased by which they develop economic status
  • barren lands and to soil erosion along with increase in turbulence of surface water leading to flooding has decreased which occurred due to over grazing
  • The biomass and productivity of the ecosystem has improved due to introduction of new species in barren land
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • The trees do not grow fast enough to reap benefits faster Trees and other legumes and grasses which have high growth rates should be planted
  • The fodder species are planted on communal wastelands so there are arguments if somebody takes more forage then others Communal properties should be equally distributed and a managing body must be present
  • The production from the fodder plantation is never enough for the whole year Along with wastelands and marginal uncultivable lands, crop fodder production can be done (like maize) even during the plantation of cash and food crops to ensure a year round supply
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • people may find difficulties in cutting tall trees use shrubs, and herbs for plantation
  • Since it a common property, the use and negligence in management of common properties may eventually lead its failure fodder plants do not need looking after very much but proper management of the forage resource by everyone involved must be done
  • Traditionally used crops have been used till now which may not have the highest nutrient content and qualitative feed Proper research needs to be done to identify the plants best suited for that climate and topography and which have the highest nutritional content to improve production of livestock
  • Barren lands are often used for recreational purposes like for games by kids and hence protection of young plants may be difficult For the few months of plantation care should be insured for their survival

References

Compiler
  • Sabita Aryal
Editors
Reviewer
  • David Streiff
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Jan. 17, 2014
Last update: Junie 4, 2019
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International