Feeding dairy cattle to produce increased milk yield of high quality is a major challenge for dairy farmers in Malawi. Feed is highly scarce during dry months between August to November. During rainy season feed is abundant however, it is mostly grass type which mostly of low quality.
Integrating legume crops within the dairy farm can help reduce the feed challenge farmers face. In technical this kind of farming system is called integrated livestock - crop production system more specifically I would call the system integrated dairy - crop production.
Components of an Integrated Dairy – Crop production systems
Dairy farmers should focus on planting edible legume crops such soybean, groundnut, cowpea and pigeonpea. The more benefit would be attained if these crops are interplanted with cereal crops such as maize or sorghum. Figure 8 below illustrates components, benefits and interactions among systems.
a)
Edible
Legume crops such groundnuts, soybean, cowpea,
pigeonpea and other crops adapted to their environments.
- Grain legumes should be harvest and utilized in the household diets.
- Legume residues should be gathered to be fed directly to cattle, make silage or mix with other cereal crop residues.
b) Cereal crops such as
Maize, sorghum, millet, rice, finger millet, wheat should be grown depending on
adaptability to that environment and apply manure from dairy khola.
Gather cereal residues to
be fed to dairy cattle
c)
Resources
Cycling
- Make compost manure from livestock wastes
- Biogas production from livestock and animal wastes
- Feed preparation from crop residues
Benefits from integrated dairy - crop production system
- Quality and cheap feeding material to dairy cattle
- Improves soil fertility.
- Increased milk yield
- Improved milk quality
- Efficient resource utilisation.
- Manure availability to crop.
- Improves human nutrition
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