INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE ... - PROFOR

AUTHOR
Makumba et al.
(continued)
TREE
SOIL DEPTH
BIOMASS
(cm) Aboveground Belowground SOIL TOTAL
200 negligible negligible 149
Phombeya (Faidherbia albida) 20 106 35 38.1 179 b
Takimoto et al. (Faidherbia albida) 10 40.5 c 13.5 5.8 59.8
40 40.5 13.5 16.8 70.8
100 40.5 13.5 33.3 87.3
Takimoto et al. (Gliricidia fodder bank) 10 4.8
40 14.0
100 35.6
Walker & Desanker (miombo) 150 82.5
(maize-based cropping) 150 49.0
(miombo-fallow) 150 52.2
Woomer, 2005 (miombo woodland) 20 28 48
(after maize cropping) 0 9 9
Source: Compiled by authors from references listed above.
a. Ranges of data.
b. Back of envelope calculation; data were not gathered for carbon measurement.
c. Numbers in italics are estimated from figures in the respective papers.
Fodder Shrubs for Dairy Systems
Milk is one of the most significant agricultural commodities in terms of worldwide traded value.
A recent estimate projects that milk demand will increase by 8 million tons between 2009 and
2019, while production will increase by only 5.6 million tons (Fonterra 2011). That is more than
the current level of milk production in Kenya, which has one of the highest milk-consumption-percapita
figures in the developing world (145 liters/person) and almost 1.5 million dairy cattle. Thus,
significant investment will be required to build high-quality dairy herds.
Investment will also be needed in livestock feeding systems, and one component of these systems
is likely to be trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs are important sources of high-quality fodder in all
ecozones of Africa and for a variety of animals. For example, leaves and pods from species such
as Pterocarpus and Piliostigma are important dry season feeds in the Sahel. A more intensively
managed shrub system is expanding rapidly in East Africa for intensive cut-and-carry dairy systems.
Some fodder shrubs are easy to grow, can withstand repeated pruning, and do not compete with
food crops. The plants mature in about 12 months, after which they can be pruned and fed to
livestock for up to 20 years. By maintaining 500 shrubs, a farmer will be able to feed about 2 kg of
dry leaf matter each day. This supplementary amount has been found to raise milk yield by 1.5 to
2 kg per day among smallholder farmers, translating into more than $100 extra revenue per cow
per year (Franzel 2004, Place et al. 2009). The most promising species for the eastern African
highlands are Calliandra, Leucaena, Tree Lucerne (for the high elevations), and mulberry (for the
drier climates). By 2009, more than 200,000 farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda had adopted
the technology.
36 INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE RESTORATION IN AFRICA