Theme 20: Forages in Cropping Systems
Description
Soil fertility is a fundamental biophysical root cause of food insecurity sub-Saharan Africa. Low quality crop residues and grasses during the dry season also limit animal productivity. Forage legumes (herbaceous and tree legumes) have great potential to increase crop animal productivity. Technologies have been developed over the past 3 decades to fully integrate forage legumes into farming. Most of these technologies are still on shelves with low adoption by farmers. Rhe role of forage legumes in nutrient cycling is reviewed in this paper. The factor limiting adoption will also be discussed. Innovative dissemination pathways to increase adoption will be suggested.
Included in
Potential of Crop Rotation Using Forages in the Tropics
Soil fertility is a fundamental biophysical root cause of food insecurity sub-Saharan Africa. Low quality crop residues and grasses during the dry season also limit animal productivity. Forage legumes (herbaceous and tree legumes) have great potential to increase crop animal productivity. Technologies have been developed over the past 3 decades to fully integrate forage legumes into farming. Most of these technologies are still on shelves with low adoption by farmers. Rhe role of forage legumes in nutrient cycling is reviewed in this paper. The factor limiting adoption will also be discussed. Innovative dissemination pathways to increase adoption will be suggested.
