Boosting farmer fodder production and preservation
A key aspect in dairy production is the focus on boosting the farmers’ fodder production and preservation. To achieve that, KDPL in partnership with 2SCALE is implementing several complementary initiatives. They include setting up of 100 sustainable learning farms at village level; introduction of private Service Providers and Extension (SPE) for silage and hay making at cooperative level; strengthening private sector to be able to continuously supply SHFs with fodder planting material; and strengthening KDPL/ cooperatives to be able to support extension in a sustainable manner. Already almost half of the learning farms have been established and host farmers trained.
Use of learning farms
By establishing Learning Farms at village level, farmers can have a close reference point where they can regularly visit and update themselves on fodder production and feed storage among other good dairy management practices.
The selected learning farm, in most cases, is usually similar to their own. Thus farmers are expected to replicate the learnings in their own farms . This method is much appreciated because the learning farm is used to demonstrate many aspects of farming including management practices, fodder management and housing and therefore easy for other farmers to learn.
Each learning farm host, with some variations to take care of micro-climate, is currently planting the following forage seeds in their farms: Desmodium, Brachiaria Xaraes, Brachiaria Basilisk, Brachiaria Camello, Brachiaria Cobra, Panicum maximum Masai, Crotolaria juncea Sunn Hemp and Maize for silage. The International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has been critical in identification and provision of most of the seeds.
A good start of a fruitful venture
Through the use of learning farms, the farmers get to address problems and testing solutions with both peers as well as experts while observing and comparing practices that are in similar contexts.
For the farmers in KDPL this is but a start to what they envision to be a fruitful venture filled with the promise of constant milk production and improved livelihoods for them and their families!