Abstract:
Crop residues have the potential to alleviate annual feed shortages and nutrient deficiencies experienced in the
dry season in the savanna zones of West Africa. Farmers in West Africa especially value the residues of grain
legumes, also known as grain legume fodders (GLFs), as animal feed. In this study, therefore, we assessed the
nutritional quality of GLFs as affected by storage conditions using four different methods: farmers’ perception
score (FPS), sheep preference score (SPS), leaf-to-stem ratio (LSR), and laboratory analysis of organic matter
digestibility (OMD), crude protein content, neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF). We also
determined correlations among these variables. The fodder of cowpea, groundnut and soybean were stored
separately in three locations (rooftop, room and treefork) and with two packaging types (polythene sacks or tied
with ropes) for 60, 90 and 120 days. FPS was determined by scoring the perceived quality of GLFs on a scale of
1–10 (1 = bad and 10 = good) based on physical characteristics by a group of farmers. SPS was assessed by a
cafeteria feeding trial based on dry matter intake of GLFs by a flock of 12 sheep per village during a 14 hr period.
LSR was determined based on the mass of the botanical fractions, i.e. leaf (leaf blade only) and stem (stem and
petioles) of 200 g samples separated carefully by the hand. Laboratory analysis was done by near-infrared
spectroscopy (NIRS). Results showed that all quality assessment methods successfully discriminated GLF quality
differences among crops. Only farmers and sheep could distinguish quality differences among all storage
conditions and packing types, whereas laboratory analyses methods could not. These findings could be due to the
fact that farmers use LSR to evaluate feed quality, though colour, texture and smell of the fodder could also
contribute. We also found significant correlations (ranging from 0.35 to 0.88) between all the quality assessment
methods across all treatments. There were few within crop correlations between the fodder quality assessment
methods, i.e. only FPS and LSR for groundnut and cowpea, FPS and CP for groundnut and all laboratory analyses
parameters among each other for all crops. Hence, the differences among crops were the important determinants
of the correlations. From this study, we conclude that farmers have experience and knowledge about nutritional
quality of feed and livestock preference for feed. Development programmes and projects could benefit from using
such knowledge when formulating and implementing interventions.
