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A joint project between the Animal Husbandry Service and the Peace Corps, Republic of Mali
Interim Report
August 1974.
Prepared by James Lajoie,
PCV/Mali.
In 1973 under the combined efforts of the Service de l'Elevage (the Livestock Service) the Union Laitière de Bamako, or ULB (the State Dairy Company), and the Peace Corps, a stage program was initiated in Mali to establish the use of pit silos as a means of feeding sedentary cattle during the rainless months from November to May when there is no grass for the cattle to graze. Ten experimental silos were done on a demonstration basis within the two milk zones of the ULB. When these silos were opened in March and April, 1974, all but one (which had been filled late in the silage season) produced high-quality silage. Dairy cows fed from these pits showed immediate increases in their milk production. In addition, farmers who fed their oxen on silage during the dry season noticed themselves a distinct difference compared to previous years in the additional strength of their oxen when cultivating started. They stated that the condition and health of their oxen plays a major roll in determining the amount of cultivating they can do.
As a result of this pilot effort, not only does each farmer who pioneered a demonstration pit silo last year wish to do additional ones this year, but other farmers in the surrounding areas have expressed a definite interest in doing their own pits. In these villages it is no longer a question of finding volunteers to do the pits as it was last year, but rather a question of how to make the pit silo technique available to everyone who is interested.
Looking at it from the administrative side, one example of the reaction to the pit silo technique can be found in the Cercle of Rangaba. (A Cercle is an area designating an administrative unit similar to a County) last year, only one pit silo was dug in that Cercle. As a result of its success, the Commandant de Cercle has proposed the setting up of an extention program which will find a pit silo in every major village within the Cercle this year.
The results of the experimental pit silos done in the zones of the ULB show the potential impact of this project on the dairy industry of MALI. Cows fed on silage increased remarkably their productivity during the dry season. Previous years' statistics show that there is a drop of 95% in milk collection from the rainy season to the dry season chiefly due to a lack of feed. For example, the Dialokoro zone of the ULB, which normally produces 1,500 liters daily during the months of August and September, produces a maximum of only 75 liters daily during the months of February, March, April and May. It is obvious from tines statistics that dairy cows produce little or no milk during the dry season, and the resulting factor is that ULB is forced to use reconstituted dry milk to keep up production.
Looking more closely at last year's results, it is possible to take the example of the demonstration pit done in Bankoumana by El Hadji Missera. Under the close observation of Issiaka Sy, the Chef de Collect de l'ULB, data was kept on how the pit was used. During the two-month period in which the pit provided feed, El Hadj Missera fed two work oxen and two milk cows uniquely on silage. Because of a shortage of forage, he also had to supplement the diet of the rest of his herd with silage from the pit. The observed and recorded results after two months showed that his cows increased their daily milk production by 62% over previous years, and that his work oxen were a lot stronger before cultivating time than the year before. It should be noted that, the results of El Hadj Missera's s pit silo are only a partial indication of the concept's potential since the pit was used to feed more cattle than intended.
Based on records kept during the months of April and May, 1974, the increase in productivity as a result of silage showed a monetary gain of 1,125 Malian Francs per cow per month. (This figure is based on 24 liters per cow per month before silage and 39 liters per cow per month after silage, at 75 MF per liter.) Applying these figure to an average-sized herd of 35 to 50 cattle would show a substantial increase of yearly income. (The present per capital income in Mali is approximately 30,000 MF or $60.)
As a result of the encouraging indications of the experimental project, the Service de l'Elevage and the Peace Corps launched a pit silos extension program with the funding support of AID. Seven volunteers and ten Malian counterparts began implementing the program in July, 1974, in the regions of Bamako, Segou, and Sikasso.
Each team of a Volunteer and his one or two counterparts has a Land Rover to facilitate their contact and support of the pilot farmers. They carry cut their work in close collaboration with the Regional structure of Elevage personnel.
It is anticipated that each team will be able to realize fifteen to twenty pit silos the first year in the new zones. The overall aim is to have farmers see the benefit of having a pit solo, so that the technique will then be disseminated by farmers telling and showing others the advantages of having a pit silo and how they are done.
Another group of Volunteers, eight extension workers and their counterparts, are scheduled to begin work in June, 1975, to cover areas in the legions of Kayes and Gao in addition to other zones in Sikasso and Bamako where there are concentrations of sedentary cattle.
Nutritional Biochemistry Section
National Zootechical
Research Center
- BAMAKO-
Sender: Peace Corps
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali
|
Type: |
(Pennisetum, Andrapogon Gayanus) Grass silage, slightly
witted |
1H2O % |
Dry Matter % |
Protein % |
= Fat % |
Fiber % |
N-Free Extract % |
Mineral Matter % |
Calcium % |
Phosphorus % |
Magnesium % |
|
Location: |
Bamako |
1.75 |
*98.25 |
5.50 |
1,68 |
39.61 |
43.74 |
9.57 |
.20 |
.23 |
.160 |
|
+100 |
5.59 |
1.70 |
40.31 |
44.51 |
9.63 |
.203 |
.234 |
.162 | |||
|
Bankoumana |
5.05 |
94.95 |
5.53 |
2.24 |
36.17 |
32.16 |
13.90 |
.33 |
.16 |
.145 | |
|
100 |
5.82 |
2.25 |
38.09 |
44.40 |
14.60 |
.34 |
.16 |
.152 | |||
|
Dialakoroba |
2.64 |
97.36 |
4.56 |
1.62 |
36.00 |
33.30 |
24.52 |
.36 |
.18 |
.204 | |
|
100 |
4.68 |
1.66 |
36.97 |
34.97 |
25.18 |
.369 |
.18 |
.209 | |||
|
Roursalé |
2.69 |
97.31 |
6.36 |
1.40 |
33.56 |
48.90 |
9.78 |
.27 |
.09 |
.194 | |
|
100 |
6.53 |
1.43 |
34.48 |
50.25 |
10.05 |
.27 |
.10 |
.199 | |||
|
Tabakoro |
2.95 |
96.05 |
3.75 |
1.91 |
39.91 |
34.59 |
18.84 |
.30 |
.21 |
.243 | |
|
100 |
3.90 |
1.98 |
41.51 |
36.01 |
20.65 |
.31 |
.218 |
.252 |
1. Water content was not immediately taken when silage was delivered to the laboratory. There was a 4-6 weeks lapse time,
* Upper number indicates analysis done with percentage of H20 in silage.
+ Lower numbers indicates analysis done with 100% dry matter
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