Livestock feed solutions

How can we improve livestock nutrition to benefit small-scale farmers in Africa and Asia?

Improved CIAT forages in Dak Lak province, in the central highlands of Vietnam, photo: Neil Palmer (CIAT

Over a billion people depend on livestock for their livelihoods. Their animals are not just a source for food, or assets to be sold, they also serve many vital roles on farms, from providing the energy for plowing to producing high-value compost. Whole food systems, most of them nomadic, are centered on livestock, and these systems make an invaluable contribution to global food security and nutrition. A productive farm depends on productive animals—and productive animals depend on good feed.

As a result, food security experts have increasingly focused their attention on how to improve the quality, the quantity, and the year-round availability of fresh livestock feed. Interventions include the introduction of more nutritional grasses and legumes and better methods to preserve fresh feed throughout the year.

This evidence synthesis looks at whether farmers have embraced these interventions. And where they have, what have the results been? Has better feed led to higher productivity? And if so, have livestock farmers seen an improvement in their livelihoods as a result? These questions need to be answered so that we can identify the most promising feed options for improved productivity.