Melia Azedarach Forage and Oyster Mushrooms: Improving Nutrition, Milk Production and Health in Dairy Goats
Melia Azedarach Forage and Oyster Mushrooms: Improving Nutrition, Milk Production and Health in Dairy Goats
Background
The demand for livestock products in Africa has outpaced domestic production, rendering the continent heavily reliant on the importation of basic livestock products. In Swaziland, for example, dairy products' consumption exceeds domestic production by - 50 million litres. Production is hampered by under-nutrition of dairy animals, and undernourished animals are immunocompromised and hence become susceptible to parasitic infection (e.g. Haemonchus contortus) during this period. Control of parasites through the use of veterinary drugs is expensive, out-of-reach for many smallholder farmers and ultimately unsustainable.
The Project Involves
- Manufacturing and commercialising a brand of nutritious and medicinal feed pellets made using the nutrient-rich and anti-parasitic M. azedarach tree leaves combined with fibrolytic enzyme-rich oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) in order to improve the nutrition and milk production of dairy animals in Swaziland and other SADC countries.
- Scaling up and commercialising a brand of goat yoghurt that will be made using milk from Saanen dairy goats that are fed the pellets.
Impact
The novel feed pellets will address the problem of poor nutrition of livestock in SADC especially during the winter and/or dry season, as well as their infestation with parasites that further worsen their body condition and productivity. Also, M. azedarach is an invasive plant in many SADC countries; hence its use as an animal feed and medicine will help control its rapid proliferation in our natural ecosystems. Furthermore, through the goat yoghurt, this project will address the issue of food security and help reduce the incidence/prevalence of some human diseases and undesirable conditions (e.g. stunted growth and allergies such as lactose intolerance) in SADC communities.
Project Team
Dr Doctor MN Mthiyane
Principal Investigator and Coordinator
University of Swaziland
mthiyane@uniswa.sz
Prof Abednego M. Dlamini
Project Scientific Advisor
University of Swaziland
adlamini@uniswa.sz
Prof Irvin DT Mpofu
Co-Project Leader
Chinhoyi University of Technology — Zimbabwe
impofu66@yahoo.com
Dr Ntuthuko R. Mkhize
Co-Project Leader
Agricultural Research Council — South Africa
MkhizeN@arc.agric.za
Dr Diana Earnshaw
Co-Project Coordinator
University of Swaziland
earnshaw@uniswa.sz
Dr Douglas Kibirige
Project Finance Manager
University of Swaziland
kibirige@uniswa.sz
Mr David IC Marais
Commercial Partner
Arrowfeeds (Pty) Ltd — South Africa
twkfeeds@twkagri.com
Mr Bongani Tsabedze
Laboratory Coordinator/ Quality Controller
Parmalat — Swaziland
bonganimthabi@gmail.com