Feed Resource Assessment and Nutritional Planning for Dry Season Livestock Management in North West Nigeria

This study conducts a systematic feed resource assessment and develops nutritional planning frameworks for dry season livestock management in North West Nigeria. Dry season feed deficits represent the most critical production constraint for livestock farmers in northern Nigeria, causing weight loss, reproduction failure, and increased disease susceptibility that collectively undermine year-round productivity. Strategic planning and investment in dry season feed resources is essential for sustainable livestock production in the zone. This study surveys feed resource availability, quantity, and quality in Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara States through transect surveys, market assessments, and farmer interviews with 150 livestock producers. Feed resources inventoried include crop residues, range forage, agro-industrial by-products, and browse plants. Nutritional analyses of major feed types are conducted. A feed balance model is developed to quantify the gap between dry season livestock energy and protein requirements and available feed supply. Findings reveal a dry season energy deficit of approximately 35 percent and protein deficit of 48 percent for cattle herds in the surveyed area under current management. Groundnut haulm, sorghum stover, and cottonseed cake represent the largest underutilised supplementary feed resources. Hay conservation from wet season grass surpluses is practiced by fewer than 8 percent of farmers. The study concludes that dry season feed planning using the developed balance model could significantly reduce livestock productivity losses. It recommends community-based hay production enterprises and agro-industrial by-product utilisation extension programmes.

Keywords: feed resources, dry season management, North West Nigeria, feed balance, livestock nutrition.