Small-scale livestock farming in the tropics can become more intensive yet sustainable if more and better forage is used to feed the animals being reared.

This could benefit farming endeavours in rural South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean, and see a move away from the increased reliance on grain-based feeds, say scientists at CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) and Thomas Rudel of Rutgers University in Springer’s journal Ambio.

Rudel and his associates at CIAT argue that the “LivestockPlus” program could be a way forward by increasing the use of forages to feed livestock, which is often reared on small farms, in the tropics. Its agricultural research and extension efforts help to intensify in sustainable ways the management of forage grasses and legumes, shrubs, trees, and animals.

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News item: Food for thought: Use more forages in livestock farming

Full article: LivestockPlus: Forages, sustainable intensification, and…