article · Agriculture
Livestock methane emissions in Ethiopia increased by 12 percent between 2011 and 2017. To address this rise, six tropical multipurpose forages and maize stover were evaluated for nutritional composition and in vitro enteric methane production. All tested forages, apart from maize stover, exceeded the baseline threshold of seven percent crude protein. While Cajanus cajan generated the lowest total volume of methane, Lablab purpureus demonstrated the lowest methane concentration, followed by Crotalaria juncea, Moringa stenopetala, and Leucaena leucocephala. Local farmers indicated a clear preference for Moringa stenopetala, followed by Crotalaria juncea and Leucaena leucocephala. Based on nutritional quality, methane reduction, and user preferences, Moringa stenopetala, Crotalaria juncea, and Leucaena leucocephala emerge as strong candidates to promote as ruminant feeds that lower greenhouse gas emissions while supporting livestock productivity.
Rising greenhouse gas emissions from livestock contribute to climate change while challenging sustainable agricultural growth. Identifying local forages that supply adequate protein while cutting enteric methane helps farmers maintain animal productivity. Selecting feed species that are already favoured by local livestock keepers facilitates adoption, offering practical strategies to mitigate agricultural emissions in developing pastoral economies.
This research provides an evidence base for feed producers, agricultural extension programmes, and livestock farmers seeking climate-smart fodder options. The findings identify specific plants, notably Moringa stenopetala, Crotalaria juncea, and Leucaena leucocephala, that can be integrated into feeding regimens. Because testing was conducted in vitro alongside farmer preference surveys, the work sits at an applied research stage requiring field-level feeding trials before widespread commercial distribution or formal feed formulation.
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This paper assesses the ability of fodder plants to reduce methane (CH4) emissions while simultaneously improving animal productivity in Ethiopia. Enteric CH4 emissions from ruminants in Ethiopia increased by 12% or ≈ 6197 Gg CO2-eq. in 2017 compared to the year 2011. In this study, six tropical multipurpose forages (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Moringa stenopetala (Bak.f.) Cuf., Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr., Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Crotalaria juncea L., and Lablab purpureus L.(Sweet)) and maize stover were characterized in terms of chemical composition, in vitro CH4 production, and CH4 concentration (%). The objective was to identify forages with low CH4 production potential but with adequate forage quality. The forages differed significantly in chemical composition and in enteric CH4 emission. The dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) ranged between 89.4–95.4%, 6.08–12.5%, 3.3–30.7%, 20.4–76.0%, 10.8–44.8, and 2.9–14.1%, respectively. All forage plants, except maize stover, contained high CP content above a threshold value (i.e., 7%). Cajanus c. generates the lowest amount of CH4 (32.83 mL/0.2 g DM incubated). CH4 concentration (%) was used as a potential indicator to determine the capacity of a plant to lower CH4 production. Among the studied species, L. purpureus showed the highest CH4 reduction potential (16%) followed by C. juncea (23.45%), M. stenopetala (24.2%), and L. leucocephala (25.5%). M. stenopetala was the most frequently preferred by the farmers followed by C. juncea and L. leucocephala. We concluded that M. stenopetala, C. juncea, and L. leucocephala can be promoted as valuable feed resources for ruminants while simultaneously reducing CH4 emissions.
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DOI: 10.3390/agriculture9060130
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