Smart farms

: 05 August 2019; Hits: 24046

How to make sweet potato vines silage for feeding pigs

Chipping sweet potato vines

Farmers rearing pigs can reduce the cost of production by a substantial percentage through adopting home-made feeds using readily available raw materials such as sweet potato vines which were formerly trashed after the harvesting of the tubers.

According to a 2017 research on the importance of sweet potato in small-scale farming systems in Uganda by Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), sweet potato residues (peels, vines and non-commercial roots) are a major feed resource for pigs and are a cheap source of energy (roots) and protein (vines). Sweetpotato residues may be fed fresh, dried or ensiled. Proper conservation of sweet potato residues can help address the scarcity of nutrient feeds during periods of scarcity in prolonged dry seasons.

Pig feeding is the most expensive activity in pig rearing because it takes up to 80 per cent of the total recurrent budget of raising a pig from birth to market weight. There are several types of pig feed concentrates in used in the country today. These include Starter feed, Grower Feed, Sow and weaner feed, and pig finisher feed.

Pigs are fed with these feeds depending on their age, Piglets require starter meal from one week to three months, and it is recommended that they are fed am always-ready diet that they may have continuous access to feed for a steady growth from the start.

Initially they eat very little but as they grow feed should be increased at an approximate rate of 50 grams per week and by the time they are three months old, each will be requiring about one kg of feed per day.

Rate of feed increase should be sustained all the way and by four months each pig would require about 2kg of pig growers feed per day. By the time they are four and half months a well growing pig requires about three kg of feed per day of Pig finisher in preparation for market at between 6 and 7months on average.

Water is of great importance for growing pigs and so should always be available for the animals as they grow otherwise they will not be able to feed properly hence growth rate will be affected.

New technology

A new technology has been introduced in Kenya where pigs can be fed with sweet potato silage from three months old. It is still at the trial stage in Kenya but has been in use in the Far East and has been found to work.

This is used to complement the normal ration of the pigs such that they grow fast. Pigs should be fed on this silage to fill their stomachs so that they do not feel the pangs of hunger, hence will no spend any body reserves.

Sweet potato silage is actually fermented vines and roots for a minimum of three weeks. Fermentation process helps to break down trypsin enzyme found in fresh vines and inhibits digestibility of fresh vines when fed fresh.

Procedure of the sweet potato silage Making.

-Harvest the vines and the roots from the farm.

-Chop the vines in to small pieces about 2 to 3 inches long

-Chop the roots to small chips.

-Mix the chopped vines and roots in a ratio of 3:1.

-Wet the mixture with molasses diluted in a ratio of 1:10.

-Add some salt at 0.05 per cent.

-Pack the mixture in air tight containers either plastic bags of plastic containers

-Compress the material completely to ensure that all air is expelled out.

-Store for a minimum of three weeks

-0Open and start feeding your pigs

pigs feeding on sweet potato vines

However, farmers should note that this does not completely replace commercial feeds, it only enhances the pigs’ growth rate hence one sells his pigs faster as it is taken to be a snack.

Other products that can be used as snacks for pigs includes pig weed (amaranth), lucerne, kales, spinach, ripe avocado pawpaw and other fruits and other soft plants full of proteins.

Pigs also enjoy the food eaten by people and are recommended that what a person eats cooked, give it to pigs cooked, and vice versa.

Photo1 caption: A farmer chopping sweet potato vines using a motorized forage chopper.

photo2 caption: Pigs feeding on fresh sweet potato leaves and vines.

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Sunday, 12 September 2021 I have potato vines on 1 acre of land initially not use what to use them for, N...

Wednesday, 21 April 2021 Very glad' I am well enlightened. I have been purchasing may pigs feeds which h...

: 01 August 2019; Hits: 10244

New technology helps farmers increase tree yields by 34 to 38 per cent

World Vision Kenya has launched a new technology that will help smallholder farmers increase tree yields in their farms.

The new technique called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a low cost rapid and easily replicated approach to restoring and improving forests, agricultural and pasture lands. It is based on encouraging systematic re-growth of existing trees and can be used where there are living tree stumps with the ability to re-sprout or seeds in the soil that can germinate.

According to a March 2015 research published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy Studies titled Effects of farmer managed natural regeneration on livelihoods in semi-arid West Africa, If 1000 households in a community decide to practice the FMNR continuously, it results in an increase in the gross income by US$ 72,000 per year.

The research further revealed that noticeable changes are also observed on the value of tree products, with an observed significant increase in the value of the products harvested from tree by about 34–38 per cent among those actively practicing FMNR as compared to their counterparts. The results also lend support to the household resilience hypothesis of FMNR in that it leads to a significant increase of the dietary diversity by about 12–14 per cent.

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FOREST

Through FMNR, after cutting trees, farmers are encouraged to leave the stumps intact during harvesting as they give birth to the next generation of trees.

One farmer in Homa Bay Charles Abongo for instance has adopted the technology and has since seen his income soar to Sh200,000 annually from nothing.

“Initially when I started tree farming in 2011, I had no knowledge of how to harvest my trees in a manner that sustains income generation and conservation, as such my yields declined due to insufficient trees to cut,” said Abongo.

However, in a workshop organized by World Vision in the region, Abongo got to learn of FMNR and has since increased his tree production to over 900 traditional (indigenous) trees and counting.

“With the approach, you cut down your trees and after two to three months, you will see multiple shoots growing from the stump and this needs pruning to remain with one or two strong shoots,’ said the 54 year old.

The National Technical Specialist for Environment and Climate Change at World Vision Kenya Irene Ojuok says that pruning helps the shots grow faster by reducing competition for resources.

“In a few years, the shoots develop into fully grown trees that can be harvested for income generation,” she said.
Another sustainable harvesting method recommended in FMNR is the cutting of branches instead of whole trees. This enables farmers to get income, even as the trees continue to grow and mature.

The technology has also helped Charles improve soil fertility in his farm where he grows maize, beans and vegetables. In this, he has been able to comfortably feed his family and pay school fees for his children.

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: 29 July 2019; Hits: 20513

Kajiado farmer producing 5,000kg of pumpkins a season through organic farming

pumpkins

A polyculture farmer from Loitoktok, Kajiado County who has mastered the art of growing crops organically is harvesting up to 5,000 kilos of pumpkin fruits per season from his one acre mixed farm.

Lemaiyan Kithokilo says he has selects a set of crops that can be grown together and help each other in controlling weeds, improving soil fertility and preventing pests and diseases without the use synthetic fertilizer and chemicals.

“A part from pumpkins, I grow other crops such as okra, sunflower, pawpaw and moringa. These crops complements each other in a way a farmer who grows them well cannot incur other costs in fertiliser and drugs to boost growth and prevent diseases and pests’ attack respectively,” said Kithokilo.

According to him pumpkins acts as a cover crop for the other plants hence controlling farm weeds, sunflower helps in attracting pollinators while pawpaw, moringa and okra leaves and roots are used to make organic extract to control pests and diseases.

Kithokilo learnt this style of farming sometimes back in Taita Taveta County while working with an international organisation that champions the planting of trees.

“I have since childhood loved farming practices that improve the condition of the environment but not otherwise. This is why my farming method is inclined towards preserving my surrounding and helping me earn incomes,” he said.

His pumpkins are intercropped with pawpaw and okra while sunflowers are grown from the farm’s periphery.

From this he harvests between four and five tonnes of desirable pumpkin fruits per season which he sells at Sh20,000 per tonne making up to Sh100,000 per season. This being farm-gate sales or selling at Parakea open-air market 3km away at Tanzania-Kenya border.

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If he transport the fruits to Nairobi’s Farmers’ Market he sells a kilo at Sh35 raking a gross income of Sh175,000. The rest of the fruits which are smaller in size he breaks and remove the seeds which he dries and sell or fries then and use them as food.

On the other hand okra earns him up to Sh1,500 a week given he harvests 2-3 buckets per week.

For sunflower, he crushers the seeds and extract sunflower oil which his family uses for cooking while the resulting cake which is a by-product is used as poultry feed.

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