By Prossy Nandudu
Dairy farmers will be trained in pasture conservation like making hay, silage and also storage, ahead of the rainy season, so as to have plenty in the absence of rains.
Samson Akankiza, the Dairy Development Authority boss said that during the rainy season, there is plenty of grass that grows naturally but also planted but is usually neglected by farmers due to limited knowledge on pasture management and conservation.
The training is in line with their climate smart agriculture plans aimed at equipping farmers with information and skills for them to cope with effects of climate change, according to Akankiza.
One effect of climate change that affects dairy production is prolonged drought that leads to the drying up of water sources, but also makes it hard for grass to germinate. Which makes it hard farmers to get pasture and also water for their animals he explained.
“We are looking at pasture conservation because we have plenty of pastures during the rainy season and no pastures during the dry season, so we are encouraging farmers to conserve either inform of hay but also bail and store it for dry season,” said Akankiza.
Hay is cut grass that is collected, dried and given to livestock later as feeds while silage is cut grass that is fermented to maintain their nutrients like sugar and proteins and kept is a special storage facility for future use.
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