In Mali, 2SCALE's Translait partnership aims to facilitate access to fresh milk and its by-products for the population during all seasons of the year, i.e. 10,000 liters of milk per day, thus increasing the income of dairy producers. However, milk production still faces enormous difficulties, including the issue of access to high-producing dairy breeds, poor organization of production units and, above all, difficulties in accessing livestock feed. In addition, the 2019-2020 cotton crisis in Mali has had a considerable impact on the price of livestock feed. Indeed, due to budgetary constraints, the Malian government refused to subsidize fertilizer for the cotton sector initially before accepting it a little later. As a result, many cotton producers refused to grow cotton, which led to a drop in national cotton and maize production, as the cultivation of these two crops was linked to access to mineral fertilizer. This drop has resulted in a large decrease in the production of livestock feed. Furthermore, dairy farms in Mali are mostly extensive. Most of the producers are satisfied with the number of heads on their farm rather than profitability. It is only on certain farms where there are some improved breeds that can give up to 10 liters of milk per day. Otherwise, the average milk production obtained at milking is between 3 and 5 liters per cow per day. However, the improvement of the quantity and quality of local milk depends strongly on the feeding of the cattle.
Promoting Forage Farming for Year Round High Milk Production
Towards sustainable solutions
In general, between March and June, hay becomes scarcer in Mali. This period constitutes a lean season for livestock farmers, who are forced to buy livestock feed at an excessively high price. It is also during this period that the dairy crisis is felt the most on the market. Only dairy farmers with a well-structured farm manage to produce milk. To address the above-mentioned difficulties, 2SCALE, in the context of the Translait partnership, introduced some improved fodder seed varieties in the main dairy farms located in the surroundings of Bamako, and which constitute the potential supply sites for the milk collection centers.
Elephant grass, mucuna, maize and sorghum forage were the first seeds to be disseminated. This initiative aims to show the benefit of these crops to dairy farmers so that they can integrate them into their current practices. For this reason, a few farmers were selected to conduct the demonstration plots.
In the village of Falani, Agadjou Dama exclusively produces forage to feed his herd. In his 10-hectare field, he has installed a modern sprinkler irrigation system all around the field to ensure the continuous availability of grass for his 50 head of dairy cows. Here, milking is done twice a day with a quantity of 5 to 7 liters of milk per milking per cow - a boon for this model producer. In this field, 2SCALE provided the seed as a demonstration plot of sorghum forage. The unique feature of this variety lies in the high quantity of forage that can be given by one stalk, with a yield of approximately 8 to 13 tons per hectare.
About 40 km away, Bourama Coulibaly, another pioneer farmer who benefited from the forage seed, welcomes us to his field in Korokoro, a small village on the road to Segou. After the first year of demonstration, which covered 0.5 ha, he had to produce the same variety on four additional hectares of sorghum and one hectare of fodder beans. According to him, the impact of the forage crop for dairy farmers is immeasurable.
Growing forage is more profitable and easier for us, as many farmers cannot afford to buy feed on the market and feed their animals properly. No matter what time of year it is, we always have feed available for our animals. This is why there is never a shortage of milk in our collection center.
Forage conservation: another challenge
After production, another major challenge for livestock farmers is mastering forage conservation techniques. Abou Niangadou has found a suitable solution. On his farm in Kasséla, about 30 km from Bamako, he mainly cultivates elephant grass. With his modern shredder, he has food for his herd all year round. The crushed grass is kept in hermetically sealed bags and stored in the shade in a warehouse, allowing it to remain green for 6 months or more.
We have several advantages in forage production. First, it allows us to reduce expenses considerably. Second, as long as there is water, we always have green grass. Moreover, it is richer than the feed we buy. We have developed a shredding system that allows us to keep grass all year round, even during the dry season,