Abstract:

Availability of pasture seed is critical in livestock production. It is necessary for development of productive grazing pastures particularly to support dairy production which is extremely demanding in terms of feed resource requirement. However, in Uganda there is shortage of pasture seed due to absence of a pasture seed production scheme. Existing seasonal pasture seed stocks, produced by small-scale farmers, are often very limited in quantity. Small quantities of seed may also be present at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) Institutes, particularly, the National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Namulonge, the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Tororo and the National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) in Serere. The scarcity of pasture seed also renders them costly and hence unaffordable for most farmers. As a result, farmers fail to improve their pastures and depend on natural pastures which cannot produce the desired levels of livestock productivity. For instance, poor pastures will lead to poor milk yields, poor growth rates, poor conception rates and poor calf birth weights.