Feeding stripped maize leaves to sheep improves their growth performance and school attendance among rural boys: a case of crop-livestock integration among smallholder farmers in northern Ghana

W Addah, K J Adda, W Addah¹ II Abdul-Rahman², N Abdul Rahman N³ and F Kizito³

Department of Animal Science, University for Development Studies, P O Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana
aweseh@uds.edu.gh
¹ Department of Crop Science, University for Development Studies, P O Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana
² Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University for Development Studies, P O Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana
³ International Institute of Tropical Agriculture-Ghana, Tamale Station, P O Box TL 06, Tamale, Ghana

Abstract

The synergies of crop-livestock integration may have benefits beyond improvements in crop yields and live weight gains at the household level. This study determined the effect of feeding stripped maize leaves diet (SML)on growth performance of sheep and the opportunity the technology offers for school attendance by children in rural households. A total of eighty Djallonke sheep (15±2.5 kg initial weight ± SD) were either intensively kept and fed SML or were allowed to graze on native pasture (Control), by children of the household for 76 days. At the end of the growth performance study, a sheep was randomly selected from each replicate pen in each community and slaughtered for carcass analyses. Feeding sheep with SML improved dry matter (DM) intake (p=0.004), average daily weight gain (p=0.001) and the efficiency of maize leaves utilization for weight gain (p=0.001), compared to grazing on native pasture. Weights of some carcass components such as the loin (p= 0.032) and neck (p=0.034) were higher for SML compared to Control carcasses but the weight of the skin and drip losses were higher (p=0.014 and p=0.034, respectively) for the Control compared to the SML. The effect of SML on school attendance was more impactful on boys than girls as it reduced school absenteeism from 48% to 29% for boys and 29% to 24% for girls, compared to the Control. School absenteeism among boys in SML households was lower because the innovation created an opportunity for boys to attend school in the morning while the sheep were pen-fed and to continue feeding them on native pasture upon their return from school. Interpretation of data on the benefits of feeding SML to sheep should, however, be done cautiously as SML carcasses had higher drip losses (2.5 vs 1.2%) and inedible components such as the skin, compared to the Control.

Key words: absenteeism, maize-sheep system, native pasture, shepherd boys

Introduction

Livestock production in developing countries is synergistically integrated with crop production in a manner that ensures that income from the sale of livestock during the lean season is used to buy food and seed grain to bridge the food gap between the planting and harvest season. On the other hand, crop residues and by-products from harvesting and processing of food crops during the harvest season are used as important feed for livestock (Konlan et al 2018) whereas drought power and manure from livestock are used to till and fertilize the soil for crop production, respectively (Thornton et al 2018).

Maize is the main food staple of rural communities in Ghana. In the Tolon-Kumbugu District of northern Ghana alone, 29% of cultivated land is planted with maize compared to 12% and 2% for rice and sorghum, respectively, with 83% of the total maize produced consumed and 8% sold (Wiredu et al 2010). Maize stover is an integral part of livestock feeding systems in Africa (Osafo et al 1997, Salem and Smith 2008) but stripped fresh maize leaves are superior in nutritional quality to mature stover because fresh maize leaves stripped at the silking or tasseling stage of maturity have less components of indigestible fibre fractions compared to maize stover that includes stalks and cobs (Masoero et al 2006, Li et al 2014). In recent times, stripped maize leaves are becoming significant feedstuffs for the “maize-sheep” production system in northern Ghana (Komarek et al 2021, Abdul Rahman et al 2022). Disadvantages of the maize leaf stripping innovation may, however, include increased labour requirements and reduction in grain yield due to loss of photosynthetic capacity (Komarek et al 2021). However, when the contribution of leaves being stripped, to water loss (stress) through transpiration is less than their contribution to photosynthesis and grain-filling, leaf stripping tends increase grain yield rather than decrease it (Mashingaidze et al 2004). In our earlier studies, we found that stripping maize leaves either at the silking or tasseling stage had no adverse effects on grain yield (Abdul Rahman et al 2022), whereas the demand for additional labour to strip maize leaves could be offset by other trade-offs and synergies (Komarek et al 2021). Similarly, simple tools have been developed to strip palatable leaves and other portions of the maize plant as feed for livestock (Salem and Smith 2008).

The “maize-sheep” sub-system of the general farm system is a very useful livelihood system for smallholder crop-livestock farmers (Komarek et al 2021, Abdul Rahman et al 2022). Income from sale of livestock constitutes about 16% of total household income in norther Ghana (Wiredu et al 2010). A significant proportion of this income is used to pay for educational needs of boys attending school (Abdul Rahman et al 2021) with about 3% of school children paying their own school fees (Sackey 2007).

School attendance levels in Ghana is very low among children residing in poor rural areas because of their engagement in livestock and crop production activities and on occasions such as market days (Sackey 2007, UNICEF-Ghana 2018). The effects of maize leaf stripping on grain and fodder yields, and on the growth performance of sheep in a “maize-sheep” sub-system have previously been studied (Komarek et al 2021, Abdul Rahman et al 2022). However, data on the benefits the sub-system offers for improving school attendance by children in rural areas has not been provided in these studies. Such information is important to understanding the contribution of the maize leaf stripping innovation on the education of the boy-child whose school attendance is often affected by his engagement as a shepherd boy (“cow boys”) in rural households (UNICEF-Ghana 2018). This study sought to determine the effect of feeding sheep with stripped maize leaves (SML) on 1) growth and carcass characteristics and 2) on the opportunity the innovation offers for boys to improve their attendance at school.

Materials and methods

Agronomic husbandry and study design

The study was conducted on-farm in four maize-growing communities (Doku, Tibali, Cheyohi no. 2 and Tingoli) in the northern region of Ghana (Table 1) during the 2019 cropping season. Tingoli and Cheyohi are located in the Tolon District whereas Duko and Tibali are located in Savelugu District. The main farming system in these districts is smallholder crop production together with the production of sheep, goats, cattle and local poultry. The northern region has a unimodal rainfall pattern, with a long and severe dry season spanning from late October to mid-April. The average daily temperature and rainfall is about 28.1 °C and 1100 mm, respectively, whereas relative humidity ranges from 70 to 90% in the raining season and about 20% during the dry season (Attandoh et al 2013).

A total of 16 smallholder crop-livestock farmers were purposively sampled from four maize-growing communities (Table 1). The criteria for selection of farmers was such that only farmers who owned more than 8 sheep were qualified to be selected. A uniform field belonging to each farmer was ploughed by a tractor. The farm size of each farmer ranged from 1 to 2 ha. Maize was planted from June, 25 to July 6 2018 at an inter-row and intra- row spacing of 40 and 75cm, respectively, resulting in a plant density of 66,667 plants/ha. Crop husbandry practices such as fertilizer application and weed control were managed according to management practices previously described by Abdul Rahman et al. (2022). The farmers were then randomly assigned to a SML or Control group. This resulted in 8 replicate farmers per treatment thus 8 farmers for the SML treatment and 8 farmers for the Control treatment. At 50% silking, farmers in the SML treatment stripped the maize leaves of their crop from the ground level to the cob leaf. The forage was sun-dried and subsequently used to formulate a total mixed ration that was fed to sheep in a growth performance experiment. Farmers in the Control did not strip their fields. The time required to strip a random 4 m² maize field by either men or women farmers was recorded on each farmer’s field. The recording of time commenced from the time the farmer started the stripping on the farm field and ended when the fresh maize leaves were harvested off the plant (Komarek et al 2021). Additionally, the amount of forage stripped from the 4 m ² area was also recorded. Random samples (500 g) of the stripped leaves from the 4 m² area were then dried (60^oC) for 48 h for determination of fodder yield.

Growth performance experiment

Five sheep (15±2.5 kg initial weight ± SD) were randomly selected from the general flock of each selected farmer for the growth performance experiment. Animals receiving the SML were kept intensively and fed their diet (SML; Table 2) in the morning (8:00 AM) and afternoon (3:00 PM) whereas those on the Control were sent out for grazing on native pasture (Photo 1) every morning at about 8:00 AM and returned to their pens at about 5:30 PM in the evening. The native pasture consisted mainly of Adropogon gayanus, Sida acuta, Pennisetum pedicellatum and sparse species of Stylosanthes hamat (Figure 1). Rice husks were used as bedding material in each pen. The ingredient composition of the diets is shown in Table 2. Prior to the start of the growth performance experiment, sheep on SML were adapted to their experimental cages for 14 days. Prior to the commencement of the experiment, all the sheep were treated with ivermectin injection to control internal and external parasites Other husbandry practices for management of sheep in both SML and Control households have been previously described by Komarek et al (2021).

Sheep were weighed consecutively for 2 d each at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. The two consecutive weights at the beginning and end of the experiment were used to estimate the initial and final weights of the sheep, respectively (Addah et al 2017). Subsequently, all the sheep were weighed at 14 d interval until the end of the 76−d growth performance experiment. Feed and clean water were offered ad libitum. The initial weight was subtracted from the final weight at the end of the experiment to obtain the weight gained. The weight gained was then divided by 76 d to obtain the average daily weight gain (ADG). The feed offered and the leftovers were weighed and sampled (500 g) every 14 d. These samples were then divided into two equal portions. One portion was used for determination of DM content whereas the other was stored frozen until analyzed for nutrient composition. Daily DM intake (DMI) was estimated as feed offered (DM basis) minus leftover feed (DM basis).

Figure 1. Botanical composition of native pasture (Control) from grazing sites

Determination of intake of sheep grazing on native pasture

Total DMI of Control sheep grazing on native pasture was determined through the total faecal output and apparent of digestibility co-efficient method developed by Garrigus 1934) as described by Minson (1990). Briefly, three randomly selected sheep from each replicate Control farmer’s flock were fitted with a canvas harness bag for collection of fecal matter voided at 24-h interval for a period of 6 d to determine total fecal output while the sheep were grazing on the field.

For determination of co-efficient of DM digestibility, 8 sheep were selected randomly from a flock of Djallonke sheep belonging to the Livestock Unit of the University for Development Studies. Forage was sampled every 14 days from multiple locations in the native pasture (Figure 1; Control) with a 1-meter quadrant as previously described by Addah et al (2020). The harvested forage was sun-dried (93.7% DM) and offered to sheep every morning at about 9:00 AMin metabolic pens (0.35 × 1.3 m netted floor area). The sheep were adapted to their diets for 7 d followed by a 14-day data collection period. The Forage offered to the sheep were subsampled every 2 days for subsequent DM analysis and apparent DM digestibility. Each pen was provided with a commercial premix mineral lick block.

The pens consisted of regular sheep pens that were modified into metabolic pens by creating an elevated platform in each pen. Beneath each netted platform was a 5-L plastic cistern for collection of faeces. The cisterns were emptied twice daily and stored (3^oC) until the end of the collection period when they were pooled into replicate samples per sheep. Dry matter of the forage and faeces were then determined in a forced-air oven at 60 ^oC for 48 h for estimation of co-efficient of DM digestibility. Other management practices of the sheep and collection procedure have previously been described (Amuda and Okunlola 2020, Antwi et al 2020). Apparent DM digestibility coefficient of the harvested forage was then estimated as:

Data from co-efficient of DM digestibility was then used to estimate the total DM intake of the Control sheep grazing on native pasture as:

Carcass characteristics and organ measurements

At the end of the 76-day feeding trial, two sheep were selected at random from each treatment and transported to the Meat Unit of the University for Development Studies, where they were kept in a lairage for a day before being slaughtered the next day. On the morning of the day of slaughter, the sheep were starved of food and water. They were weighed and slaughtered by instantly severing the carotid arteries and jugular vein with a sharp knife for measurement of carcass primal cuts (neck, loin, chuck and shank) and other body organ weights (Photo 2). Flaying of the carcass was done according to the Ethiopian Sheep and Goats Productivity Improvement guide on proper slaughter and flaying of sheep and goats (http://esgpip.langston.edu/sites/default/files/Technical%20Bulletin%20No.22.pdf). Dressing percentage was estimated as the weight of the warm carcass expressed as a percentage of final live weight of the sheep at slaughter (Addah et al 2014). The weights of the plucks (heart, liver, lungs, and trachea) and visceral organs (liver, full and empty small and large intestines) were recorded individually. The hot carcass was then halved and chilled (4°C) overnight. Drip loss was estimated from each half of the carcass as a loss in weight of the carcass over a 24 h period and expressed as a percentage of the initial weight of the halved carcass.

School Attendance

A qualitative analysis of school attendance records of boys and girls whose parents were involved in the experiment was conducted in schools in Doku, Tibali, Cheyohi no. 2 and Tingoli communities, and other suburbs where pupils attended school outside these communities. The school attendance register was reviewed for three terms in the 2020/2021 academic year, to determine the level of school attendance among boys and girls (10-15 years) from households of farmers participating in the study. The 2020/2021 academic year had a total of 40 weeks; First and Second terms consisted of 14 weeks each, whereas the Third term had 12 weeks from September, 2020 to July, 2021. The data excluded 17 days designated as national public holidays and 80 d for the weekends. School attendance records of pupils from Basic 2 to 7 were assessed. The records of a total of 141 girls and boys in the four communities (Table 3) were qualitatively evaluated.

Chemical analysis

Dry matter of ingredients, feed offered, feed leftovers and faecal matter was determined in a force-air oven at 60 °C for 48 h. Proximate composition of the diets was determined according to the official methods of analysis described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC 2005). Samples were analyzed on DM basis for crude protein (CP), calculated as N × 6·25. Feed samples obtained bi-weekly were ground to pass through a 1-mm sieve for Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) and Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) analysis (Van Soest et al 1991) using an Ankom 200 system (Ankom Technology Corp., Fairport, NY), where NDF was analyzed with the addition of sodium sulfite and α-amylase and ADF was analyzed without α-amylase for 24 h. Organic matter was determined by ashing 2 g of feed or faecal sample in a muffle furnace at 550 ^oC for 5 h.

Statistical Analysis

Data on growth performance and carcass characteristics were analysed using the MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures, of SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary NC), respectively, for the fixed effects of dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design.

Data on DM intake, and growth performance was adjusted for the effect of initial weight using initial weight as a covariate, whereas final slaughter weight was used as a covariate for analysis of carcass data using the model below:

y_ij = µ + C_i + β(χ_ij) + Ɛ _ij (eq.1)

where y_ijk is the dependent variable (growth performance or weight of organs) measured in the i^th treatment (ie Control or SML) on j^th sheep used in the growth performance; μ is overall mean effect, β is the linear regression coefficient indicating the dependency of y_ij on χ_ij; C_i is the effect of the i^th treatment (ie Control or SML); χ_ij is the covariate in the i^th treatment (ie Control or SML); Ɛ_ij is the random error. Statistical significance of the Fisher’s t-test was declared at P ≤0.05. School attendance data was analyzed qualitatively by the Proc REG procedure of SAS.

Results and discussion

Fodder yield, growth performance, and carcass characteristics of sheep fed the SML or Control diet are shown in Table 4. In general, the time spent stripping a 4×4 m² maize field was similar (p=0.951) between women and men in the household (188 vs. 185 sec.). Manual stripping is laborious and remains a disincentive for feeding livestock with SML. Stripping fresh maize leaves as fodder for livestock require additional 6% more labour time compared to labour time requirements for Control maize production systems (Komarek et al 2021). However, simple tools are being developed for stripping palatable leaves and other portions of the maize plant as feed for livestock (Salem and Smith 2008).

Even though differences in fodder yield between SML and native pasture (Control) was not significant (p=0.126), data by Komarek et al (2021) have suggested that removal of leaf biomass from a section of the entire farm ultimately reduced the average total grain yield but increased average total forage availability. Trade-offs and synergies in the use of maize leaves as feed for sheep have been discussed extensively by Komarek et al (2021). The growth patterns of sheep over a period of 76 d are shown in Fig. 3. Sheep on the SML grew at a faster rate (47.4 vs. 22.9 g/d; p=0.001) compared to those in the Control (Fig. 3; Table 4). The improved ADG may be attributed to higher CP content (14.2 vs 7.5%), improved (p=0.001) DMI and enhanced (p=0.001) efficiency of maize leaves utilization for growth (Table 4) compared to native pasture. Crude protein concentration and OM digestibility are also higher for maize leaves than other parts of the maize plant or the whole plant (Ayaşan et al 2020) or native pasture (Komarek et al 2021). As shown in Figure 2, Pennisetum pedicellatum and Andropogon gayanus were the two most prevalent species in the native pasture. They have CP concentrations of 5.4 and 6.7%, respectively (Odedire and Babayemi 2008, Asmare et al 2016), which are barely sufficient to meet microbial requirements for maintenance of normal rumen function. Many factors, including total nutrient density, CP and energy concentration, and gut-fill, regulate intake of sheep fed forage diets. However, principal among these is the effect of CP content on intake. This is because when sheep were presented with different forage diets with CP range of 8−24%, the highest level of intake was observed for only diets whose CP ranged from 14−17% (Kyriazakis et al 1993). Most tropical native pasture species have lower CP (Table 1), and higher concentrations of lignified cell walls which increases ruminal residency time thereby limiting intake (Decruyenaere et al 2009).

Figure 2. Growth patterns of sheep fed stripped maize leaves diet (SML) diet or grazed on native pasture for 76 days

The ADG observed for sheep fed the SML diet in this study is greater than that reported by Komarek et al (2021) when sheep were fed fresh stripped maize to the dried maize leaves fed in this study, fresh forage has additional benefits of supplying vitamin A and other essential minerals and ammonia for ruminal microbial growth and it was expected that the ADG in the present study would have been less than that observed by Komarek et al (2021). The growth observed in sheep fed the SML could be accounted for in the growth of useful edible components such as the carcass (p =0.045), loin (p=0.032) and neck (p=0.058). Put together, the weights of the loin and neck constituted 21% of the carcass weight of the SML compared to 19% for Control carcasses. Similarly, the weight of the empty whole digestive tract was heavier (p=0.005) for SML than for Control sheep. However, the benefits observed in the SML have to be interpreted cautiously as they had higher drip losses (2.5 vs 1.2%; p= 0.034) compared to the Control (Table 5). Heavier carcasses from feedlot cattle (Agbeniga and Webb 2018), and higher dietary CP in sheep diets (Wang et al 2021) have been observed to increase drip losses. Drip losses reduce the concentration of essential nutrients in the meat thereby reducing its economic value (Morrissey et al 2003).

The effect of feeding SML on school attendance by boys and girls is shown in Figure 3. Attendance was higher for both boys and girls in SML households compared to those in Control households. The 2020/2021 academic calendar in Ghana consisted of about 303 days for teaching and learning. Out of these, boys in Control households absented themselves from school for 145 days (48%) compared to 88 days (29%) of absenteeism for SML households. Absenteeism among girls reduced from 29% in Control households to 24% in the SML households. The data suggest that the benefits of SML may be more impactful on boys than girls (Figure 3). Chronic absenteeism occurs when a child misses 10% or more of school days or misses school for 15 or more days in an academic year for any reason (Rafa 2017). Student absenteeism can affect academic performance and lead to school dropout, thereby affecting future social status and income levels. Even though in this study we did not determine the reason for pupils absenting themselves from school, in northern Ghana, boys, unlike girls, usually in their teenage, are traditionally responsible for shepherding livestock to native grazing fields (Photo 1), while girls help in household chores. Hence, feeding sheep with SML, which is readily available at the household level, can reduce absenteeism of boys of school-going age by totally confining the sheep during the cropping season or partially allowing boys to attend school in the morning and then graze the sheep on the field upon their return from school in the afternoon (Komarek et al 2021). Confined feeding also has additional advantages of increasing access to manure for fertilizing soils while reducing risks of disease spread and theft. In many rural areas of northern Ghana, availability of forage for feeding livestock in the raining season is limited by crop farming in the backyard. Farmers are therefore required to tether their animals at this time to prevent them from destroying crops grown in the backyard. A successful backyard farming will therefore require that sheep are tethered or sent out to limited native pastures for grazing. Trampling due to tethering sheep for a whole day, limits access to fresh forage whereas grazing sheep on the field for the whole day will require the services of “cow boys” (Photo 1). This will increase absenteeism among boys of school-going age. This makes the SML innovation an important component of the “maize-sheep” sub-system which includes the household, cropping system and livestock system (Fresco and Westphal 1988, Komarek et al 2021).

Figure 3. Effect of feeding sheep with stripped maize leaves (SML) diet or grazing them on native pasture (Control) on school attendance by boys and girls in basic schools in northern Ghana

Photo 1. Boys (“cow boys”) in Control households shepherding sheep away from crop fields to graze on native pasture during school hours (photo credit: Joshua Adda)

Whereas the etiology of school absenteeism may be associated with drug abuse in Western societies (Ubbels et al 2019), Burke and Beegle (2004) have suggested that in developing economies, efforts at reducing school absenteeism should be focused on labour requirements for household farm activities such as working on farm fields and shepherding livestock. In Ghana, lack of school uniforms, books and school fees, and the engagement of pupils in household farm activities such as working on the crop fields, shepherding sheep, and petty trading, remain significant risk factors for school absenteeism in communities without innovative agricultural technologies. Nonetheless, engagement of boys in livestock production has other benefits on the child’s life skills development including developing responsible attitudes towards handling challenges and mistakes (Abdul Rahman et al 2021). Also, in communities where agricultural innovations are integrated in livestock production systems, positive relationship exists between the number of livestock owned by a household and the number of children in that household enrolled in formal school education (Abdul Rahman et al 2021). On the contrary, other studies (Sekiwu et al 2020) have found only marginal effects of school attendance on academic performance. For every 1% increase in school attendance, there was only 0.02% increase in academic performance while other factors such as family and community support, inequity and social inclusion, multiple enrolments in schools and family mobility contribute about 88% to academic performance of children (Sekiwu et al 2020).

Photo 2. Measurement of carcass characteristics of sheep fed Maize leaves diet or native pasture (Control) (photo credit: Joshua Adda)

Conclusions

• Feeding stripped maize leaves to sheep improved their growth performance, and increased the carcass weight and dressing percentage compared to sheep grazing on native pasture. However, drip losses were higher in SML carcasses.
  
  
• Feeding sheep with stripped maize leaves reduced school absenteeism among boys from 41% in Control households to 29% in SML households. A similar phenomenon of higher absenteeism was observed for girls in Control households but the benefits of the leaf stripping innovation were more impactful for boys than girls as the innovation only reduced absenteeism among girls by 5%.
  
  
• The “maize-sheep” production system is the mainstay of the mixed crop-livestock production system in most parts of northern Ghana. The system has socio-economic benefits of improving ruminant production while creating opportunities for reducing school absenteeism in among rural children.

Acknowledgement

Funding (Grant No. AID-BFS-G-11-00002) from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Africa Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) West Africa project is greatly appreciated.

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