21 Apr 2024

A farmer based in Gumare has found a specialty in Lablab fodder production for her livestock and small stock.

The 61-year-old Ms Serara Mouti who is a farmer of repute retired from her public work in 2015 from her job as a school head to focus on farming.

Her fodder production idea was birthed prior to retirement and she visited the Agriculture Demonstrators office on how to go about it.

Ms Mouti then started her Lablab production for her livestock and small stock in 2016 in Gumare.

“I have been in farming from a young age but as time went on I realized my animals required more food and I can make that happen,” she said.

Ms Mouti has reserved about three hectares of her field for Lablab planting while the rest is for her crop production.

 Lablab fodder production, she said resulted in high yield since it was not sensitive to high temperatures.

She is part of an unregistered group of farmers who specialized in different crops and were in the process of legalizing their entity called Kooka.

The association practices conservation agriculture hence are taught how to conserve moist in a dry land.

Ms Mouti therefore say she plants her fodder through a method called ripping which helped to preserve soil moisture.

Although her primary focus was to feed her animals Ms Mouti sells about a quarter of her produce to other farmers.

“I have successful yields annually, I once harvested about 50 bags of Lablab and pounded them,” she said.

Lablab, she said was a delicacy to livestock and small stock which made herding easier since the animals voluntarily returned home for their daily dose.

Ms Mouti urged fellow farmers to invest in ploughing fodder to cut costs on buying animal feeds.

“It is a good shepherd as it is a favourite to the animals, it does not attract weeds, it is not sensitive to hot temperatures, when you cut it regenerate and the yield multiplies or triples from what you planted,” she said.

Ms Mouti’s wish was to commercialize her fodder production and add others like Napier grass which unfortunately required plenty of water.

Her attempt to seek funding for the expansion of her fodder production was however unsuccessful on the basis of her age.

She however said she has since appealed the outcome and remained hopeful.

Meanwhile, an official from the department of Animal Production in the Ministry of Agriculture Mr Tsaone Thobele has encouraged farmers to invest in fodder production for their livestock and small stock.

Mr Thobele said low fertility of soil and low rainfall resulted in the scant and low quality forage grasses hence farmers should consider new options of climate resilient fodder crops.

“The selected fodder plants should produce sufficient seed for regeneration and should be of high nutritive value in terms of nutrient content especially nitrogen and phosphorous,” he said.  ENDS