Visit+to+demo+farm+&+meet+with+some+farmers+(IP+members)

Visit to Mbwade village. Met Omari, farmer/pastoralist/dairy producer and treasurer of IP. Later joined by several other farmers including 4 women dairy producers. We observed the development of an enclosure for testing various pasture species. This is viewed as a communal learning site and the hope is that the demo plots will stimulate use of improved pasture species by producers in the community. During the dry season non-lactating animals are sent away. Only a few lactating cows are kept in the village and are sustained through consumption of standing hay in so-called “ololilis” (enclosures maintained by individual households). According to Omari the idea for the intervention came from researchers although the village liked the idea and the vision and hope to see benefits. Land is communally owned. Village members used to send animals to the local sisal plantation during the dry season but this I now restricted by the government. The exclosure is being fenced with barbed wire. Ordinarily famers would use live fencing and social institutions to ensure exclosure of animals but for this experiment barbed wire is being used. Each member of the innovation platform agreed to pay TSH 5000 to cover cost of barbed wire. Posts are being supplied by villagers. If the forage intervention succeeds the farmers indicated that they would be interested in upgrading their cows. The intervention consists of a 2 acre exclosure with 12 plots including a control plot and various combinations of Stylosanthes and Cenchrus. One farmer has 20 crossbred cows and claims each produces 10 litres /day. Farmers don’t have positive experie3nces of Friesian cows and are moving to Boran. They sell milk to traders. Tanga Fresh seem to b=pay about half what local hotels with pay (400 TSH vs 800 TSH). Farmers expressed interest in establishing milk collection centre. Economics would need to be assessed at IP level.