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Gradually, pasturelands are being converted into other land uses or enclosed for exclusive uses under various national laws or policies. Resilience of pastoralist communities to the changing environments – ecological, economic and political – has great potential to protecting and conserving the pastureland landscapes or waterscapes. Such resilience is more talked in context of climate change and its impact on the herder communities surviving in marginal environments. In the view of widespread regional and national policy failures and modernity-catalyzed societal rejection of transhumance and nomadic pastoralism, International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 declared by the United Nations General Assembly is a grand opportunity for all to revitalize the least-external-input driven systems of livestock raising and mobility across the continents. This international blind peer-review journal, ‘Pastures & Pastoralism’, will contribute to the science, policy and practice across the world by providing a novel platform to seasoned, budding and young scientists, experts and practitioners, including the pastoral community members.
The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review
Chawarika Marlon*1, Pashapa Munyaradzi2, Bonyongwe Tongai3, Zimondi Milton4, Tigere Accadius5
1Grasslands Research Institute, P O Box 3701, Marondera, Zimbabwe. Email: marlonchavarika@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2564-8467
2Grasslands Research Institute, P O Box 3701, Marondera, Zimbabwe. Email: munyapashy@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5029-9907
3Grasslands Research Institute, P O Box 3701, Marondera, Zimbabwe. Email: tongaibonyongwe@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6526-7107
4Grasslands Research Institute, P O Box 3701, Marondera, Zimbabwe. Email: mfzimondi@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4208-9603
5Grasslands Research Institute, P O Box 3701, Marondera, Zimbabwe. Email: tigeracc@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author
Pastures & Pastoralism, 03, 66-77. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0304
Received: 17 December 2024
Reviewed: 28 February 2025
Revised: 27 March 2025
Accepted: 02 April 2025
Published: 15 May 2025
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Brachiaria grass (Urochloa brizantha) is a perennial grass that is native to most parts of Africa. The grass was enhanced in a tropical region of Latin America, where it revolutionized both animal and grassland cultivation. Its traits have conclusively demonstrated that Brachiaria grass may increase cattle productivity in its native land in many areas of Africa, particularly in East Africa. Since pastures provide the majority of the feed for smallholder dairy animals, it is necessary to investigate the possibility of incorporating these modified native grasses into smallholder dairy fodder flows. Improved native grasses must be incorporated into dairy fodder flows because of declining pasture growth patterns and seasonal fluctuations in pasture nutritional composition. The impressive results recorded in foreign lands together with some experimental results in East and Central Africa indicate that Brachiaria can have a significant impact on dairy production. This paper, therefore, reviews research work done in Africa on Brachiaria to stimulate further research works by others.
Brachiaria; Smallholder dairy; Fodder flows; Africa
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Marlon, C., Munyaradzi, P., Tongai, B., Milton, Z., & Accadius, T. (2025). The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review. Pastures & Pastoralism, 03, 66-77. https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0305
Marlon, C., Munyaradzi, P., Tongai, B., Milton, Z. and Accadius, T. (2025). The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review. Pastures & Pastoralism, 03: 66-77. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0305
Marlon C., Munyaradzi P., Tongai B., Milton Z., Accadius T. The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review. Pastures & Pastoralism, 2025, 03, 66-77. https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0305
Marlon, Chawarika, Munyaradzi, Pashapa, Tongai, Bonyongwe, Milton, Zimondi, Accadius, Tigere. 2025. “The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review”. Pastures & Pastoralism, 03: 66-77. https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0305
Marlon, Chawarika, Pashapa, Bonyongwe Tongai, Zimondi Milton and Tigere Accadius. 2025. “The Potential of Brachiaria Grass in the Smallholder Dairy Fodder Flow Systems: A Review”. Pastures & Pastoralism, 03: 66-77. https://doi.org/10.33002/pp0305
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