Readers' Comments on Hydroponics

It is another time for the readers of this column to give feedbacks, comments and reacts on the previous articles published in this column. This week there are two major reactions on the article concerning hydroponics  "soilless cropping system" for the production of fodders to substitute and convert the Transhumant  pastoralism into intensive/range livestock (cattle) production. Can this address the perennial conflicts of Fulani - Farmers in Nigeria? Can Fulani - people with the largest stocks of cattle abandon transhumant pastoralism and adopt the range system? Dr. Junaidu A. Maina, a season technocrat, a former Director of the Federal Department of Livestock in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abuja presented the burdens of the Fulani, perception/misperception of other Nigerians on these people and suggestions on the best way to address the conflicts and improve livestock production. The second message was received from Mr. Samuel Mbugua, Kenya who mentioned how Kenyan Government is addressing cattle herders - farmers conflicts.  Finally, reminder to my esteem readers that they can access my previous article from my blog; www.breakthroughwithmkothman.blogspot.com   Happy reading.

Hydroponics - Soilless Cropping System, a Panacea to Perennial  Nomadic - Fulani and Crops Farmers Conflicts in Nigeria?

Dear M. K. Othman

I note with interest your contributions to the conversation on pastoralism in Nigeria, which unfortunately is skewed against pastoralists today. Pastoralists are in difficult times today. They are subject of innuendos and aspersions, accused of robbery, cattle rustling, rape, kidnapping and even scorched earth policy. To compliment these accusations our national dailies often carry a picture of a non-Nigerian (perhaps South Sudanese) herdsman with an AK47.This has lately created a media frenzy resulting in calls and agitations for legislation to ban cattle movements (aka pastoralism). This idea which can lead to our cattle industry self-destruct is regrettably gaining grounds. Perhaps a better understanding of this least understood production system may help in having an informed national conversation.

Pastoralism is the main production system in Sub-Saharan Africa (SHA) where pastoralists live in arid and semi arid zones. The system has proved over time to be a very successful strategy in coping with uncertainties due to climate change, epizootics, build up of parasites and other related challenges. Ranching, an –intensive enclosed pastoral production system that obtains in the Americas, Australia and African countries like Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe has unfortunately not proved successful in SHA. The failures of World Bank loans on ranching to many SHA countries including Nigeria can attest to that. These amongst other explains why ECOWAS Heads of State endorsed transhumance pastoralism in 1998 (ECOWAS Decision A/DEC.5/10/98)

How has pastoralism faired in Nigeria? How does the system makes meat available to Nigerians? Nigerians have come to take meat availability in their local markets for granted without having to bother on the production challenges and sacrifice of the primary producers. Although beef is on import prohibition and the challenges in the North Eastern zone of Nigeria which, has the largest livestock population, neither shortage nor dramatic increase in price of beef has occurred. Thanks to transhumance pastoralism with its low production costs, today a kilo of meat costs between 1000-1200 Naira in the country.Another significant contribution of pastoralists is to the rural economy in terms of supporting their households and in supplying meat and milk to rural dwellers at even cheaper prices. Add to all these, employment opportunities it creates in the downstream sectors of transportation, abattoirs, suya spots, farm power etc.

How are our pastoralists able to meet our meat demand with this level of efficiency without Government subsidy unlike the crop farmers? In crop farming, human beings only directly utilize only about a quarter of the total biomass. The other three quarters is in the form of crop residue and low quality crop, which is directly useless to humans. However, cattle (ruminants) convert these into high quality meat and milk. In addition to this, our cattle also utilize grasses on fallow lands, non arable poor quality lands, open ranges and fadama in the same manner. Cattle however have to move to these locations to access these opportunities. To further facilitate this movement, Governments over the years developed grazing reserves and demarcated interconnecting stock routes that have been in existence for very longtime.

For access to crop residue on farm, pastoralists usually negotiate with farmers. If, however any conflict arose from this arrangement including from encroachment of farms into stock routes, these are usually amicably resolved, with the pastoralist sometimes even paying fines. The frequency and level of current “self help” to justice by killing cattle, attacking herders or herders attacking farmers is unusual. It has almost destroyed the harmonious socio-economic equilibrium of the mixed farming system.

Interestingly even in UK today some form of transhumance pastoralism exists. Transhumance sheep in UK are transported in trucks between rough grazing on highland areas and lowlands for grazing. Another example is in wealthier countries such as Oman and Saudi Arabia where State provide vehicles at subsidized rates to pastoralists to assist with animal transportation between grazing lands. In USA there are still winter and summer ranges.

Let me further illustrate the economics of pastoralism. UK has 9.7 million cattle, in 2014, UK imported livestock feeds worth £899 million (Naira; 249.5b) to maintain its beef and milk industry. Today a kilo of beef in UK costs between £10-44 (Naira; 2,775-12,210). This livestock feeds import figure exposes the fallacy that UK cattle are raised on grass produced on UK farms. What casual observers fail to notice is the existence of silos that mainly contain imported feeds in many farms. Grass produced on farms is never sufficient but always need to be supplemented with feed concentrates. British cattle survive on Argentinean feeds.

One of the indices for economic development of a country is measured on the amount of meat consumption per person. Therefore, as our economy improves so will the demand for more cheap meat and milk by all including those calling for the heads of pastoralist today.

Another paradox is this. Historically pastoralists even in pre-colonial Africa are known to be generally law abiding. They paid cattle tax and any other legitimate State tax, for right of passage and also to secure State protection. Understandingly, a person with a big mobile capital (cattle) sometimes accompanied by family, will pay any amount for protection against bandits. He is also unlikely to invite unnecessary trouble. However, globally pastoralists are reputed not to be easy targets, not just because they are mobile. They have what Sociologists call “culture of honour”. When threatened or attacked, they will fight to protect their honour, family and assets. And when they fight, they fight hard because they can lose everything and also need to make the point that they are no weaklings or ease preys.

Cattle ownership in Nigeria is changing. Thanks to successful control of major livestock killer diseases. Today investment in livestock brings significant high returns. In Nigeria over time pastoralists have settled as agro-pastoralists living peacefully with their neighbours in many if not all the States of the Federation. In fact, some of the cattle they herd belong to their indigenous neighbours.  This is the future and Government should encourage this trend by;

Ø  Providing incentives for settling as agro-pastoralist and establishment of cattle farms. (e.g.Bank of Agriculture to create special loan schemes)

Ø  Urgently addressing some issues of climate changes depleting range land(Great Green Wall project, rehabilitation of rangeland etc).

Ø  Tackling cattle rustling,(majority of cattle theft is practised by urbanised individuals linked to the market system), rural banditry and prosecuting persons responsible for current killings.

Ø  Introducing cattle identifications for registration, traceability and movements monitoring.

Ø  Funding research on breeds improvement, feeding regimes etc and introducing degree courses in range science (non available in country) to address the dearth of trained personnel in range management.

Ø  Introducing of Silvo pastoralism (cattle production in tree plantations –similar to agro-forestry) in the Southern States.

Ø  Mounting advocacy on the positive contributions of pastoralists and censuring hate speeches.

Finally, your submission on hydroponic is interesting but I have reservations about it. Hydroponic is for application in intensive, small - scale livestock situation with very high outputs, in my opinion, range land remains the best cow/calf production system in sub-Sahara Africa.

Dr. Junaidu A. Maina, junaidumaina@gmail.com  

Dear Dr. Othman

Thanks for your interesting article on Hydroponics, the conflicts between Fulani and farmers are common in Africa. The fulani people are like our Maasai in Kenya. As long as they think there's enough land for them to graze, there will always be conflicts. Kenyan Government is working hard to address these conflicts. Recently, the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture has mobilised some extension services in

Maasai communities where conflicts and introduced farming to them with a business aim. We have communities like Turkana, Samburu and Pokot which are largely nomads and like to move with animals from one village to another. They always fight due to intrusion of one community to another's pasture land. There's also cattle rustling. To curb these heinous acts, the government is subsidizing these communities and urging them to wake up from their sleep. To start thinking of zero grazing, to farm high value crops and also impart business skills. The media has also been urged to celebrate and air such converted nomads who have now decided to settle and farm in an efficient way that does not entail conflicts. And as land in Kenya decreases, most nomads are now left with no option but to adapt. Nomadic way of livestock production has to change and in fact changing in Kenya, otherwise the nomads will remain chained to their lifestyle with insignificant profits and low productivity. The herders also produce  dry matter such as hay through farming and selling the surplus.

Regards,

Samuel Mbugua, grandeurafrica@gmail.com

Hydroponics - Soilless Cropping System, a Panacea to Perennial Nomadic - Fulani and Crops Farmers Conflicts in Nigeria? II

Apart from Boko Haram insurgence, Fulani - Farmers conflict is the most deadly and perennial conflict in Nigeria. Unlike Boko Haram insurgence, Fulani - farmers conflict is spontaneous and sporadic existing in many rural areas of both south and northern parts of Nigeria. Losses of lives and properties due to this singular crisis is colossal and beyond imagination. The conflict takes place in rural areas where news and events are under reported and mismanaged due to poor infrastructure and inaccessibility. The fundamental cause of the conflict is resource use; pasture and water. However, other factors such as religious and political differences as well as ethnicity inflame the conflict to unmanageable proportion. 

In an effort to search for pasture, Nomadic Fulani herdsmen move from North to central and southern part of the country. During this movement, they experience difficulties trying to feed their cattle especially in the dry season period and rainless months of the year, they only find solace in the green fields found along the rivers and valleys across the country. The major problem face while moving their cattle to these green fields is that these pastures are also dominated by farmlands. Naturally, farmers frown at the presence of herds of cows near their precious sources of livelihood thus, leading to frequent clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and local farmers. These clashes have been bloody with attendant losses of properties from both sides. The clashes have become perennial occurring all over the country with the use of sophisticated weapons and modern warfare tactics by both sides. The conflict has become a very serious security threat to the people of Nigeria and neighboring countries.

The need to address this conflict cannot be over emphasized. The problem attracted the attention of many spirited  Nigerians including national Assembly and Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari. At the national Assembly level, a bill on grazing reserve was proposed by Senator Zainab Kure during one of the sessions of the 7th Senate of the Federal Public of Nigeria. The bill successfully passed the first reading and has been awaiting the attention of the distinguished  senators for the second reading at the present (8th) Senate. Similarly, President, Muhammadu Buhari   was recently reported saying "to achieve enduring peace in the country, greater effort must be made to eradicate poverty and injustice". He made this assertion when he received a delegation from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, an organization actively involved in the promotion of peace in Nigeria. On Fulani - farmers conflicts, President Buhari said that a plan to map out grazing areas will soon be presented to the Nigerian Governors Forum as a temporary solution to the frequent conflicts until cattle owners are persuaded to adopt other means of rearing their cattle. How are these cattle currently being reared?

Nigeria has an estimated 19.7 million Cattle. Nigeria is the biggest consumer of meat in the ECOWAS, with Lagos as the largest livestock market. Significant percentage of meat consumed in Nigeria comes from neighboring countries. Nigerians take meat availability in their markets for granted without bothering on the production challenges and sacrifices made by the producers - Fulani.

Nigeria has a land mass of 98.3 million hectares, 82 million hectares of arable land of which about 34 million hectares are currently under cultivation. In crop farming, human beings directly utilize only about a quarter of the total biomass. The other three quarters is in the form of crop residue and low quality crop, which is directly useless to humans. However, cattle (ruminants) convert these into high quality meat and milk. In addition to this, the cattle utilize grasses on fallow lands, non arable poor quality lands and open ranges. However, cattle move from one location to other to access these crops residue and posture. Movement of herds between fixed points to exploit seasonal availability of pastures has become part of livestock production process of the Fulani. This mode of production in Nigeria involves sending part or all of the herd to access crop residue in adjacent farms or graze in open range and in some cases even move further southwards as the dry season becomes more severe and returning home (North) with the advent of the rains. To further facilitate this movement, Governments over the years developed grazing reserves and demarcated interconnecting stock routes that have been in existence for a longtime. However, most of these routes have been encroached by farmers as the Nigerian population increases. Population increase has resulted in more land being put to crops production. It is an the irony that the same population growth demand for more food of animal origin which in turn calls for expansion of animal production without due regard of land  for livestock production.

With this clear picture of the situation, the Fulani - farmer conflict requires genius innovation to address it on sustainable manner. The innovation must be seen to create a win -win result for Fulani, farmers and indeed the rest of the population.  Can hydroponic system be one of such strategies?

Hydroponic can certainly be one of the strategies for massive production of animals' fodder in a very short time. Hydroponics is a system of growing crops without the use of soil. This is done by physically ‘feeding’ the plants with water for the crop to germinate, grow at high speed rate. Example a crop (barley) grown via hydroponics grows to a height of up to 15 cm in 7 days as compared to 12 weeks when grown in soil. Food grown through this system is nutrient rich, hygienic and reliable as it can be done throughout the year as it is not at the mercy of external weather conditions, For the production of fodder, barley is preferred in hydroponics rather than maize or sorghum as barley has a high protein level of as much as 23% as compared to other grains that record a high of 12- 19%. In the absence of barley, millet is a better substitute to maize as it can gives 17% protein.  Hydroponics system uses very small parcels of land. A hydroponic shelter measuring 5m long by 3m wide can produce 240 kg of fodder for cattle daily. The fodder is also 90 to 95 % digestible as compared to 40% of animal feed made from unsprouted grains.  The advantages of fodder produced hydroponically are numerous; there is an increase in the butter fat content of milk, a 14%  increase in cows on a diet of this fodder was recorded by many herders, a 21 % minimum increase in milk production over regular cows were noted and increase in appetite was similarly observed while female animals were observed to come on heat quicker with fodder produced using hydroponic system.

The most attractive part of producing fodder using hydroponic system is the simplicity of the process. The process involves soaking of seeds with water for four hours, sieve out the water after the four hours duration, incubate the wet seeds for 48 hours by covering them inside a container with holes for aeration. The incubated seeds are moisten with water at 12 hours interval ( about 10 centiliter of water to about 2 kg of seeds). After 48 hours, that is two  days, the 2 kg is spread over an aluminum tray of 30 cm by 1.2 m by then the seeds must have started sprouting. supply water to the sprouted seeds two times a day for up to additional four days and by then the fodder must have grown to the height of 12 - 17 cm ready for consumption.  The same fodder can be supplied to poultry, small ruminants and other animals but with differences in the number of days when the fodder was produced. However, the maximum production period is 10 days. A hydroponic structure with standard dimensions of 5m long by 3m wide by 3m high, can feed 60 pigs per day, 20 cows per day, 80 goats per day, 2,400 chicken per day, 480 rabbits per day.

Fodders provide 30% of the quality protein requirement of the animals daily but the animals still require energy and vitamins to grow healthy and productive. They have to be fed with 70% dry matter as source of energy for growth and milk production in addition to 30% hydroponic fodder as source of protein for milk synthesis.  An easy formula to determine a total feed requirement by one cow per day is 10% of its body weight in kilograms.  Example: If the cow is 200kg, the total amount of feed it requires is 20kg.  70% of 20 kg is 14kg – Feed 14kg as Dry Matter  30% of 20kg is 6kgs – Feed 6kgs as hydroponic fodder. salt lick should always be provided to animals for vitamins. Dry matter is recommended because the fodder lacks energy as much was utilized for germination and the dry matter is the major source of energy (Carbohydrates) to animals.

In conclusion, this option is readily available for transforming the nomadic nature of cattle production to the range system where the production is high, more profitable, sustainable and a solution to permanently solve Fulani - Farmers conflicts. National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) of Ahmadu Bello University is a willing partner with other stakeholders to extend this innovation through intensive training of herders and other interested livestock farmers. The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development should provide a leading role in this transformation process. Refutable organization like Miyeti Allah should take advantage of this option.

Hydroponics - Soilless Cropping System, a Panacea to Perennial Nomadic - Fulani and Crops Farmers Conflicts in Nigeria?

Hydroponics - Soilless Cropping System, a Panacea to Perennial  Nomadic - Fulani and Crops Farmers Conflicts in Nigeria?

An introductory topic of agriculture taught at primary school level is that plants need "light, water and soil" to grow. Do the plants really need soil to grow? with the recent technical innovations, this seemingly simple question is proving difficult to answer because of  a crops production technique called Hydroponics "soilless cropping system".  It is a new practice of growing plants without soil. This growing of plants in a nutrient solution root medium, is a growing area of commercial food production. The process may include sand, gravel, rock wool or liquid, with added nutrients but without the use of soil.

Hydroponics is the new way of planting beautiful plants at the limited space of farmer's home or backyard. Through this technique, a farmer doesn't need to worry about using soil, which is a necessary for the conventional plantation method. It is indeed the better option for people who love to garden beautiful plants inside their homes. You can now grow different types of vegetables, herbs. Fruits on your personal garden. Usually, the stems of the plants derive its oxygen from the water and soil while receiving energy from sunrays.

Hydroponics involves supplying the required amount of nutrients to plant, when needed and as healthy as genetically possible. With hydroponics, nutrients are easily and efficiently provided to the plants while in the traditional use of soil it is more difficult and inefficient.  Similarly, with Hydroponics the plants are grown in an inert growing medium and a perfectly balanced pH adjusted nutrient solution is delivered to the roots in a highly soluble form. The use of the nutrient solution permits the plant to easily uptake nutrients as opposed to when the crops are planted in the soil where they would have to search and extract the nutrients while dissipating energy. Thus, plant saves energy in hydroponic system from nutrient intake thereby using it  into vegetative growth, fruit formation and flower production. The nutrient solution is the combination of water and fertilizers, with the farmers getting to dictate how much and of which nutrients they wish to give to the plants. Generally, fertilizers applied for both hydroponic and soil plantation contain the same three major nutrients; nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, hydroponic fertilizers contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro-nutrients and are usually in a more refined form with lesser impurities as opposed to soil fertilizers. Soilless;  means crop is not planted in soil, thus, no weeds or soil borne pests and diseases. Therefore, plants maintain optimum nutrient and moisture levels in hydroponic system, which offer several benefits: healthier plants, faster growing plants and ability to be more disease resistant as plants are not stressed by drought. The root systems stay smaller on hydroponically grown plants, so the plant can concentrate and uses its energy on producing plant mass, rather than roots. This allows the grower to have more plants per square meter of growing a space. Hydroponically grown plants never get root bound, so they do not need repotting. Hydroponic produce has a longer shelf life than soil-grown produce. Hydroponics is clean. In addition, plants grown in hydroponic system taste better than plants grown in the traditional method of using soil. Quite often this is the case because the plants grown utilizing hydroponics have all the essential nutrients readily available to the plant. In soil the important micro nutrients are often locked away in the soil where the plants cannot take full advantage of these minerals. That is why hydroponics is superior because the grower has complete control over what minerals the plants are feeding on and in what quantities. This advantage permits production of food crop that is far superior in taste, color, size, and nutritional value. The merits for hydroponic system are in exhaustive;  they include reduced water usage, marginal land use,  reduced growth time, reduced labour requirement, cost effective and completely natural. Despite these advantages, hydroponic system is not a perfect system; unfortunately there are few disadvantages in growing fodder in such a controlled, humid, moist environment. Some of the problems that affect the yield production are mould, bacteria and fungi. However, these problems are addressed through –  sterilizing the grains surface to eliminate any mould spores on the grain. In addition, the  surfaces in the growing area can be Sterilized with chlorine or iodine. Make provision for excellent shed ventilation as well as use of sufficient and the correct ratio balance of nutrients in the watering of the plants. No doubt, Hydroponics - the science of growing plants in nutrient-rich solutions instead of soil - has proven itself to be efficient both financially and environmentally. It is indeed the newest and fastest way to grow plants and vegetables, such as lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, celery, watercress eggplants, beans, parsley, wild radish, leeks, strawberries, melons, aromatic, medicinal plants and animal fresh feeds.

The hydroponic system requires a fraction of the water usage of conventional farming while still supplying high quality food crops.  Example, it takes between 1 to 2 litres of water to produce one kilo of fodder as compared with 80 – 90 litres of water to grow a kilo of green grass.

There are many types of crops that can be grown hydroponically. Grains such as oats, barley, wheat, sorghum and corn have all been tried. Similarly, vegetables such as pepper, tomatoes, onions, cucumber can be produced using hydroponic system. However, the major interest here is the production of fodder hydroponically to complement the feeds of cattle and other large ruminant animals in order to address perennial conflicts between Nomadic - Fulani and farmers in Nigeria. The growing of fodder using soil-less growing system is a new concept to Nigeria, although this system has been in use for decades elsewhere and it used for the supply of a wide range of livestock types for many different purposes in varying living environments. It is a well-known technique for high fodder yield, year round production with less water consumption. Fodder produced hydroponically has a short growth period of 7-10 days and requires only a small piece of land for production to take place. It has high feed quality, rich with proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals with therapeutic effects on animals. These special features of hydroponic culture, in addition to others make it one of the most important agricultural techniques currently in use for green forage production in many countries especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Hydroponic fodder production involves supplying cereal grain with necessary moisture and nutrients, to enable germination and plant growth in the absence of a solid growing medium. The resulting green shoots and root mat are harvested and fed to livestock. The grain responds to the supply of moisture and nutrients by germinating, sprouting and then producing a 150 – 250 mm long vegetative green shoot with interwoven roots within 7 to 10 days.   Wheat harvested as feed and hay is a significant source of forage for livestock producers in most arid and semi-arid regions because it can be an inexpensive and readily available feed source. Forage wheat has good yield and has been found to have higher nutritive value and lower fiber concentration than other small grains. An impressive result was obtained from the undergraduate project of A. S. Murtala of Agricultural Engineering Department, ABU Zaria who investigated the quality of wheat fodder grown hydroponically for animal feeds. The results indicated that one kilogram of seed (wheat) produced an average of 5.36kg of fodder thus, making wheat as one of the crops that gave high fodder yield and used water efficiently. With good management of the hydroponic system, some farmers were able to obtain 7 – 10kg of edible fodder for every 1kg of grain seed.

In Nigeria, hydroponic farming is making inroad into the Nigerian farming system as technology validation trials among the research centres and adapted by elite farmers. National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) is among the research centres actively working on hydroponic system. There are many other organizations promoting the hydroponic technology in Nigeria (http://www.hydroponicsnigeria.com, www.notafog2016.com and http://bicfarmsconcepts.com/abeokuta-hydroponics/). These organizations provide training opportunities to interested individuals and corporate bodies.

The possibility of fodder production has been elaborately explained. However, can the use of hydroponic system be a viable method of addressing Fulani -  farmers conflict and find a lasting solution? Concerted effort by Fodder Green Technologies Group is geared towards the use of hydroponic technology for mass production of fodder as feeds for cattle. Already memorandum of understanding (MOU) was drafted between the group and Miyetti Allah, a formidable socio-cultural group of Nomadic Fulani in Nigeria. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? (To be continued next week)