The basis of indigenous knowledge of tree fodder quality and its implications for improving the use of tree fodder in developing countries

Many interventions generated by research with the aim of improving the nutritional status of livestock in developing countries have failed to realize their apparent potential when implemented on farms. It is now widely accepted that this is because farmers try to meet a wide range of objectives in feeding their animals. Their decision making can be supported by a sophisticated, indigenous knowledge. When researcher-developed technologies fail to account for this, they may be deemed unacceptable by the farmer. This paper explores one example of an indigenous knowledge system that relates to the quality of tree fodder used by farmers in Nepal. Our results suggest that the knowledge of tree fodder quality possessed by the farmers is quite consistent with the level of information that may be generated from the laboratory analyses that are commonly used by nutritional researchers for the same purpose. Of the two distinct indigenous knowledge systems from Nepal used, one (obanopan) appeared to relate to digestibility of tree fodder (as predicted by an in vitro test) and the other (posilopan) that was perceived as an indicator of general nutritional quality may relate to the ability of a tree fodder to promote the supply of protein at the duodenum. However, the relationship between obanopan and in vitro digestibility indicated that Nepalese farmers, in preferring to use obano fodder, also preferred less digestible fodder due to its ability to fill animals in times of feed shortage. This observation – and the fact that recommendations derived from a panel of nutritionists viewing a set of laboratory indicators describing the tree fodder studied did not appear to account, in any way, for the posilopan criterion, judged important by farmers – highlight the paramount importance of interpreting nutritional information against farmers objectives for a given set of circumstances. An initial analysis of complementarity between the information provided by farmersʹ perceptions of fodder quality and those generated in a laboratory would appear encouraging for a more integrated approach to assessing fodder quality for the smallholder farmer.