In this interview, Mwihaki Mundia, BecA-ILRI Hub’s Communications Officer, sits down with Sita Ghimire, who heads the Brachiaria research and development program at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa – International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, to talk about the origins of this important grass and how it contributes to more milk and meat production in livestock.

Mundia: Maybe you could start by sharing a brief history of Brachiaria grass?

Sita: Brachiaria grass is a tropical forage that is native to Africa. It was introduced to America and Australia in the 1800′s. Through Australia, many species were later introduced to Asia and the south Pacific region. The use of Brachiaria for commercial pasture production only began in Africa at the start of the twenty-first century.

M: How many Brachiaria species currently exist in Africa?

S: There are seven species of African origin, namely, B. arrecta, B. brizantha, B. dictyoneura, B. decumbens, B. humidicola, B. mutica and B. ruziziensis. These are all used as fodder for livestock.

M: Why did BecA-ILRI Hub choose to work with Brachiaria grass as a means of improving livestock productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)?

S: Low livestock productivity has plagued sub-Saharan Africa for a long time, creating amongst other things, a severe food shortage for one of the fastest growing human populations in the world. Some of the major factors that contribute to these are feeds shortage and low-quality feeds. Brachiaria provides a solution because it produces a large amount of high-quality biomass that improves the availability of quality feed, its high nutrient value increases livestock productivity of meat and milk and reduces the overall carbon footprint of the livestock production system. Brachiaria additionally tolerates extreme climatic conditions and grows well in low fertile soils. It makes for a great substitute to other forage grasses such as Napier grass which is widely cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa.

M: Would you recommend Brachiaria grass over other forage crops e.g., Napier grass that has been a popular forage for a long time in East Africa?

S: Though Napier grass is very popular in East Africa, its productivity has been on the decline over the years due to smut and stunt disease attacks. The introduction of Brachiaria grass has provided an additional forage option to farmers and helped to bridge the livestock feed supply gaps especially during the dry seasons. Brachiaria grass is one of the top-ranked tropical forages for nutritive value, livestock productivity and climate change adaptation. It is suitable for both grazing and cut and carry systems.

M: What are the main activities that the Climate-smart Brachiaria program at BecA-ILRI Hub carries out?

S: The program provides technical support to National African Research Systems (NARS), non-governmental organizations, and the private sector on Brachiaria grass production and forage biosciences; carries research on Brachiaria grass diseases management; develops Brachiaria-legume cropping system for soil fertility management; identifies Brachiaria seed production niches in Africa; and discovers and uses plant beneficial microbes to enhance resilience and productivity of Brachiaria grass in sub-Sharan Africa.

M: Most livestock farmers in SSA are small-scale producers who do not have much land to grow their food let alone grow fodder, how do you encourage them to adopt Brachiaria grass?

S: The transformation of the livestock sector in Africa depends on intensification of livestock production systems. Improved forages like Brachiaria grass are a great resource that play a major role as a source of high-quality feed at a low cost. Planting Brachiaria grass in farmlands improves feed availability, enhances livestock productivity, and generates income for livestock farmers. It also protects soil from erosion and sustains soil fertility. Due to these benefits many livestock farmers especially those with smaller land sizes are dedicating more land under Brachiaria grass, with some farming it in place of staple food crops.

M: How many varieties/cultivars of Brachiaria are available to farmers in Kenya and how many other countries in SSA have benefitted from the Climate-smart Brachiaria program?

S:  Basilisk, MG-4, Piata and Xaraes are the Brachiaria varieties that are being promoted by ILRI and Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in Kenya. These cultivars are currently undergoing the registration process in Kenya. The seeds of these cultivars are available in limited quantities in Kenya through KALRO. Hybrid seed cultivars like Mulato II, Cayman and Cobra are also being sold in Kenya.  So far, about 40,000 farming households in 18 countries in SSA are beneficiaries of the Climate-smart Brachiaria program.

M: How else can farmers use this “wonder grass?”

S: Brachiaria grass can be used as a bioenergy crop to produce biofuel.

It can also be used in crop protection, soil conservation and has great environmental qualities.

Farmers can use Brachiaria to generate income by producing and selling hay. Additionally, the production of rooted tillers as a means of planting materials has recently emerged as a new avenue for agro-business for youth and women in the SSA region.

M: How long does it take for Brachiaria grass to grow to its full height and nutrient potential after planting?

S: The height and time it takes for Brachiaria to attain it is influenced by various factors such as the variety, altitude, soil fertility and other agro-climatic conditions. At the ILRI Nairobi campus, the grass grows to a full height of 1.8 metres. Most varieties take about four to five months to attain their full height.  The nutritive value of forage declines as it matures, it is therefore important to identify the right harvesting time with the perfect balance of biomass and nutritive value.  For good quality hay, Brachiaria should be harvested prior to flowering.

M: What are some of the challenges that farmers might expect to face while growing Brachiaria grass?

S: The major challenges could be pests and diseases and a decline in soil fertility if manure and fertilizers are not applied on a regular basis.    

However, a visit to farmers in Eastern and Southern provinces of Rwanda during the country’s dry season in July revealed that the climate smart Brachiaria grass—or ivugbwe as it is known locally—has the potential to extend forage availability throughout the year.

Rwandan dairy farmers have been participating in a research project to assess the performance of best bet varieties of Brachiaria grass for different agro-ecological regions in Rwanda. The Swedish funded project on ‘Climate smart Brachiaria grass to increase livestock production in East Africa’ was led by the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub and implemented in collaboration with the Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB).

In this 5-minute video, the farmers talk about why Brachiaria grass has quickly become a favourite forage for their livestock.

Read original article on RAB website: Rwanda dairy farmers praise the climate smart ‘Ivugbwe’ grass  

Performed by the BecA-ILRI Hub staff, research fellows from African national programs and international collaborators, this 25 minute skit sheds light on how technology, partnerships and increased research capabilities of national agricultural researchers and institutions can bring about agricultural development in Africa.

The play dramatizes the role of the BecA-ILRI Hub and its national and international partners in bridging high-end research with practical solutions for smallholder farmers. Established as an African centre for excellence for agricultural biosciences, the BecA-ILRI Hub supports African national agricultural research institutes and universities enhance in harnessing bioscience technologies for sustainable agricultural development in Africa.

Since 2010, I have worked on developing soybean varieties with improved nutritional value and high yield. My passion for soybean research earned me a fellowship––the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) fellowship––at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research (BecA-ILRI) Hub.

Through this fellowship, I am conducting in-depth analyses of five soybean varieties released by Makerere University and 95 elite soybean lines for different nutritional properties.

Owing to its increased use as human food and animal feed, soybean has great economic potential, which I want to help smallholder farmers in East Africa exploit. I am looking for a fast way of introducing good nutritional properties to existing soybean varieties and hope to develop high yielding, nutritionally superior lines.

Containing approximately 40 percent protein, 20 percent oil and an ideal supply of essential amino acids and nutrients, soybean grains are the world’s largest source of animal protein feed and the second largest source of vegetable oil globally. Aside from their significance as food and livestock feed, the crop improves soil fertility by fixing nitrogen and enhancing moisture retention.

Between 2006 and 2009, earnings from the crop in Uganda rose by 288 percent, but despite the economic opportunities in production and processing, factories established to process soybean oil and soy-based products across East Africa lack adequate raw material to run at full capacity. Furthermore, increased awareness by oil consumers has increased the demand for soybean oil as they seek more nutritious alternatives.

Through my research at the BecA-ILRI Hub and my home institution, Makerere University, I hope to contribute significantly bridging the supply gap and increasing the global competitive edge of locally produced soybean.

About Tony Obua:
Tony Obua is a researcher at Makerere University in Uganda. He is currently conducting research on genetic improvement of oil quality and yield of soybean in Uganda at the BecA-ILRI Hub as an ABCF research fellow.

Read more about the ABCF fellowship program

Brizantha cv. Xaraés, one of the improved varieties of Brachiaria under research for climate change mitigation (photo: BecA-ILRI Hub/Collins Mutai)

A recent study by the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) shows that farmers in semi-arid region of Kenya could stall the adverse effects of climate change on their farms by planting drought-tolerant Brachiaria grass.

The study shows that Brachiaria grass not only improves the productivity of livestock but that it also contributes to improved soil health. Arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) make up 83 per cent of the total land area in Kenya, which have marginal to low potential for crop production. The soils in these areas are low in plant nutrients and are prone to erosion.

The report ‘Effects of Brachiaria grass cultivars on soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous in soils of the semi arid eastern Kenya’ is one of a compilation of 24 papers published on diverse studies carried out on Brachiaria grass with regards to its adaptation to drought; its impact on milk and meat production; its role in improving soil quality; and establishment of seed production systems for increased availability of the grass seeds and income generation.

Sita Ghimire, a co-author and co-editor of the report and senior scientist at the BecA-ILRI Hub leading the Brachiaria research, says the report is a culmination of pioneering research on the forage in East Africa.

‘Brachiaria has been used to transform livestock production in South America,’ says Ghimire, ‘however, despite the immense benefits it demonstrated in that region, the true potential of this grass is yet to be realized in its motherland, Africa.’

Livestock production in Kenya accounts for 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). With growing population, increasing affluence and changes in food habits there is an increasing demand for livestock products. Over 70 per cent of all the livestock in Kenya is found in ASALs, necessitating research to develop forage options that will sustain increased livestock productivity in the face of climate change.

The collaborative research of the BecA-ILI Hub and KALRO demonstrates that the cultivation of Brachiaria grass improves soil quality by increasing the amount of plant available carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous.

Fred Masika at UC Davis, US during the 13th Solanaceae Conference September 12— 16, 2016

The modernization of agriculture in Africa has led to the focus on cultivation of a very limited variety of food crops. Sadly, this means we are missing out on nutritional and health benefits found in traditional plants such as the African eggplant.

The African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum) is not only a vegetable, but also has medicinal value. Skin ailments, asthma, bronchitis, diabetes and blood cholesterol are some of the health disorders that this plant is known to alleviate. In Uganda, the local variety ‘Nakati’  is increasingly gaining importance as a source of income and nutrition for smallholder farmers, mostly women and youths. I want to contribute to research that will boost its production and enable it to play a role in limiting malnourishment and income insecurity in Africa.

The Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) fellowship offered by the BecA-ILRI Hub provided me an opportunity to study this under-researched crop. Using high throughput genotyping technologies, I will generate information that will contribute to breeding initiatives to improve this crop.

With full support from the BecA-ILRI Hub, I also had the opportunity to attend the 13^th Solanaceae Conference at University of California, Davis (UC-Davis) from 12–16 September, 2016. During the meeting themed from advances to applications, I made a one-minute pitch using a poster of my work ‘Generating genomic tools for efficient breeding of African eggplant’.

The career panel workshop chaired by Ann Powell from the UC Davis department of plant sciences afforded me the opportunity to learn from and interact with international professionals from the public sector and industry. I participated in discussions on cutting edge research in genomic tools, advances and applications for the Solanaceae species.

I am grateful for the research, capacity building opportunity and support I have received at the BecA-ILRI Hub. The training and mentorship has greatly increased my capacity in molecular biology, and bioinformatics. I am now also confident in communicating my research with scientific and non scientific audiences

About Fred Masika
Fred Bwayo Masika works with Uganda Christian University in The Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences. He has a MSc. Botany (Genetics and Molecular biology) from Makerere University.  Realizing that there is narrowing food diversity and recognizing the potential role of traditional vegetables in combating nutrient deficiencies, Masika is passionate about research of underutilized nutritious vegetables such as those of the Solanaceae family. His work towards generating genomic tools in African eggplant will help boost production of African eggplant and related species.

Post-doctoral scientists Gabriela Chavez from Auburn University (left) and William Sharpee (2nd right) from North Carolina State University interact with cassava farmers in the western region of Kenya during a whitefly collecting exercise

Cassava is an important food crop for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa, but unfortunately this crop is facing a decline in production across the continent due to Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). I came to the BecA-ILRI Hub in August to work on a project funded by the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) to analyze the evolution of the viruses that cause this disease.

The purpose of this project is to understand how African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), the causal agents of CMD, evolve during vegetative propagation of infected cassava plants versus being transmitted via whiteflies. It is our goal to understand how these viruses evolve in order to develop strategies that will hinder the development of more virulent strains and thus prevent future outbreaks of CMD.

When I first arrived in Kenya, I travelled to the shores of Lake Victoria in the western part of Kenya to collect whiteflies for the establishment of a colony at the BecA-ILRI Hub. This was a good opportunity to interact with local farmers and see the devastating effects that this disease has on cassava production in Kenya. Once the individual whiteflies were collected we set up a room dedicated to establishing a colony to be used in future experiments.

Because multiple species of whiteflies exist, my colleagues and I have focused our efforts on understanding the genetic make up of the colony to ensure that we have a single species for our experiments. Additionally, we established procedures for the propagation and growth of cassava in the greenhouse. We continue to lay the groundwork for pilot experiments that will act as the basis for our future work.

I am excited to be a part of this project and the BecA-ILRI Hub community. I am grateful for everyone’s support and input and look forward to great discoveries in the future.

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Read related stories:

International partnership on Cassava virus evolution launched in Africa

 Gates grant boosts fight against cassava disease

Auburn University Post-Doc Tracks Cassava Virus History In East Africa

The BecA-ILRI Hub strengthens partnership with North Carolina State University

Gabriela Chavez poses with a cassava farmer in Kisumu, Kenya

I joined the Cassava Virus Evolution Project to study the most economically important disease in cassava in Africa. Like me, the cassava is indigenous to South America, but is now widely cultivated and adopted in Africa where it became one of the major crops for human consumption.

Cassava is a fascinating crop that is able to grow under drought conditions, high temperature, and poor soil conditions. However, its production in Africa is severely limited by viral diseases. The begomoviruses that cause Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) have a long evolutionary history in Africa, including the recent pandemic that spread across Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s and 2000s.

At the BecA-ILRI Hub I am studying how the whitefly influences the evolution of Cassava mosaic begomovirus (CMBs). Together with colleagues, I am analyzing the genetic makeup of a colony of whiteflies collected from the western part of Kenya in Kisumu and Lake Victoria surroundings. This is a critical component of the project because whiteflies exhibit an extremely high rate of differences within the species.

Working in Africa has been a life-changing multicultural experience. I have learnt that Africa is not all about catastrophes or poor infrastructure highlighted in news, but that there is on-going cutting-edge research and high-end technologies. I have also enjoyed the contemporary Kenyan music in English, Swahili and various local languages with intricate melodies that borrow from different styles of music from around the globe. I am also impressed with Kenyans’ ambitions and their spirit of entrepreneurship.

The partnership brings together the Kenya Cereal Millers Association—which has over ten million customers, including the urban poor—and the Texas A&M AgriLife laboratory which is hosted at the BecA-ILRI Hub. It is enabling millers to accurately perform their own tests for aflatoxins in maize flour, reducing aflatoxin risk and improving food safety for an estimated 16 million Kenyans.

Aflatoxins are a naturally occurring carcinogenic by-product of common fungi that grow on grains and other food crops, particularly maize and groundnuts. Highly carcinogenic, aflatoxins are lethal in high doses, with chronic exposure potentially stunting infant development, blocking nutrient absorption and suppressing the immune system.

Preventing human exposure to aflatoxins involves removing crops with unacceptable aflatoxin contents from both foods and feeds.

Paloma Fernandes, the chief executive of the Kenya Cereal Millers Association, will give a presentation on industry-led approaches to controlling aflatoxin in the country’s food supply chain at the ‘Strengthening systems to optimize agriculture and nutrition outcomes in Africa’ side event.

Read event concept note: Strengthening Systems to Optimize Agriculture and Nutrition Outcomes in Africa

For more information on the Africa Agriculture Science Week visit: http://faraafrica.org/aasw7/

Follow the event on twitter: #AASW7

Read related articles:

A vision for safe, affordable and adequate food

Providing safe maize for Africa: Aflatoxin Proficiency Testing and Control in Africa project at the BecA-ILRI Hub

Regional Aflatoxin control organization recognizes role of the BecA-ILRI Hub in fighting aflatoxins

Having a milling capacity of 1.6 million tonnes of maize per year and constituting 85 percent of the commercial flour on the shelves sold to about 10 million consumers annually, the Cereal Millers Association (CMA) bears the heavy responsibility of providing safe, affordable and adequate food for their consumers. This responsibility is at the heart of our vision as an association which comprises 27 of the largest millers in the country.

Our four-year relationship with the BecA-ILRI Hub’s aflatoxin research project was borne out of our quest to bridge the existing gap in best practices for diagnosis of aflatoxins at the millers’ level. In efforts to find a solution, we participated in various national forums on the control of aflatoxins in the food value chain in Kenya and eventually made the connection with the project.

Through our collaboration with the BecA-ILRI Hub, CMA staff members have received training on the proper use of aflatoxin diagnostics equipment to get the most accurate results.Visits by the BecA-ILRI Hub scientists, research technicians and project collaborators to three CMA mills has helped us ascertain the levels of testing, training needs and ways in which we can improve our storage, transport and testing facilities.

In order for us to take adequate measures in providing safe food for Kenyans, we have extended
our collaboration to exploratory research on the types of aflatoxins we are dealing with at our mills and will provide samples of both wheat and maize to the BecA-ILRI Hub for analysis.

Through this partnership, we have also identified a consultant from Texas A&M University, USA, to
develop and test the feasibility of maize sampling and aflatoxin testing protocols for use in Kenyan maize mills – an initiative in which many of our mills are involved.

The dream of CMA is to have a fully-fledged laboratory for testing of aflatoxins and we believe with the support of research institutions like the BecA-ILRI Hub, this dream is not very distant. Ultimately we hope that we can achieve our goal to provide safe, affordable and adequate food for all our consumers.