Methane Emissions from Ruminant Livestock in Ethiopia: Promising Forage Species to Reduce CH 4 Emissions

Yonas Berhanu, Lars Olav, Ajebu Nurfeta, Ayana Angassa and Jens B. Aune
Additional contact information
Yonas Berhanu: Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), P.O. Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Lars Olav: Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), P.O. Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway
Ajebu Nurfeta: School of Animal and Range Sciences, Hawassa University, P.O. Box. 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Ayana Angassa: School of Animal and Range Sciences, Hawassa University, P.O. Box. 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
Jens B. Aune: Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), P.O. Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: This paper assesses the ability of fodder plants to reduce methane (CH 4 ) emissions while simultaneously improving animal productivity in Ethiopia. Enteric CH 4 emissions from ruminants in Ethiopia increased by 12% or ≈ 6197 Gg CO 2 -eq. in 2017 compared to the year 2011. In this study, six tropical multipurpose forages ( Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Moringa stenopetala (Bak.f.) Cuf., Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr., Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Crotalaria juncea L., and Lablab purpureus L.(Sweet)) and maize stover were characterized in terms of chemical composition, in vitro CH 4 production, and CH 4 concentration (%). The objective was to identify forages with low CH 4 production potential but with adequate forage quality. The forages differed significantly in chemical composition and in enteric CH 4 emission. The dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) ranged between 89.4–95.4%, 6.08–12.5%, 3.3–30.7%, 20.4–76.0%, 10.8–44.8, and 2.9–14.1%, respectively. All forage plants, except maize stover, contained high CP content above a threshold value (i.e., 7%). Cajanus c. generates the lowest amount of CH 4 (32.83 mL/0.2 g DM incubated). CH 4 concentration (%) was used as a potential indicator to determine the capacity of a plant to lower CH 4 production. Among the studied species, L. purpureus showed the highest CH 4 reduction potential (16%) followed by C. juncea (23.45%), M. stenopetala (24.2%), and L. leucocephala (25.5%). M. stenopetala was the most frequently preferred by the farmers followed by C. juncea and L. leucocephala . We concluded that M. stenopetala , C. juncea , and L. leucocephala can be promoted as valuable feed resources for ruminants while simultaneously reducing CH 4 emissions.

Keywords: ruminant livestock; methane emissions; methane reduction; promising forages; farmers’ preferences; Ethiopia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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