For many small scale farmers, healthy livestock are more than animals. They provide food, income, fertilizer for crops, and financial security during difficult seasons. Yet one of the greatest challenges farmers face is finding affordable, nutritious feed throughout the year.
Commercial feed is often expensive or unavailable, particularly in rural communities. Seasonal droughts and changing weather patterns can make traditional forage scarce, leaving farmers searching for practical alternatives.
At ECHO, researchers are exploring locally available, low cost feed options that can help farmers care for their livestock using resources already growing in their communities. Through careful research and field validation, we are identifying agricultural practices that can improve livestock nutrition while reducing costs for families around the world.
Exploring the Potential of Aquatic Plants
Some of the most promising livestock feed may already be growing on the surface of ponds.
Duckweed (Lemnaceae family) and azolla (Azolla genus) are fast growing aquatic plants with relatively high protein content and significant potential as livestock feed supplements. Under the right conditions, these plants reproduce rapidly, providing a renewable source of nutrition for poultry and other livestock.
Our research has focused on one important question: What is the most practical and affordable way to grow these plants?
Because duckweed and azolla absorb nutrients directly from the water they float on, adding fertility can significantly increase production. ECHO researchers evaluated low cost fertility options that are readily available to many farming families, including soil and livestock manure, to better understand how these resources influence plant growth.
The findings from this work were recently compiled into an ECHO Development Note, helping practitioners and farmers understand how these aquatic plants can become part of sustainable livestock feeding systems.
Want to learn more? Read this article on ECHOcommunity: Aquatic Plant Production
Giving Banana Stalks New Purpose
Across much of the tropics, banana plants are harvested for their fruit while the remaining stalks are often discarded.
But what if those stalks could become valuable livestock feed?
In Northern Thailand, farmers have long used banana stalks to feed pigs. Building on this local knowledge, ECHO Asia began studying how banana stalks could be preserved as silage, allowing farmers to store feed for future use. Our research examined different combinations of molasses and salt to determine which recipes produced the highest quality silage.
The results were encouraging.
Banana stalk silage fermented successfully even without additives, and laboratory analysis showed that energy, protein, and digestibility remained relatively consistent across different recipes. However, silage made without additives spoiled more quickly than silage prepared with higher levels of molasses.
These findings will help guide practical recommendations for farmers looking to preserve feed using materials already available on their farms. An upcoming ECHO Development Note will provide recipes and step by step guidance.
Preserving Feed for Every Season
Finding alternative feed sources is only part of the challenge. Farmers also need reliable ways to preserve feed when it is abundant so it remains available during dry seasons or periods of scarcity.
The ECHO Asia Regional Impact Center is currently evaluating both ensiling and drying techniques for several promising feed species.
One unexpected discovery came from paper mulberry, a plant commonly found growing along roadsides. Although some farmers already use it as pig feed, very little research has explored its nutritional value. Laboratory analysis revealed that paper mulberry contains approximately 21 percent crude protein along with exceptionally low Neutral Detergent Fiber, making it an exciting candidate for future feeding trials.
Researchers are also studying nacedero, a fast growing tree widely used as a livestock feed supplement in the Philippines. Because its growth is highly seasonal, preserving leaves through drying or silage could provide an important source of nutrition during times when fresh forage is limited.
These early studies are helping identify practical preservation methods that farmers can adapt to their own environments.
From Research to Resilient Farms
At ECHO, every research project begins with a simple question: What practical solutions can help farmers overcome everyday challenges?
Many of the feed options we are studying, including aquatic plants, banana stalks, paper mulberry, and nacedero, are already growing in the communities where farmers live. By carefully testing these local resources, we can confidently share approaches that are practical, affordable, and adapted to local conditions.
As this research continues, we will make these findings freely available through ECHOcommunity so that farmers, churches, and organizations around the world can put them into practice. Every discovery helps strengthen a growing network of shared agricultural knowledge, giving communities more options to care for their livestock, improve food security, and build resilience for the future.
Your support makes this work possible.
Together, we can continue researching, sharing, and expanding access to practical agricultural solutions that help families and communities thrive.
