Nutritional characterisation and seasonal variation of goat forages in Central Malawi

Goat ownership is prevalent across rural Malawi and provides a vital source of income, nutrition, and food security. However, goat performance is poor, and this presents a risk to individuals and communities who depend on them. Nutrition is fundamental to health and productivity of any livestock enterprise, it is required to be able to deal with stresses, such as disease, and to enable growth and production. The aim of this study was to characterise the nutritional profile of naturally available forages in Malawi, including the seasonal variation in nutrition. Samples of herbaceous forages and browse were collected over a 17-month period, across four villages (30 farms/smallholders) in Central Malawi. Forages underwent nutritional analysis for crude protein, fibre fractions, and ash/organic matter and NDVI was used as a measure of forage availability. Forage nutrition and availability appeared most adequate in the wet season, with higher concentrations of crude protein and a greater availability of herbaceous plants. Whilst there were significant differences in low-digestibility fibre fractions between locations, the drivers of this were unclear, but could be due to local factors such as soil and hydrology. The fall in crude protein concentrations from the wet season to the dry season represent a seasonal nutrition-gap which may result in risks to goat health and productivity. Whilst mitigating this through supplementation of persevered forages may be possible, this is a challenge due to limitations of resources and the fact that goats free-roam during the dry season. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.