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Florent Kambasu Kasula

  • Biodiversity Journal, 17 (1): 37-48

    Florent Kambasu Kasula & Bernard Kikumbi Kase
    Operationalizing the Fodder Market in Livestock Production Systems in South Kivu and Tanganyika Provinces (DR Congo): lessons from the PICAGL Project
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2026.17.1.37.48

    ABSTRACT
    Transhumance remains one of the main drivers of conflicts between farmers and livestock keepers in South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces. The lack of available grazing land, livestock instability, and the frequent movement of herds result in crop destruction and declining yields. Since 2019, an integrated system for fodder production, processing, conservation and marketing has been established with the support of the PICAGL project and the technical expertise of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium (VSF-B). The present study analyses the operationalization of the fodder market and assesses its role within livestock production systems. The results reveal the establishment of 787 hectares of fodder fields, the construction of 32 silos and 25 feed-banks, the production of 26,657 tons of leafy biomass and 757.5 tons of seeds and grains, as well as 4,564.66 tons of compounded feed. In total, 9,933 Tropical Livestock Units (TLU) were supplied over a five-year period. Once considered a utopian concept, the fodder market is now emerging as a structural alternative that contributes to reducing agropastoral conflicts while generating income for agropastoral households.