Assessment of Feed Resource Availability, Nutrient Composition, and Utilization Patterns among Smallholder Cattle Farmers in Southwest Bangladesh

Abstract

The livestock subsector is a vital aspect of Bangladesh’s agricultural economy, yet cattle productivity remains suboptimal due to insufficient nutrition and seasonal feed scarcity. In this study, the availability, nutrient composition, and utilization patterns of feed resources for smallholder cattle producers in south-west Bangladesh were methodically assessed. A pretested survey questionnaire was used to gather information from 180 smallholder cattle producers in the districts of Rajbari, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, and Magura.  The nutritional value of locally accessible concentrate feeds was assessed by proximate analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS with descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test. According to the results, the most common roughages were rice straw (100%) and uncultivated grasses (77.78%), whereas the most preferred concentrates were rice bran (95.56%) and wheat bran (68.33%). Only 8.89% of farmers used commercial pellet feed for their cattle. Most farmers produced roughage feeds, whereas concentrate feeds were mainly purchased to support cattle feeding. Nutrient analysis revealed considerable geographical variation (p<0.05) in crude fibre (CF) for rice bran (17.61-20.75%) and mustard oil cake (10.44-11.33%), and crude protein (CP) for wheat bran (13.82-15.72%). Feed scarcity peaked in August (92.22%), and the high cost of feed (91.67%) was marked as the main obstacle. To address these challenges, most farmers recommended lowering feed costs (87.78%), seeking government support (73.33%) and supplying high-yielding grass (41.67%) through subsidies and training programs.