In situ assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from dairy production system in East Africa

There is considerable uncertainty related to the efficiency of nutrient conversion and greenhouse gas emissions from African ruminant diets. To establish accurate estimates of emission factors and to validate nutrient and energy conversion efficiencies for tropical ruminants, we therefore aim:

• at quantifying rumen fermentation and digestion of nutrients from tropical feeds in Africa;
• at determining the effects of a carbohydrate and/or protein supplementation to low-quality roughage feeds on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, passage rate, rumen microbial growth, and nitrogen partitioning in African cattle and sheep,
• at understanding the interdependencies between fore-mentioned nutritional factors and determining their effects on enteric methane emissions.