Goat production in Laos and the potential of using Erythrina variegata as a feedstuff

Abstract: Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is a country where the majority of the population works within the sector agriculture in one way or another. The number of goats are increasing and the animals can be an important income source for families. However, during the dry season, lack of feed is a great problem for the farmers. Fodder trees have shown great potential as dry season feeding, due to that the trees often hold green and fresh leaves a long time into the season, compared to grass that dry out quickly. Erythrina variegata is a palatable legume tree with a high protein content. The tree is found in the tropics and used for feed production in many countries in the world already. If replacing the protein provided as concentrates in the diets of ruminants, the production of milk or growth will be decreased, but it is more economic to feed Erythrina than concentrates for most farmers in developing countries. The trees can be planted at the farm and time other ways used for collecting feed can be saved. No advantages or disadvantages could be seen when feeding goats with various amounts of Erythrina. The potential of Erythrina variegata as a feed could be very high, and it could be used to promote growth in goats during the dry season. Little research has been done on the use of the plant as feed for animals, especially for goats, and there is a need of more knowledge of how it affects growth rate, organic matter intake and the digestibility of different diets.