Walenga shares drought-survival blueprint

Max Henrich

ONGWEDIVA – Farmer John Walenga has turned the challenge of expensive livestock feed exacerbated by perennial droughts into an opportunity to produce his own animal feed supplements.

He uses his land at Otanaha in the Nehale Lya Mpingana constituency as a testing ground for drought-resilient agriculture.

Walenga, who has been farming for nine years, said his journey started with poultry and egg production before the high cost of commercial feed forced him to rethink his farming approach.

“When I started with farming, I started with poultry and producing eggs, but along the line I realised that the main ingredient in poultry farming is feed, which was killing us because it was 70% of our input,” he said. He subsequently began producing his own feed, which he said has significantly reduced production costs while benefiting his livestock. Today, the farm produces a range of crops specifically for animal feed.

These include 23 hectares (ha) of Super Napier grass, 32 ha of Brachiaria grass, 110 ha of yellow maize and 22 ha of mahangu.

The farm also has 2 400 Moringa trees, while Walenga has been experimenting with Azolla, a fast-growing aquatic plant that he said can contains protein.

“I have been learning and practising to grow Azolla for the past three years, and it has done wonders for my cattle,” he said.

Walenga’s farming operation is entirely rain-fed and does not use chemical fertilisers. He is also experimenting with Super Napier grass under rain-fed conditions, despite the crop generally requiring irrigation.

He said the grass is highly palatable to livestock and, when properly managed and irrigated, can be harvested several times a year.

Brachiaria and ordinary Napier grass provide additional fodder, while yellow maize supplies energy and carbohydrates to livestock. Moringa leaves are also incorporated to increase the nutritional value of the feed.

Walenga said yellow maize is particularly valuable as a high-energy feed ingredient and noted that he is producing it on a large scale. “My approach is based on making different components of the farm work together while keeping production costs low,” he said.

“Everything we do here at the field, we do it the traditional way. We use chickens as a form of pest control,” he said.

The farm’s livestock activities also generate income, with small livestock and cattle sold monthly at auctions.

For Walenga, producing feed locally is not only about cutting costs but also about creating a more sustainable farming system that can withstand difficult conditions and reduce reliance on commercial inputs.

–maxhenrich35@gmail.com

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