A Professor of Ruminant Nutrition, Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Dupe Olufunke Ogunbosoye, has called for an increase in investments in the rearing of ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep, given their high potential to address low protein intake, enhance food security and improve livelihoods of people.

Professor Ogunbosoye, who gave the charge during her inaugural lecture held at the University in Malete, stressed the need for the three tiers of government to prioritise research on ruminant nutrition and sustainable farming practices to boost the efficiency in the rearing of herbivores.

The inaugural lecturer described ruminants as efficient converters of unusable plant materials into high-quality protein for human consumption, stressing that society needed to understand the critical role ruminants play in human nutrition.

Speaking on sustainable feed conservation for optimal ruminant production, Professor Ogunbosoye noted that with increasing global population and decreasing per capita arable land, traditional forage production methods cannot meet the demand for livestock feeding, thus affecting the sustainable production of livestock products.

“Supply high-quality forages will become increasingly crucial as livestock are raised for high-value meat products and the farmers strive to meet the year-round demand for ruminant products.

“These economic incentives, along with available and emerging technologies, will drive the increased use of stored/conserved forages, such as hay and silage, in many tropical countries and at the same time improve the farmers’ livelihood”, she said.

She therefore charged governments at all levels to provide financial and technical support to livestock farmers to promote the sector and encourage sustainable ruminant farming methods.