| RESEARCH INTEREST |
| My research interest lies in the following areas; A. PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS: Finding alternative feeds ingredients for livestock especially proteins. Botswana is a dry country and does not produce oil seeds crops and its a challenge for animal nutritionists to find alternative protein diets for ruminants. Analysis of Phane worms shows that it has high protein content & its profile of amino acid is comparable to that of fishmeal. Sustainable haversting and farming of Phane worm may open opportunities for this resource to be used as a protein source for livestock especially by resource limited poultry farmers. B. INTERNAL PARASITES: Unlike cattle which ownership is skewed, goat ownership is wide and evenly spread. Easy of handling and low cost of maintenance makes goat rearing popular, especially with female-head households. Goat farming has the opportunity to empower rural families with good nutrition and income generation. However, goat production in Botswana is constrained by internal parasites. For a long time anthelmintic treatment has been the mainstay of parasite control. Recently it has been found that parasite are developing resistance to chemical treatment. In addition there is a risk of contamination of the environment by these chemicals and well as their transmission in the food chain. The use of nutrition especially protein supplements has been shown to reduce parasite egg count and worm burden in both sheep & goats. Especially relevant for rural farmers, it has also been shown that indigenous plants extracts are able to reduce egg counts of internal parasite. My research is to use nutrition and novel compounds from indigenous plants to control parasite in a more integrated way. C. REPRODUCTION: Profitability of any livestock farming is anchored on females giving birth on a regular basis. Nutrition is the main factor that drives reproductive activities in farmed animals. Malnourished animals will not breed. In addition the legacy of undernutrition at neonatal may be manifested late in life through low production. On the other hand excess nutrition may also be detrimental for reproduction. For instance excess protein at the time of mating may compromise embryo survival and even leading to large offspring resulting in difficult birth. My interest is to study the interaction of nutrition and reproduction and help formulate feeding strategies that promote efficient feeding and reproduction D Other interests; Environment related issues in agriculture Politics of Science |