OWSD PhD Fellowship
OWSD Early Career
2023
Montcho Marthe
About the project
Her research project will investigate tannin-rich forages suitable for mitigating methane production while improving dairy cattle performance in Benin. One of the challenges emerging from an increasing number of livestock is the resulting increase in the production of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The contribution of livestock to global anthropogenic methane emissions is estimated as 24–33%, most of which is from enteric fermentation. Dietary manipulation is one promising approach to reducing methane emissions from forage-fed ruminants; feeds containing natural phytocompounds such as condensed and hydrolysable tannins reduce enteric methane emissions and urinary nitrogen excretion. Better feed utilization efficiency also accelerates animal production and lowers farmers’ costs. Despite the high diversity of tannin-rich forage species in Benin, there are no studies addressing the use of tannins as methane reduction strategies. This research aims to provide dairy farmers with new innovative feeding practices that are both methane-reducing and efficient.
Field of Specialization
Position
Lecturer and Researcher