The Namibia Biomass Industry Group through its De-bushing Advisory Service division launched the Bush Feed Formulation Application and the Biomass Quantification Tool with the support from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation Project. The tools aim to promote best practice in the biomass industry through sustainable harvesting and biomass utilisation in Namibia.
Bush Feed Formulation Application (FFA) is a web- based application which brings a solution to farmers and bush-based feed producers. The FFA is aimed at providing affordable and nutritional balanced rations, lowering the risks posed to animals when the bush feed is formulated on a trial and error basis. Indeed, bush-based animal feed production is complex and if implemented wrongly, the health and life of animals are at stake. The knowledge of feed formulation is essential for guiding farmers to produce more cost effective, safe, and nutritious bush-feed rations using different locally available and affordable ingredients.
The Biomass Quantification Tool (BTQ) is a standardised model that is easy to use and very specific for the estimation of woody biomass in Namibia. The model does not only provide estimations on wood and bush feed biomass, but can also be used for other purposes such as conducting general surveys needed to determine plant densities in areas where woody plant thickening is not a problem or where there is no intention to harvest bush depending on the measurement option chosen. This quantification method is essential for farmers and harvesters to guide them through making responsible decisions on bush control and biomass utilisation.
Both the FFA and BTQ will serve as a catalyst to extension services, responsible for promoting good practices in the biomass sector.
Photo credits: N-BiG Aska Orlale
