The influence of fodder on vitamin A and beta-carotene in milk - Sahelian Mali

Vitamin A deficiency has been reported on repeatedly in recent years from t he Sahel region in West Africa. Nomadism, pastoralism and agro-pastoralism are the common systems for food production in the area. Milk was a major fo od item prior to the repeated droughts of the past few decades. This invest igation has looked at the retinol content in milk from various domestic ani mals at the end of the dry season, which is critical from vitamin A supply point of view. Milk from cows fed on hay from the previous year was devoid of retinol, while milk from goats contained good levels regardless of wheth er the source of fodder was browse or fresh grass after the onset of rains. Acacia tortilis, a common and preferred fodder tree, is rich in P-carotene . Establishing small-scale cultivation of other beta-carotene rich, indigen ous, woody, non-spiny fodder-species such as Maerua crassifolia, is therefo re proposed to increase the vitamin A content, and therefore the value of c ow's milk. This could be integrated into the: ongoing tree-plantation progr ams for dune stabilisation.