Goats in rural communities are often raised in conditions which do not allow them to achieve their maximum performance nor express their genetic potentials. For goats to perform to their full potential, they require high nutritious feed especially in the winter season when there is food shortage or during high milk-producing periods. However, supplementation can be done using fresh green feeds, protein blocks or vitamins which are often expensive, hence the need to source for indigenous crop residues. This study assessed the knowledge and perceptions of farmers on feeding sweet potato vines to their goats. The data were gathered by administering a total of 105 structured questionnaires using face-to-face interviews. The results showed that the majority of farmers (71.4%) were aware and practise some sort of supplementary feeding. Most farmers (72.4%) cultivated sweet potatoes, and they used them for different purposes such as income generation (53.3%), consumption (27.5%) or both (8%). Sweet potato vines were being discarded as waste or burnt (32.4%), left on the field as manure (25.7%), conserved as propagation material (8.6%) or randomly fed to livestock (7.6%). Nevertheless, most of the farmers (78.1%) rejected the use of sweet potato vines as feed to livestock. In conclusion, more intervention measures are required for developing farmers’ knowledge and perception on feeding sweet potatoe vines to livestock. Farmers may be assisted through training and workshops on the use of sweet potato vines and other indigenous forage supplementation as feed.

中文翻译：

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小农户对山羊补充和饲养红薯藤的知识和认识

农村社区的山羊通常在不允许其发挥最大性能或表达其遗传潜能的条件下饲养。为了充分发挥山羊的潜能，他们需要高营养的饲料，尤其是在冬季，即食物短缺或高产奶期。但是，可以使用通常很昂贵的新鲜绿色饲料，蛋白质块或维生素来进行补充，因此需要从本地农作物中获取残留物。这项研究评估了农民向山羊饲喂甘薯藤的知识和看法。通过面对面访谈共管理105份结构化问卷来收集数据。结果表明，大多数农民（71.4％）知道并实行某种补充喂养。大多数农民（72。4％的人种植了地瓜，他们将其用于不同的目的，例如创收（53.3％），消费（27.5％）或两者（8％）。甘薯藤被当作废物或焚烧丢弃（占32.4％），粪便作为肥料（占25.7％），作为繁殖材料保存（占8.6％）或随机饲喂牲畜（占7.6％）。但是，大多数农民（78.1％）拒绝使用甘薯藤作为牲畜饲料。总之，需要采取更多的干预措施来发展农民对将甘薯藤饲喂牲畜的知识和认识。可以通过培训和讲习班向农民提供帮助，内容涉及使用地瓜藤和其他本地饲料补充剂作为饲料。甘薯藤被当作废物或焚烧丢弃（占32.4％），粪便作为肥料（占25.7％），作为繁殖材料保存（占8.6％）或随机饲喂牲畜（占7.6％）。但是，大多数农民（78.1％）拒绝使用甘薯藤作为牲畜饲料。总之，需要采取更多的干预措施，以发展农民对将甘薯藤饲喂牲畜的知识和认识。可以通过培训和讲习班向农民提供帮助，内容涉及使用地瓜藤和其他本地饲料补充剂作为饲料。甘薯藤被当作废物或焚烧丢弃（占32.4％），粪便作为粪肥（占25.7％）留作田地保存，作为繁殖材料保存（占8.6％）或随机饲喂给牲畜（占7.6％）。但是，大多数农民（78.1％）拒绝使用甘薯藤作为牲畜饲料。总之，需要采取更多的干预措施来发展农民对将甘薯藤饲喂牲畜的知识和认识。可以通过培训和讲习班向农民提供帮助，内容涉及使用地瓜藤和其他本地饲料补充剂作为饲料。总之，需要采取更多的干预措施，以发展农民对将甘薯藤饲喂牲畜的知识和认识。可以通过培训和讲习班向农民提供帮助，内容涉及使用地瓜藤和其他本地饲料补充剂作为饲料。总之，需要采取更多的干预措施来发展农民对将甘薯藤饲喂牲畜的知识和认识。可以通过培训和讲习班向农民提供帮助，内容涉及使用地瓜藤和其他本地饲料补充剂作为饲料。