Horse sugarcane: An appetiser for livestock

The plant was first seen in the 70s at the Livestock Investigation and Breeding Centre (LIBC) in Kadawa, Kano State, when the then military administrator of the state, Audu Bako, now late, established its plantation in the area for the feeding of the state government’s livestock.Alhaji Muktar Chiromawa, a farmer and member of the House […]

The plant was first seen in the 70s at the Livestock Investigation and Breeding Centre (LIBC) in Kadawa, Kano State, when the then military administrator of the state, Audu Bako, now late, established its plantation in the area for the feeding of the state government’s livestock.
Alhaji Muktar Chiromawa, a farmer and member of the House of Representatives, imported the plant from Songhai farms in Benin Republic and replicated it in his farm at Chiromawa.
“This is a plant that gives a lot of appetite to livestock. Every animal that eats grass likes to eat this one. It gives them appetite and because of the large water content in it, when an animal eats it and could not get water to drink, the water in the plant can sustain it for sometime. You can see that it looks greenish and so rich.
“Grasscutters, rabbits, sheep, cattle, goats, horses, name it. They all eat this plant. It has rapid renewal growth. When you cut it and give it to animals, it grows back within three days. If livestock is taking this grass, it makes it feed well and grow fatter easily. They also look healthier,” he said.