Assessing tropical forage species used as pig feed ingredients in the western provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Évaluation d’espèces fourragères tropicales utilisées comme ingrédients dans l’alimentation du porc dans les provinces de l'Ouest de la République démocratique du Congo

The use of forage species to feed pig goes back to immemorial times. If forage is no longer used in industrial farms with genetically-improved breeds, its accounts for an important part of pig diets in smallholder pig production systems in tropical areas including the Western provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The aim of this research thesis was to assess the relevancy of the use of local forage resources as a strategy to reduce reliance of pig production systems on concentrate feed ingredients in tropical environment, by identifying plant species available to smallholders with interesting nutritional value that could partly replace concentrates in the diets. First, smallholder pig production systems in two western provinces of the DRC were characterized and the most used forage species in pigs identified. Their nutritional value was determined using an in vitro model of the pig’s gastro-intestinal tract. It was concluded that Manihot esculenta, Ipomoea batatas, Moringa oleifera, and legume species exhibit an interesting profile for feeding pigs while grasses, Eichhornia crassipes, Acacia mangium and Cajanus cajan should be discouraged. Feeding values of Psophocarpus scandens, Vigna unguiculata, Stylosanthes guianensis, and Pueraria. phaseoloides were measured by assessing the voluntary feed intake of forage hays-based diets and their digestibility. Finally, the economic impact of feeding Psophocarpus scandens, Vigna unguiculata, and Stylosanthes guianensis, was measured through growth performance, carcass quality, and production costs determination. It is concluded that although forage species reduce the nutritive value and the growth of animals, the investigated legumes do not impact negatively the economical balance of concentrate-fed pigs when forage accounts for approx. 10 % of the diet. The ability of some forage species to improve performances of animals fed ill-balanced diets as usually practiced by smallholder farmers in the DRC should be investigated as it is suspected that under less favourable conditions, conclusions on the usefulness of forage legumes in pigs might be more positive