Other Uses
Napier grass is the most important fodder crop for the dairy farmers in East Africa. Hairless varieties, such as Ugandan hairless, have much higher value as fodder. As it is able to grow with little water and nutrients, grazing has made productive use of arid lands for food production. Furthermore, livestock can be incorporated into the pull-push management system providing another economically viable purpose for the ‘trap’ plant. Napier grass is valuable to African landscapes as is prevents soil erosion. It can also serve as a fire break, a wind break, and to improve soil fertility. More recently, Napier has been used to alleviate pressure on food production as there is 2Gha of non-arable land suitable for energy crop production. Thermal pyrolytic conversion is used to produce charcoal, biogas and bio-oil. Although this technology is not currently in use, it could be implemented as a means of providing energy to African communities, while enriching the soils of the local landscape.
Read more about this topic: Pennisetum Purpureum