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'SSA Feeds' is a database and specialized software to provide information on the nutritive value of livestock feeds used in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently it includes data of 14,571 samples of 459 livestock feeds from 14 countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, CÔte d'Ivore, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zaire and Zambia). The database is frequently expanded to add information of more feeds and countries. You can obtain raw data and summary statistics (number of samples, minimum, maximum, average and standard deviation) of one feed at a time. If you want information of more than one feed, you need to repeat the process of retrieving data as many times as feeds you are searching for.

2. 'SSA Feeds' in brief

Feeds are classified in nine 'Feed types':

Herbaceous forages
Fodder trees and shrubs
Food crops: cereals and legumes, green
Food crops: cereals and legumes, residues
Food crops: roots and tubers
Food crops: others
Concentrate feeds and agro-industrial by-products
Mineral supplements
Other less common feeds

All feeds are identified by a unique 'Feed name'. Feeds included in all 'Feed types' except those in 'Concentrate feeds and agro-industrial by-products' and 'Mineral supplements' are characterized by a specific 'Plant part' and 'Maturity' stage.

You can start the process of retrieving information of a given feed by two different ways:

By selecting a 'Feed type', searching for the 'Feed name' of your interest and describing the feed in terms of 'Plant part', 'Maturity' and 'Country' of origin and
By using the search window to find the 'Feed name' of your interest and then describing the feed as indicated above.

If you start by browsing the 'Feed types', the steps that you will follow to identify and describe the feed of your interest and to retrieve the data are as follows:

For all feeds, you complete their description and searching process with the selection of 'Country'. As you select the country of origin, the software takes you to a new screen displaying the raw data of nutrient composition. From this window you can either export the raw data, or request a summary of statistics for the selected feed. If you click on 'Show summary' you will see how many samples exist in the database, the minimum, the maximum, the average value and the standard deviation for each nutrient. You can also export the summary data and can go back and forth between the laboratory data and the summary. If you export data and/or summary, the software assigns a file name that describes the feed and data exported and saves the file in CSV (Excel compatible) format.

3. Browsing 'Feed types' and selecting 'Feed names'

The nine 'Feed types' are listed in the menu that appears on the left side of the screen. To start the process of retrieving data, select the 'Feed type' where the feed you are searching belongs to.

If you don't know the 'Feed type' where the feed that you are looking for belongs to, type a key word that is related to the 'Feed name' in the 'Search' window.

Once you select one of the nine 'Feed types', the software will take you to a new screen. The first row of the screen displays an alphabetical search menu. You can click on one letter to see a list of feeds whose 'Feed name', 'Genus', 'Species' or 'Crop name' (if it is crops feed type) starts with that particular letter.

For example, if you select 'Herbaceous forages', from the 'Feed types', the software will display all 'Feed names', 'Genus' and 'Species' that belong to such particular feed type. If the number of the 'Feed names' is too high, you can set the number of records you want to see per page, by clicking on the 'Records per page'.

If you enter in the 'Search' window a word that is part of a 'Feed name', the software will provide you a list of feeds containing that word that exist in each 'Feed type'. For example, if you enter 'maize' in the search window you will see the names of seven feeds that include the word 'maize' in three feed types: 'Food crops—green', 'Food crops—residues' and 'Concentrate feeds and agro-industrial by-products', as shown in the following figure:

In its current version the search function works only for specific 'Feed names', 'Crop names', 'Genus' and 'Species'. It does not work for 'Feed types', 'Maturity', 'Plant part' or 'Countries'. As you browse the lists of 'Feed names' obtained by selecting a 'Feed type' or by using the search window, click on the selected feed name for which you wish to see the data on nutritive value. The software will guide you to the next steps to complete the description of the feed of interest.

4. Describing the Feed

For 'Concentrate feeds and agro-industrial by-products' and 'Mineral supplements', once you select the Feed name, the software takes you to other screen to select the 'Country' of origin. Only the countries with entries for that feed are listed. The software allows you to select either all or only one country at a time.

For the Feed types 'Herbaceous forages', 'Fodder trees and shrubs', 'Food crops: cereals and legumes, green', 'Food crops: cereals and legumes, residues', 'Food crops: roots and tubers', 'Food crops: others', and 'Other less common feeds', you need to describe the feed in terms of 'Plant part' and 'Maturity'.

After selecting 'Plant part' and 'Maturity', the software will guide you to select the 'Country' as described above.

5. Retrieving data

As you select country of origin of the feed of interest, the software will display a window with a sample number followed by the qualitative variables: DM, OM, ADF, NDF, ADL, CP, IVDMD, ME, NEm, NEg, NEl, P, Ca, Na, Fe, K, Mg, Cu, Mn and Zn. You can configure the records per page. You can also sort the data in ascending/descending order for a particular variable by clicking on its name at the top of each column.

If you want to see the summary of statistics, click on 'Show summary'. The software will take you to a new screen displaying information of variables for which data exist, including: minimum, maximum, average and standard deviation. To go back to the raw data, click on 'Show raw data'.

6. Exporting data

If you wish to export the information retrieved for raw data and/or summary statistics, you can do so by clicking on the 'Export' option of the screen. The software automatically assigns names to the exported files that describe the 'Feed names' that you selected and the data that you exported.

The exported files are saved in CSV (Comma Separated Values) format, which is compatible with Excel. You can then retrieve the file and save it in Excel (XLS) or other format.

If you want to select another Feed name, you need to go back to 'Home' and repeat the process again.

Caution: It has recently come to light that the Metabolizable Energy values in the SSA Feeds database appear to be higher than expected. These values were predicted from IVDMD values and the method of prediction is currently under investigation. In the meantime please exercise caution in the use of the ME data. Alan Duncan 1/7/09