Fodder and Rangeland Good Practices in Eastern Africa

Abstract

Agriculture is the main means of livelihood in Ethiopia and livestock contributes about 43.5% of the agricultural GDP (NABC, 2010). Livestock production systems in Ethiopia can be broadly categorized into mixed crop-livestock, pastoral and agro-pastoral, and urban and periurban production systems (Azage Tegegne, et al., 2010). Globally, mixed farming systems produce the largest share of the total milk (90%), meat (54%) and it is the main system of production for smallholder farmers in many developing countries (Sere and Steinfeld. 1996). The Ethiopian highlands comprises about 40% of the country's land area, inhabit nearly 90% of the human population and 70-75 % of the livestock population of the country (Mohamed-Saleem and Abate, 1995; Zinash et al., 2001) and hold about 95% of the cropped area (Zinash et al., 2001). They are characterized by predominantly subsistence smallholder crop-livestock mixed production system, in which they are interrelated and complementary. As an integral component of the overall farming systems, livestock husbandry is being practiced for food, fiber, draft power and cash income. Livestock provide: inputs (draft power, transport, and manure for crop production), saleable outputs (milk and milk products, meat, eggs, manure/dung and hides and skins) and has asset, security and investment functions in the farming systems. Despite the importance of livestock, the performance of the sector has been challenged with various constraints. The low quality and quantity of feed resources and seasonal fluctuations of feed resources form the greatest constraint to improving the productivity of livestock in sub Saharan Africa (Winrock International, 1992). In Ethiopia feed in the major challenge of livestock production, where natural pasture and crop residues are the major sources of feed supply (Seyoum and Zinash, 1995; Zerihun, 2002). These feed resources are inadequate quantitatively and qualitatively to support reasonable livestock production (Mohamed- Saleem and Abate, 1995). In response to this challenge, national and international research institutions over the past decades have developed many fodder production, management and utilization technological options suitable for smallholder farmers to complement the available feed resources for livestock. But they have rarely been adopted by smallholder producers. Development projects have also introduced fodder banks and alternative cropping patterns to help introduce new fodder varieties Alemayehu Mengistu, 1997) and feeding systems. Quite a number of > iseful forages have been recommended for the different agro-ecological zones and production systems although the adoption rate is extremely ow. Currently, the contribution of improved cultivated fodder used as mimal feed in Ethiopia was also reported very small (about 0.6%) (CSA, >012). On the other hand, there are many available good practices related o improved fodder production and utilization that can be practical to promote its application in many similar areas in the sub region. However, he available best practices remain isolated in pockets and adopted by few farmers in central highlands of Ethiopia. This requires proper analysis and understanding of success factors and challenges of these best jractices of fodder production and utilization. T hese best practices could )e well adapted in many other areas with similar production and agro ecological conditions. The overall objective of this study was to assess he available best/good practices related to improved cultivated fodder production, utilization and marketing by smallholder farmers in the central highlands crop-1 ivestock production system of Ethiopia. The ! pecific objectives of the study were to investigate the detailed successful practices and challenges, identify- appropriate approaches to scale up the lechnology to realize its potential and share this information for upscale i hese best/good practices to various partners in similar agro-ecologies and production systems in the sub region.