Livestock feed resources utilization and management as influenced by altitude in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Ahmed Hassen, Abule Ebro*, Mohammed Kurtu** and A C Treydte***

Debre Brahan University, P.O. Box 240, Debre Brahan, Ethiopia
ahhassen2004@yahoo.com
* Adami Tulu Agriculture Research Center, Zeway, Ethiopia, P.O. Box 35
abule_ebro@yahoo.com
** Haromaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box 138
mkurtu2002@yahoo.com
*** Institute of Plant production and Agro-ecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 13,70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract

A study with the objectives of assessing and documenting the management and utilization practices of different feed resources was carried out in Basona Worana district in the Central highlands of Ethiopia. The study was undertaken using group discussions, structured questionnaire and personal observations. 

Livestock ownership per household (7.44 Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU) was higher in the high than in the low (4.71 TLU) altitude zone. Native pastures, crop residues, grazing of crop stubbles and fallows lands were the major feed resources in the area. There were private, communal and riverside grazing areas. Although natural pasture and crop residues were produced in large amounts, their full and efficient utilization for livestock feeding has been hindered partly by economic problems and inadequate knowledge of the farmers. The major constraints for not applying different roughage treatment techniques were inadequate knowledge about the methods, lack of finance and accessibility to the methods. Raising the productivity of the pasture land by adopting sound management practices, growing productive and nutritious forages in association with food crops and identifying and correcting the most limiting feed nutrients by using supplements are among the options for resolving animal feed shortages.

Training of farmers about feed resource utilization, management and the involvement of the government in improving the financial capabilities of farmers are very important.

Keywords: Altitude, community perceptions, crop residues, natural pasture, cultivated forages

Introduction

In many developing countries, livestock play an important role in most small-scale farming systems. They provide traction to cultivate fields, manure to maintain crop productivity, and nutritious food products for human consumption and income-generation (Sere et al 2008). For instance, livestock production is an important component of the Ethiopian economy with an overall contribution of about 20% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and 40% to the gross value of annual agricultural output.

Agriculture dominates the economies of developing countries and in these countries the livestock sector is the fastest growing agricultural sector (3.77% for livestock vs. 2.71% for crops in last decade). By 2020, consumers in developing countries will eat 87% more meat and 75% more milk than they do today making livestock production the largest share of the value of global agricultural output (FAO 2005). Animal feeding systems in these countries are mainly based on grazed native pastures, which are deteriorating in production and quality, which vary seasonally resulting in poor animal performance. Despite the importance of livestock, inadequate livestock nutrition is a common problem in the developing world, and a major factor affecting the development of viable livestock industries in poor countries (Sere et al 2008).

The Ethiopian highlands are inhabited by high human and livestock populations. High density of human and livestock population ranging between 37-120 people and 27-130 Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU) per square kilometer is one of the major reasons for severe degradation of the natural resource base (CSA 2008) resulting in poor animal nutrition. Approximately 88% of the human, 75% of the cattle, 75% of the sheep and 34% of the goat population in Ethiopia are found in the highlands (CSA 2008). However, the productivity of livestock in Ethiopia is extremely low in terms of milk, meat and draught output (Azage and Alemu 1998). The fact that Ethiopia is importing milk products while possessing the largest cattle population in Africa is a very good indicator of the complexity of the problem. The major problem to livestock productivity is scarcity of livestock feeds in both quantity and quality, especially in the dry season. Notwithstanding the continued reduction in the size of grazing lands and forest areas to crop production to feed the ever-increasing human population, ruminants will still continue to depend primarily on forages from natural pastures and crop residues. Poor grazing management (e.g. continuous overgrazing) has resulted in very low carrying capacities brought about by replacement of productive and nutritious flora by unpalatable species and reduction in vegetation cover. Livestock feed supply from natural pasture is characterized by seasonal fluctuation in total dry matter (DM) production and nutritional quality because of the distinct seasonal variation in plant growth, in relation to the annual rainfall pattern.

In the mixed cereal livestock farming systems of the Ethiopian highlands, crop residues provide on average about 50% of the total feed source for ruminant livestock. The contributions of crop residues reach up to 80% during the dry seasons of the year (Adugna 2007).  Further increased dependence on crop residues for livestock feed is expected, as more and more of the native grasslands are cultivated to satisfy the grain needs of the rapidly increasing human population. In spite of the rising dependence on fibrous crop residues as animal feeds, there are still certain constraints to their efficient utilization. Substantial efforts have been made so far to resolve the feed shortage problem in the Ethiopian highlands, aiming at improving feed availability and thereby improve livestock productivity. However, the impact was so little to cope with the problem that animals are still subjected to long periods of nutritional stress (LDMPS 2006). More efficient management and utilization of available feed resources may help to improve livestock production in sustainable manner.

The main reason for selecting the Bosona Worana district among the districts in the central highlands of Ethiopia was the substantial potential and opportunities for development of improved smallholder livestock production. Conjugant to this fact, the district has been and is still one of the target areas identified for expansion of market-oriented smallholder dairy and sheep (meat and wool) production. In the study area, past efforts paid less attention for efficient utilization of local feed resources and mainly focused on exotic forages development. Alternative strategies for feed development that take into account the utilization of local resources already adapted to the local environment need to be explored before they are lost forever. The results of our study may contribute to identifying the existing practices of  utilization of feed and to find ways and means to improve these practices. In addition, this study will help to define the prospects for future interventions in developing livestock feeding systems to enhance productivity and viable integration of the crop and livestock sectors in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess and evaluate the management and utilization practices of the available livestock feed resources, identify major constraints and opportunities for efficient utilization of feed resources in the central highlands of Ethiopia as influenced by altitude, taking Basona Worana district as a case study area. The specific objectives of the study were to document the management and utilization practices of available feed resources in the study area as influenced by altitude.

Materials and methods 

Description of the study area

The study was carried out in Basona Worana district in North Shoa administrative zone of the Amhara National Regional State, located in the central northern highlands of Ethiopia. The total land area of the district is 1,399 Km² with predominantly undulating hilly landscape with gentle slopes, and altitude ranging from 1,500 to 3,360 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l). The climate in most parts of the district is characterized by cold temperature with bimodal rainy seasons and temperature typically varies from 6 to 20°C (EMA 2006).  Based on agro-climatic zones classification, the district can be divided into two broad climatic zones, namely Highland (Dega) (>2 300 m.a.s.l) and Woina Dega (mid altitude) (1500-2300 m.a.s.l). About 52% of the district falls under the highland (dega) agro-ecological zone, which is characterized by severe frost attacks every year from October to December. Though data are not available on the magnitude of the damage caused by frost, low temperature and occasional frost are among the major factors responsible for low crop production in the area. The rainfall distribution is bimodal, with short and long rainy seasons from March to April and June to September, respectively. The average annual rainfall ranges from 731 to 1 068 mm. The long rainy season accounts for more than 70% of the total amount of annual rainfall with peak precipitation (above 290 mm) occurring in July and August.  Most of the study area is covered by moderately and poorly drained soils and can be grouped into three soil types : black (52%), red (39%) and brown soils (9%). The total human population of the district is about 165,716 of which 50.6% are females. Out of the total 36,117 households in the district, 31.5% are female headed. Over 90% of the community members of the district are dependent on subsistence agriculture and the farming system of the district is characterized by mixed crop-livestock production system.  As a result, there is a close interdependence between crop and livestock sub-systems in the study area.

Study procedures

Management and utilization practices of major feed resources by farmers

A single-visit formal survey method (ILCA 1990) was followed to gather data.  Prior to the actual survey, visits were made to the district and secondary information relevant to the study was gathered from all possible sources. Informal survey and group discussions were conducted to gather information about the district and to get insights from community members. Group discussions were held with elders, key informants, and development agents working on the sites and district administrative officers. The group discussions focused on types of major feed resources, their utilization and management and associated constraints in relation to livestock production. The information gathered through the above process was summarized and used as a basis to design a semi-structured questionnaire to quantify the most important parts of the study and the household was taken as a unit of analysis. In the prepared questionnaire, there were single and multiple response questions. Single response questions are those questions where the sample household has a single reply and multiple response questions are those questions where the individual household can give more than one answer to a given question. In the case of the latter, the percentage of responses (respondents) will be greater than 100%. Before conducting the formal survey, the structured questionnaire was also pre-tested by interviewing some households and was subsequently refined.  Trained enumerators assisted in the collection of the data. A stratified random sampling technique was followed to select sampling units. For this study, the district was stratified into three using elevation areas as a criteria, as it is generally believed, and revealed in many studies,  that farming systems, mode of life and many more characteristics vary across altitude zones (Cochran 1973; ILCA 1990; Holecheck et al 2005). Accordingly, the peasant associations (PAs) which are the lowest administrative units in the study district were grouped into three. They were:

Stratum I- Peasant associations in the high altitude zone (above 2300 m.a.s.l)

Stratum II- Peasant associations in medium altitude zone (2000 - 2300 m.a.s.l)

Stratum III- Peasant associations in low altitude zone (1500 - 2000 m.a.s.l)

The rural peasant associations (PAs) in the district were grouped into the respective strata: five from high altitude (>2300 m.a.s.l), three from medium altitude (2000 - 2300 m.a.s.l), and three from low altitude group (1500 - 2000 m.a.s.l).  Selection was  at random based on the proportional number of PAs. A list of households obtained from each randomly selected PA was used to develop a sampling framework. Finally, a total of 120 households were selected randomly based on the proportional number of households and the size of each stratum. Accordingly, 60 households from high altitude, 30 from medium altitude and 30 from low altitude zones were randomly selected for the interview. The study was carried out between February and March 2006.

Data analysis

The collected household data were summarized and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, (SPSS, version 10 1996). Descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage and standard deviation were used to present the results.

Results and discussion  

Household characteristics, land holding and use pattern

The studied households had an average total family size of 5.7 (high = 6.2; medium = 6.2 and low = 4.7 altitudes) and this is comparable to the figure given by the Central Statistical Agency for the study area (CSA 2006) and the age of the respondents varied between 29 and 68 years with an average of 40.25 years. The educational level attended by the household heads was very low, (Table 1) especially in the medium and low altitude zones. The low level of education of the households can have an influence on the transfer of agricultural technologies and their participation in development (Mulugeta 2005).

The main sources of income of the sampled households in the high altitude area were from the sale of milk and milk by-products and these were followed by the sale of crops (Figure 1). 

This may be due to the suitability of the highland for livestock production especially dairy and sheep development and because of frost, which constrains crop production.  On the other hand, the sale of crops was the main source of income of the respondents in both medium (65.0%) and low (80.0%) altitude zones (Figure 1).

Cattle dung was the source of fuel and fertilizer in all altitude zones, and also used as a source of income in the high (12.5%) and some part of medium altitudes (2.5%) which is in agreement with the report of Getnet (1999) for the Salele area of Ethiopia. The manure is commonly dried into dung cakes during the dry season and piled for fire or sale when needed.

The average land holding per household in the high, medium and low altitude zones was 2.21, 2.0 and 1.75 ha which included arable land, private grazing and areas for hay (Figure 2).

The overall mean cultivated area per household was 1.52 ha. According to CSA (1998), the land holding of small holder farmers are small and fragmented and at national level about 60% of the households have less than 2 ha/household. Mebratu (2003) argued that the potential of accommodating additional households for farming activities in the North Shoa is very negligible because of the fact that almost all arable areas that can be cultivated are already under crop production. The average size of private grazing land per household was higher in the high altitude zone (0.46 ha) than in the low altitude zone (0.13 ha). On the average, about 0.25 ha, 0.22 ha and 0.13 ha of land per household was allocated to hay production in the high, medium and low altitude zones, respectively. In general, the average size of land holding per household for grazing reported in this study was higher by more than 8% when compared with the estimated national average of 0.26 ha per household (EASE 2001) and this indicates the importance given to livestock production in the study district particularly in the high altitude zone.

Livestock holding and their role

Livestock number per household in the high altitude zone was higher (7.44 TLU) than those in medium and low altitude zones. Cattle are the dominant species (3.55 to 5.08 TLU) in the study district (Table 2).

As can be seen from Table 2, the higher proportion of cows and young animals in the high altitude zone than that in the other altitudes testifies the significance of cattle production as the most important enterprise with particular reference to dairy and sheep production. The average sheep holding number in the high altitude zone which are reared at subsistence level was higher (Table 2) than that in the other altitude zones and most of them are of indigenous types. However, some crossbreed rams (Awassi breed) have been introduced to farmers in the high altitude zone for crossbreeding purposes. The primary purpose of keeping sheep is for cash income and as a source of meat. In times of insufficient crop harvest, sheep are the first animals to be sold to purchase food grain and other family needs and the skin of sheep is also an important source of income. Like sheep, goats are mainly kept for meat and cash income. Goats are very important to farmers in the low altitude zone as can be seen from their number (Table 2) and they could serve as a major source of animal protein in the form of meat. During periods of low crop harvest, goats, like sheep, are sold in order to purchase food and serve as one of the means to minimize food insecurity.

Equines (donkeys, horses and mules) are the most valuable pack animals for transportation of people and other goods in many parts of the study area especially where other means of transportation are not available. Horses are used mainly for transporting people and rarely for packing, while donkeys are used solely for packing. In addition to transportation, equines are used for threshing and transporting agricultural products to and from the homestead, drinking water for animals and human beings, wood, dried cow dung cakes, crop residues and charcoal to market places. This observation concurs with the report of Lemma (2002). Mules are preferred for transporting people in mountainous rugged and undulating places due to their strength and physical fitness. Among the equines, donkeys (0.46 TLU) are more abundant than the others (Horses= 0.28 TLU; Mules= 0.02 TLU) and this indicates the importance of donkeys in the farming system. As most of the farmlands are far from residence, donkeys are used to transport inputs, farm equipment, and harvested grains or crop residues from the farm land and to homesteads or market places. Chickens are mainly kept as source of meat for the family and as immediate sources of cash for family needs. In the traditional backyard system, chickens are kept as free-ranging where they scavenge their own feed and no proper shelter is provided to them. As observed during the fieldwork, their scavenged feed is comprised of insects, earthworms, termites, leaves and grasses picked from the backyard. Depending on the availability of grain and the awareness of the owner about better feeding, chicken are supplemented with maize, sorghum, wheat and other food crops (Group discussion results). The results of this survey indicated that, almost all the households sampled owned one or more chicken.

Major livestock feed resources

Feed problem is one of the major factors that hinders the development and expansion of livestock production. The main feed resources to livestock in the district are natural pasture, crop residues, stubble, grazing from fallow lands, forest and shrub areas. Among the feed resources, natural pasture and crop residues contribute the largest source of feed to livestock in the study area which is the case in most developing countries (Sere et al 2008).

Natural pasture

Ownership, management and utilization practices

There are two types of grazing lands, i.e. private and communal. Furthermore, there are a few riverside grazing lands in the study district. Across the study area, over 50% of the feed to animals came from natural pasture which conforms to the general indication that natural pasture is one of the major sources of animal feed (Alemayehu 2004). Of the sampled households, 59.2% in the high, 49.4% in the medium, and 48.8% in the low altitude zones ranked natural pasture as the primary source of feed to their animals (Table 3).

Grazing on either private grazing land (PGL) or communal grazing land (CGL) is a common practice following the onset of rain in most parts of the study area. Based on the result of the study, the major part of the natural pasture was owned privately (63%) and 32% owned communally and the remaining 5% located along the riversides and this is in line with the findings of Lemma (2002) who reported that, in the Ginchi watershed, the proportional area covered by private grazing is larger than the communally grazed areas.

In the management and utilization practices of natural pasture, animals are not allowed to graze in the PGL during the wet season and during this time; animals are allowed to graze on meager herbage found along roadside and in CGL. Accordingly, animals are allowed to graze in the PGL from late August to November while still reserving some part of the PGL for hay production.  There was no restriction to the utilization of CGL by the animals of farmers living in the same peasant association any time, but access to PGL utilization by animals of other farmers was restricted to a certain period of the year (i.e. from July to late August). Thus, the permission for use of the PGL by animals of other farmers is only possible after much of the herbage is grazed or removed by the animals of the owner of the PGL and it starts beginning December and extends to late June. Mostly, the land used for PGL was a type of land unsuitable for grazing and is prone to flooding. Some farmers left some plots fallow to restore fertility and utilized the available forage as a source of feed. About 52, 67 and 74.% of the respondents in the high, medium and low altitude zones, respectively, gave priority to draught animals for grazing in the PGL. Weak animals, lactating cows and calves were given preferential attention to graze in the PGL in all altitude zones (Table 4).

Condition of the natural pasture and constraints

The size of the grazing land is decreasing over time with the expansion in farmland size, which is a result of the increase in human population (Figure 3).

According to the information obtained from interviews, the size of the PGL has declined after the 1996/97 land redistribution because of the decrease in the size of land holdings. Accordingly, the feed obtained from grazing lands is inadequate both in terms of quantity and quality through out the year. Furthermore, it is evident from the responses of the sampled households in all altitude zones that the condition of the PGL and CGL is declining although the situation is more severe on the CGL (Table 5) than PGL.

Causes of grazing land deterioration

The causes of grazing land deterioration vary from altitude to altitude. The respondents showed differences in opinion as to the cause of reduced land productivity. Drought and overgrazing is common throughout the district (Table 6). Livestock and human population pressure contributed to the current degradation of the grazing land in the high altitude zones while, shortage and erratic rainfall were the major contributing factors in the low altitude zone (Table 6). Poor knowledge of the farmers on improved management of the grazing land is also another factor.

Crop residues

Crop residue production and utilization

The major crops grown by farmers in the high altitude zone are barley, wheat, field pea, and faba bean while tef, wheat and chickpea are the main crops grown in the medium altitude zone. Maize and sorghum are the dominant crops grown in the low altitude zone. Barley constituted the largest share of crop residue fed to livestock (Table  7). The availability of each type of crop residue varied among the altitude zones.

The quantity of DM that can be obtained from crop residue is estimated from grain yield (FAO 1987) based on established conversion factor with a utilization factor of about 90% and 10% is used for other purposes like fuel and wastage (Figure 4). In the medium and low altitude zones, tef straw was the primary source of animal feed. The largest proportion of almost all types of crop residues was used for livestock feeding rather than any other uses because of the critical shortage of livestock feed in the area (Figure 4).

Apart from serving as a source of feed, straws of barely, wheat, and tef were sold to meet some incidental household expenditure (Figure 4). Tef straw, in rare cases barely, oats and wheat straw are mixed with mud as binding material for plastering walls of local houses.

Of the sampled households in the study district, about 40.8 to 54.6% ranked crop residue as the main source of livestock feed (Table 8) and from the same table, it is evident that, more respondents in the medium and low altitude zones feed crop residues to their animals when compared with those in the high altitude.

Crop residues were also used during rainy season to supplement the limited supplies from CGL. Crop residue feeding mostly begins soon after threshing crops especially in the low altitude zone, starting in December and extending up to July (Personal observation).

More than 50% of the sampled households gave priority to oxen in feeding of crop residues. Weak animals and lactating cows were also given priority in feeding of crop residues (Table 9).

The feeding of livestock with crop residues in the morning and evening was a common practice especially in the late dry and early wet seasons because of the low herbage yield obtained from natural grazing land.

Crop residues leftover utilization

Depending on the residue type, left over may or may not exist, and if it exists, it may be put to some use (Table 10).

As indicated in the table 9, no crop residue is completely consumed by animals without leaving some behind. The existence of maize and sorghum stovers was reported by almost all the interviewed households in medium and low altitude zones. This is likely to be due to the hard and stemy nature of these residues as a result of which animals could not consume them. In this regard, physical treatment of such residues, either to reduce their size (e.g. chopping) or to soften them (e.g. by soaking or wetting) is of paramount importance as it improves palpability leading to efficient utilization of the residues (Tesfaye 1999).

The highest proportion of households (93% for maize and 91% for sorghum) stated that the leftover from these residues are used primarily for firewood. Sixty-five percent of the respondents indicated that leftover from tef straw is used for construction of local houses by mixing it with mud, which is then used to plaster the wall (Table 11).

Problems related to crop residues utilization

According to the responses of the sampled households, the major constraints associated with crop residues utilization for livestock feeding were collection, transportation, storage, and feeding problems (Table 12).

Collection and transportation problem

As can be seen from Table 12, in the study area, more than 35.0% in high, 45.0% in medium and 49.0% of the respondents in the low altitude zones had problems collecting and transporting all their crops and crop residues from the field to homesteads. The major problems, as can be seen from Table 12, with regard to collection and transportation of crop residues in the high and medium altitude zones were distance while in the low altitude it was mainly the shortage of donkeys.

Distance from the field to homestead and the shortage of finance were also indicated as problems by the respondents in all altitude zones. In order to transport crop and crop residues from the field to homestead, the farmers use their own donkeys or they hire or borrow from others. The average cost of transporting crop residues from a hectare of land, as estimated by the respondents was in the range of 2 to 10 USD depending on the distance of transportation and whether the season was or not at the busiest period of the cropping activities.

Storage and its problems

In all altitude zones of the study district, crop residues are mostly stored by stacking them outdoor near homesteads and this is similar to that reported from Yerer where about 91% of the farmers stored crop residues out door (Mulugeta 2005) (Table 13).

Most straw was stacked outside near the homestead; only very few farmers stacked under shelter. The haulms of field pea, which are used to supplement the low crude proetin content of straws such as tef, were placed at the bottom or in the middle and were covered by straw or grass and this was undertaken to protect the haulms from being damaged by seepage of rainwater into the stack. Decay due to unexpected rain or moisture condition was the major storage problem of almost all types of crop residues that could affect the quantity of crop residues efficient utilization. Problems associated with storage of crop residues result mainly from improper storage practices as a consequence many residues can be wasted.  If this were corrected, it could have a great impact on live stock production in the area where crop residues are one of the major feed resources.

Feeding and its problems

As shown in Table 14, 60% of the respondents in the medium and low altitude zones reported that they graze their animals on maize stover in situ and this is in line with the findings of Kabatange and Kitalyi (1989) and Tesfaye (1999) where, 61.5 and 60% of the respondents, respectively, graze their animals in the crop field after crop harvest.

In all altitude zones, most of the other crop residues were fed in stalls. Some respondents, as can be seen from Table 14, allow their animals to feed on the crop residues directly from threshing grounds. Feeding of livestock in situ and on threshing grounds are inefficient feeding practices because of the trampling damage of animals and the spoilage with their urine.  Smith (1993) and Tesfaye (1999) also reported that, when crop residues are left in the field, they rapidly deteriorate and a large percentage is usually trampled upon and wasted.

In addition to the above problems, crop residues also have nutritional problems that limit their efficient utilization for livestock feeding. Though some of the farmers know that crop residues are poor in nutritive value, few of the respondents did not try to treat the crop residues either physically or chemically (except the fine threshing of cereals like tef, barely, wheat and pulses) or use supplementary feeds to improve the feeding values of their crop residues.

Constraints to improve the nutritional quality of crop residues

As can be seen from table 15, farmers faced different kinds of problems in improving the nutritional quality of crop residues. 

These include shortage of labor for physical treatment, lack of know-how, lack of finance, inaccessibility for chemical treatment and concentrate supplementation and these problems are similar to those reported by Tesfaye (1999). Smith (1993) listed chopping, grinding, and ensiling with urea as the most appropriate methods of improving the feed value of crop residues at the smallholder level. However, because of the problems indicated above, none of these methods have been widely applied. Therefore, in order to improve the nutritional status of crop residues strengthening of the farmers’ know-how through extension service is very important.

Improved forage development and their utilization

Livestock feed production using cultivated forage species is not widely practiced in the study area. However, attempts were made to improve the traditional forage supply and quality by the Fourth Livestock Development Project (FLDP) and the Dairy Rehabilitation and Development Project (DRDP) in the high altitude zone of the district using forage species. Some of the introduced forage species included grass species such as Phalaris aquatica, legume species Vicia sativa, tree legume Chamaecytisus palmensis, and root crop Beta vulgaris (Getnet 1999).

Some households feed improved forages to crossbred cows in the form of cut and carry and hay. Only 35% of the sampled households in high altitude zone plant improved forage to alleviate feed shortage during the dry seasons and the main reasons (Figure 5) for this low level of usage were shortage of land, lack of forage seeds and awareness about the importance of the improved forage species.

Stubble grazing

Crop stubble is one of the important feed sources in the study area. After harvesting the crops, livestock are allowed to graze stubble of different crops (barley, wheat, tef, and oats) mainly from October to November. For the first two months, the stubble is grazed by the animals of the farm owner and later it becomes accessible to all animals in the community.

Agro-industrial by-products

Supplemental feeds such as the by products of grain and oil seed mills are fed to livestock especially when there is shortage of feed. Farmers in high altitude zone, especially those around the peri-urban areas, utilize by-products of grain for lactating crossbred cows. By- products of oil seeds secured through purchase from the local market are mixed with straw and other local supplements  such as the spent brewer’s grains from the local manufacture of  “atela” to feed livestock especially cross-bred dairy cows, fattening animals, and calves.

Methods of feed conservation

The increase in human population and the associated decrease in the size of the grazing land had led farmers to use different forms of conservation practice in the study area. The most common practices used in conservation of feed resources are hay making, traditionally conserved crop residues, and grazing in the form of standing hay (Figure 6). 

Hay is the oldest and still the most important conserved fodder in all altitude zones, despite its dependence on the presence of suitable weather at the time of harvest. About 87.2% of farmers in the study area prepare hay to assure livestock feed through the dry season. Most of the hay is produced from natural pasture and sometimes it is made from sown forages like oats (Avena sativa) and vetch (Vicia sativa) in the high altitude zone. The mown hay is spread on the ground for 2-3 days for sun drying. Once dried, the hay will be collected and stacked around the homestead. The hay made through such processes is fed mainly to milking cows, calves, oxen, and to some extent to small ruminants. In some cases, the natural pasture is also utilized in the form of standing hay where it grows in dense stands but loses most of its nutritive value with maturity. It is conserved for supplementary feeding in the dry season.

Feed related animal health problem

Feed-related animal health problems also occurred in the high and medium altitude zones. In these areas, during the wet season, grazing lands contain a significant proportion of Trifolium species which is grazed prior to full blooming (Lemma 2002; Solomon 2004). In these areas, the incidence of bloating is quite high and affected animals often die within a short period of time especially in mid wet season (Table 16).

Most of the farmers use traditional means such as giving araki (local beverages), food oil, etc. One methods for preventing and/or controlling the problem is to keep grazing animals away from Trifolium pasture during the vegetative growth stage. In addition to these, feeding animals with hay or straws before they start grazing is also indicated to reduce the risk of bloating (Lemma 2002).

Watering management

With regard to the frequency of watering of different animal species, most of the farmers in all altitude zones watered their animals once in a day whereas, 40, 12.5 and 2.5% of the farmers offered water two times a day in the high, medium and low altitude zones, respectively during the dry season. Among the owners of livestock, only 12.5% of the farmers were able to provide water adequately in high altitude zone (Table 17).

Furthermore, in the high altitude zone, livestock cover less distance (<1 km) to reach water compared to the medium and low altitude zones (Table 18).

The main sources of water in the high altitude zone during the dry season were rivers followed by springs; ponds and spring followed by rivers for medium and low altitude areas.  However, during the wet season, springs were the main source of water in the highland while ponds were the major source of water in both the medium and low altitude areas.

Recommendations 

• Farmers should be aware that crop residues are low in nutritive quality and be assisted in getting valuable nutrients in the form of protein-rich fodder trees, molasses urea blocks in small holder dairy development areas. To facilitate this, provision of transport facilities and credit are very essential. Emphasis should be given on the physical treatment methods, which are within the reach of farmers such as chopping, wetting. Ensiling with urea could also be practiced.

  
  

• Provision of strong extension services to farmers for feed resource development and training them in basic principles of collection, storage of harvested feed resources (hay and crop residues) and treatment of crop residue could be very important.

  
  

• In order to make livestock provide better value to their owner, much more needs to be done with respect to balancing the nutrient supply with the nutrient need of the livestock population. This may be done by limiting the household herd size preferably replacing the less productive animals with fewer more productive animals especially in medium and high altitude areas, growing productive and nutritious forages in association with food crops.
   

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge Amhara Agriculture and the Rural Development Bureau, and the Amhara Agricultural Research Institute for their financial support to this study. The second author duly acknowledges the support given to him to finalize the article, the publication of which is an output of a scholarship from the Food Security Center of the University of Hohenheim, which is part of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) program “exceed” and is supported by DAAD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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Received 4 April 2010; Accepted 13 November 2010; Published 9 December 2010

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